'Mun t\i\t\i\i ;i|jj fornia lal THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES PHONOGRAPHY ; OP THE WRITING OF SOUNDS. PHONOGRAPHY; OR THE WRITING OF SOUNDS. IN TWO PARTS, VIZ. L O G O G R A r II Y, OR UNIVERSAL WRITING OF SPEECH; AND M U S I C O G R A P H Y, OR SYMBOLICAL WRITING OF MUSIC; WITH A SHOUT HAND FOR BOTH. By V. D. DE STAINS, Graduate of the University of Paris. ^cconU Ictiitfon. " He who cannot say something in sympathy with, or in aid of, tlie great tnovements of humanity, might as well hold his peace." — Cuannino. LONDON: EFFINGHAM WILSON, ROYAL EXCHANGE. 1 842. [iSntn-ftr a\ f^tationcie' ?^all.] t.ovnoN : PiiiUcil by Miuiiicc ami I'd., Fiiicluirili street. • > • • > • •• • • • • • • • : r .*. • • ft ft * ft ft . . 1 • « 1 • • • •. • • • * aw « • ^ • ft J , , • m • 1 • • • • • • < • *- • • « « ft • ft ft • * '.' ' • • • ft • • • • » ••• *, .: • • w • • • ft ft •• • • • • • • . . . > • ft* • ft • ft « • • • • • • ft « « ft • • •..:•: • • • • • ••..♦ • ft ft • • • ft t. t (. t I • ft » ft 'S^k7 o CONTENTS. Preface -page I Introduction 9 BOOK I.-LOGOGRAPHY. Part I. — P rogressive Formation and Degeneration of Languages. Chapter !.• — On Speech. Natural Formation of Speech IS *i Chapter II. — On Writing. f> >- Natural and successive Formation of the various Characters, ^ from the Pictorial Figures and Hieroglyphics to the Pho- — netic Signs and Alphabets 26 Chapter III. — On Alphabets. 5r Examination of the Alphabets of the ancient and modern i!^ Languages, passing from primitive perfection to extreme § confusion, as exemplified in the English and French Languages 33 3 H Part II. — Regeneration of Writing, or Logography based on simple and universal Principles. Chapter I. — On Orthography. Impossibility of having an accurate Writing of Speech by means of the Roman Letters. — Necessity of adopting a new Series of Phonetic Characters 49 M8G03 VI CONTENTS. Chapter II.— On Phonography. Analysis of Speech, based upon the Anatomy of the Organ itself 59 Chapter III.— Phonographic Alphabet. Formation of a new Character. — Advantages (with regard to neatness and expediency) of following as much as pos- sible in the Writing, the natural movements of the Right Hand 79 Part III. — Short Hand. Chapter !.■ — Preliminary Notions. Antiquity of Short-Hand, its Uses and Advantages ... 95 Chapter II. — Short Hand of Logography. Its Alphabet, abbreviating Rules, and Orthography. — Com- parison of the present System with those of Gurney, By ROM, Taylor, Mayor, Molineux, Harding, Lewis, &c. &c 115 Chapter III. — Allegorical Writing. Superiority of Allegorical Characters over Alphabetical ones. — Advantages to be derived from a combination of both. — What parts of Speech are best adapted to Alle- gorical Signs. — Application 127 BOOK II.— MUSICOGRAPHY. Chapter I. — On Ancient Music. Its Origin, progressive Formation, and Importance over all other Sciences 157 CONTENTS. Vll Chapter II. — On Modern Music. Its Origin, from the above, and successive Transformation into a System entirely different. — Comparison between the two 1(55 Chapter III. — On Musical Characters. Ancient and Modern Characters. — The Greek Alphabet,— the Staff,— the Arithmetical Figures 178 Chapter IV. — Rp:formeu Characters, or Musicography. Its Simplicity and Conciseness, exemplified by a part of the National Anthem being printed with the common Letter- press, and in one-sixth of the space generally occupied by the Staff 184 Chapter V. — Short-Hand of Musicography. Its Uses and Advantages explained with relation to Melody, Harmony, and Composition. — Analysis of the Principles of Harmony and the Properties of Musical Sounds , . 197 DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES. Plate I. • • to face page RG II. .. .. 90 III. .. -. 120 IV. .. .. 126 V. •■ • • 152 VI. .. • • 154 VII. •• •• 190 VIII. • • .. lys IX. •• . . .. 204 CORRIGENDA. 'ug« 1 line 1, fur this read his 22 . 22, Greek Greeks 22 . 23, Persian Persians 41 16, four three C7 • 11, vew view 72 • 10, meazuse ■ . measure «7 • 14. disliiK'tion distinctions 95 . 20, aT)jU(:IO')pa(/'iU) crijjutio'ypav'iv 102 . 19, mute hard 102 . 19, souml sounds 107 • 20, Plate III. .. Plate IV. 108 . 5, dele future 110 . 25, for S.P.P.P.T.C. S.P.P.P.S.C. 122 26, over across l.i3 . -'4, Plate VII. Plate VI. 141 20, mood moods 147 ■ 6, your system our system 162 17, Plate I. Plate VII. 167 • 22, Plate I. . . Plate VII. 108 . 22, jiroved proves 170 . 30, Plate I. .. Plate VII. 171 2.'J, sound sound.s 176 • 21). every chord each chord PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The favour with which this little work has been received, both by the press and the public, has induced the author to undertake this second edition, so much improved, revised, and enlaro^ed, /f that it might more properly be termed a new treatise than a reprint of the first publication, of which little has been preserved beyond the title- page and natural divisions of the work. As the skilful artist, who, anxious to gain the admiration of his contemporaries and to secure if possible that of posterity, used to expose his rough sketches in the thoroughfares whilst he listened silently behind to the numerous critics, he has launched, unknown, his small pamphlet amongst the crowd, carefully and most gratefully noticing the various and sometimes contradictory remarks passed upon it ; and with the same can- dour and simplicity with which he then acknow- B 2 PREFACE. ledged the numerous defects of the sketch, he will now hold forth the merits of the work here perfected. For, although he may have appeared to his first readers with no higher pretension than that of having added a new system of Short-hand to the numberless ones already published; yet, leaving aside the Musical Short-hand, which at least is a conception entirely new, he has aimed at nothing less than the total renovation of the writing and orthography of all the languages of the civilized world, by substituting for the confused, ill-con- trived, would-be etymological Roman characters, a series of signs simple, yet distinct and elegant in their forms, and equal in their number to the few elementary sounds of the human voice ; there- by enabling the writer to follow with the greatest preciseness, by means of those figures, joined or combined, all the simple or complex sounds of the human speech. The importance of such a reformation is here made obvious : firstly, to the classical scho- lar ; secondly, to the student of modern LANGUAGES ; thirdly and lastly, to the nation, the world at large, viz. the illiterate. Firstly, the classical scholar, keeping in mind the incalculable difference that must exist between the modern tongues, incessantly waving PREFACE. in their accent, and the dead languages, now un- derstood not through the living organ of speech, but by means only of dead letters, bleached ske- letons of gigantic beings whose articulations will remain for ever unknown, cannot but feel deeply afflicted by the ungrateful barbarity with which the modern languages, in their progressive forma- tion successively renounce and cast aside as use- less trash all letters whose only purpose, like that of armorial bearings, was to testify their noble and antiquated origin. With what joyfulness, therefore, will he not hail the introduction of a modern character, whose only pretension is to express accurately the spoken sounds, without interfering in any possible man- ner with the etymologies of the words ; thereby leaving him the undisturbed possession of the classical letter. For, the classic, to whom time is no object, would doubtless continue the use of the ancient characters, and indulge in writing his own lan- guage with all the luxuriancy of the most accurate etymology. And as the toiling part of the nation, from the minister of state to the common informer, from the banker to the grocer, from the guinea- a-liner to the penny-a-one, would all immediately avail themselves of a character which enabled them to write as fluently nearly as they spoke, and that B 2 PREFACE. without SO much as a single chance of error, thus adding not a little to the comforts of all statesmen, authors, and every one whose hand-writing is sub- jected to fall under the unmerciful glance of the public ; the Roman characters would gradually become an unknown tongue^ entirely reserved for the use of the classical aristocracij . How grati- fying to their vanity ! And why does a reasonable being consecrate so much of his youthful years to the study of the classics, if it is not to satisfy his vanity ? Secondly, the student of modern lan- guages, having followed through their progres- sive formation the various living languages of civilized Europe, raised simultaneously and as children of one family, cannot help noticing the numerous quantity of words they continually bor- row from each other, and which forms such a conspicuous part of their vocabularies, that, were each nation reduced to its own indigenous produc- tions, their intellectual wants would be as misera- bly satisfied with such allowances as their animal ones with the few acorns, crab-apples, and such like fruits, the almost only spontaneous produce of their rich soils. And having made this curious remark, viz. that the living languages, so easily read by the means of their almost universal characters, are neverthe- PREFACE. 5 less most difficultly spoken by foreigners, and it may be added, never perfectly articulated by those who have begun the study of the written I tongue before that of the spoken one, he will I easily perceive that these contradictions and diffi- culties are owing to the Roman letters, insufficient in number and confused in the extreme, having been adapted to the modern languages, to each one separately by its own classics, without having ; any knowledge of the primitive sounds of those letters, without taking the least care for the f accurate representation of the natural sounds I of their own language, and without paying the : remotest attention to the sounds already ascribed ! to the same letters in other languages. Thus he will rest satisfied that the Roman letters, whilst they linked the written lan- guages together by an apparent similarity of phonetic characters, effectually prevented the natural and progressive rapprochement of the SPOKEN tongues, by forcing every new word on its introduction on a foreign soil to be dis- figured either in its spelling or in its pronun- ciation, and more often in both. But let him suppose for one moment that the Roman letters (with a few additions, making their number equal to all the sounds of speech) had been judiciously ascribed each to one single 6 PREFACE. sound, and he will agree that the same alphabet, once adopted by all civilized nations, would have united their various languages into one universal tongue. The English language has but two sounds that are not common to all European nations, viz. the two th. The Spanish has the same two I sounds in common with the English, and a pe- culiar aspirated pronunciation of j. The French has six, amongst which are the four nasals. All the other sounds are equally familiar to all Eu- ropean nations, although written in many differ- ent ways. This once ascertained, it is obvious that a complete and rational alphabet once adop- ted for these sounds, their pronunciation would be invariably fixed, and remain ever after pure and unalterable, since no written character could be read but with one and the same sound every where. How much would civilization and peace be promoted by such an harmonization ! Lastly, THE ILLITERATE. This numerous tribe is divided into two. families ; those who can read and write any how, and those who can do neither. As to the first, they know too well the almost insurmountable diflicultics of orthography not to adopt with eagerness a system of writing which would deliver them from all the miseries of that PREFACE. 7 science, enabling them at once to write their own language with perfect correctness and facility. With regard to the second, the author has only a few words to say to convince them ; viz. HE WILL TEACH THEM TO READ AND WRITE PERFECTLY WELL WITHIN A WEEK. This new writing could soon be applied to the press, when it would reduce every book to one quarter of its present size and price ; which being a reduction not quite so disproportionate as that of the penny postage, one might easily calculate on a fair increase of business and profit to the printers, publishers, booksellers, and all channels through which the tide of knowledge w^ould flow, in order abundantly to irrigate the thirsty soil. Knowledge is power, great statesmen have said it; we may add that it is morality which is preferable, and happiness also, the first and last craving of human nature. Yet how few can acquire that power, morality, and happi- ness ! How dearly even those few must pay for it, not with money, but with the precious years of their youth passed sorrowfully in a damp, dull school-room, bent over the great tormentor of childhood; the spelling-book! Let the reader, having well considered these undeniable facts, answer if the introduction of a 8 PREFACE. rational alphabet which would reduce the study of reading, writing and orthography to the learn- ing of a few characters, easily committed to the memory in less than a week, thereby returning to the studious world years till then spent in misery and confinement, and henceforth to be consecrated to healthy exercises and endearing acquirements, would not render a greater ser- vice to mankind than the discovery of a new world ! if the nation propagating such a writing would not soon become the greatest in physical and intellectual power? if the various people adopting the same universal standard of commu- nication would not ultimately become, from that single fact, more strongly united in peace and harmony, than all the powers of diplomacy could ever have made them? Such has been the goal aimed at by the au- thor, who having been exalted a few moments in amazement at its splendour and magnitude, sinks now in humility at the simplicity of the means, although on this hospitable shore, his adopted home, he would fain have said with the poet, " Exi'ffi ^nonuinentum.'" INTRODUCTION. Phonography is the art of writing the sounds both of speech and of music. It will appear strange, at first sight, to find coupled under one title two sciences, which are at present most distant from each other; thanks to our modern unmusical tongues. But, never- theless, music is still the natural language of all animals inhaling the vibrating element; and man himself, however civilized, whenever overpowered with an emotion of gladness or sorrow, suddenly renounces the monotonous conventional sounds of speech for the self-taught soul-expressing ones of music. Thus the interjections ^ common and spon- taneous voices of all nations, are pure musical sounds : among them we may class also the laugh common to the noble horse, and even to his unassuming substitute, the donkey; the scream common to the whole respirating tribe; and lastly the sigli, a pure musical repose, or wistful rest between the past and the future. 10 INTRODUCTION. Speaking and singing are both the two natural operations of the same organ, as walking and dancing or running are the two natural motions of the same body, often intermixed or confounded by the child or the savage, but divided into dis- tinct sciences by the grown-up man and the civilized nation. But, although we have united the two first under the same head of Phonography, we have treated each separately in the work, which is divided into two distinct books ; viz. Logography and MusicoGRAPHY. The first book relative to the writing of speech contains, in the first part, all that may refer to the history of that ancient art ; and in the second part, presents the reader with a series of phonetic characters based upon a system entirely new, and which may be termed a universal alphabet. It is not to be supposed, however, that all pos- sible sounds of the human voice have here their distinct characters ascribed to them ; this would be confusion indeed. What we mean by a uni- versal alphabet is, a series of letters sufficient to write the spoken languages of civilized Europe accurately^ and the others approximately^ as \\ hereafter explained. The sounds of speech are naturally divided into three classes ; firstly the aspirated, secondly the INTRODUCTION. 11 intonated, thirdly the articulated ; or, to use the common appellation, the aspiration, the vowels, and the consonants. The first sounds abound in the languages of people in the primitive state. Sonorous, full, and musical, yet harsh, guttural, and wild, a strongly aspirated language characterizes a people energe- tic yet voluptuous, whose life is spent now in dan- gerous sports or sanguinary wars, now in songs, poetical recitations, and idle talk : such is the language of the wandering tribes of the East, the Arabs, Persians, Indians, Africans, &c., and amongst us the Gipsies. We may observe, en jmssant, that the Spaniards, who have retained much of the manners of the Moors, have also pre- served in their language a few of their aspirations. The second sounds, more numerous in the western languages, characterize by their mellow and voluptuous harmonies the speech of a people highly polished and refined, fond of music and all the fine arts, but wanting in firmness and perse- verance. It is the language of artists, poets, musicians, painters, lovers, and above all, of a people of pleasure and dolce Jar niente, (sweet laziness.) Such is the Italian, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and in some measure the French. The third sounds predominate in the language of the North, and characterize by their firmness 12 INTRODUCTION. and energy the speech of a nation essentially active and industrious. A language braced by nervous contracted articulations, impresses us with the idea of the cold climates of the North and its indefatigable inhabitants. It contracts the lips as the cold bleak wind ; it presses, rattles, and rushes between the teeth with the incessant energy of steam, with as little music as it possibly can have between its overpowering consonants; it is, above all, the language of business,— Active, energetic, and dreary. Such is the English, the Dutch, the German. From this general classification it is obvious, 1 that the consonants, the nerve of speech, charac- 5 terizing the voice of people in the matured stage of industry and civilization, are the most impor- tant part of the writing ; that the luxuriant youth- ful vowels are next in rank ; and that the aspira- tions, wild and infantine sounds, require less atten- tion than any of the two first. Consequently we have represented the first completely ; the second accurately, as far as regards the European lan- guages only ; and the third slightly, but sufficiently for a sound that is gradually disappearing from all the languages of civilization. This part is terminated with a few abbreviating rules, making of the new characters the shortest hand yet devised. In an age when every one has INTRODUCTION. 13 to make the most of his time, and to exert his in- dividual faculties as it were at high pressure, such a commodity cannot fail being duly appreciated. The second book is relative to the writing of music, and contains a new written gamut based upon the principle of music itself, and of which the advantages are explained, with reference to melody^ harmony^ thorough-bass, and composi- tion. Four long words which have no pleasant sound to the ear of young beginners, most artfully made to shudder at their very names ; but which, nevertheless, mean nought else than the four parts as necessary to music as the four limbs to a horse, and which cannot have been dispensed with in elementary books for any other end than that of rendering the w^orks confused, the science mysterious, and the study lengthy. It will be acknowledged, that if this writing were generally adopted, the science of music would lose much of its difficulties, and the music- master much of his importance, and therefore it is not to be expected that the latter will patronise the present work. But we shall address ourselves to the composer, and to the amateur, who will find incalculable advantages in our system. The first in writing his inspirations with almost the rapidity of thought ; the second in copying for his own use, even in his pocket-book if he please, his favourite songs, or those he may happen to hear. 14 INTRODUCTION. The military bands might also deem it conve- nient to have in a legible character, and in a book a fifth of the usual size, the music which . they carry, with no small annoyance, perched upon their instruments. Another unquestionable advantage is, that the new characters could be cast and used as the letters of the press, which process would afford an uncommon correctness of type, added to a consi- derable reduction in price ; and although the music-copyist might be injured by this music- , printing, as the scribes of old were by the intro- / duction of book-printing, yet the community I at large would be benefited by it in a similar proportion. PHONOGRAPHY. BOOK I. [L@(g(0){g[^^[H)[^'y^ LOGOGRAPHY. PART FIRST. Progressive Formation and Degeneration of tJie written Languages. CHAPTER L ON SPEECH. NATUIIAL FORMATION OF LANGUAGE. I WILL not presume to put in question any of the opinions which have been consecrated by the wisdom of ages or the sanctity of Scripture. Language is indeed of a divine origin, and the first one spoken on earth was doubtless the most splendid gift of God to man. What might have been that language, the genius of a Newton could hardly conceive, or the imagination of a Shaks- peare describe ; for, as much as the mind is above the body, so much were the beauties of that lan- o-uage, which comprised in itself all the human sciences, through which every animal was desig- nated according to its nature and pro])ensitieSj c 18 ON SPEECH. every tree, every plant, according to their consti- tuent parts and multifarious qualities ; and far- thermore, in which every thought was expressed logically and philosophically, without even the possibility of ambiguity or doubt ; so much, I say, were the beauties of that language above those of the external objects destined to gladden the senses of the happy couple. It was the language of God himself, through which the Almighty had commanded the elements and created the world, and which he had breathed into the soul of man, that the creature of his love might understand him in his works, and converse with him face to face. The loss of that language was doubtless the severest punishment of our disgraced father. Looking down from that height to the various languages that have come to our knowledge, we may easily perceive that they are all of a most terrestrial origin ; and we have full reason to be- lieve that it was the same in the remotest ages, though some seven centuries before our era many different nations pretended to possess the original tongue spoken in Eden. Psammiticus, who was the first to open Egypt ,' to foreigners, thought of deciding the question t^ by an experiment truly inhuman in itself, and \ yet most ridiculous. He had a few young babies ON SPEECH. 19 brought up without hearing the sound of any hu- man being ; nor even did they receive their first food at their mothers' breasts, being suckled as young kids by goats. The experimentative mo- narch feeling satisfied that the natural spontaneous language of the little family would be the iden- tical primitive language of mankind. With such absurd notions it is not to be wondered at that the question was decided in favour of the ancient Phrygian, because the first, the almost only sounds these unhappy creatures spoke, were hako or baako, which signifies bread in that language, and which they repeated most noisily whenever they were hungry. Inhere was a proof, an irreversible proof ! Yes, truly, they had spoken their another tongue, I mean the tongue of mother goat, who had taught them to bray, and v/ho understood their shrill baka ' better than all the Phrygian classics, running up jto them in a hurry to give them not bread, but milk, their cherished food ; and a kind nurse she was that dumb creature, much more attentive than many of the speaking ones who hire themselves to relieve of their holy duty unnatural mothers. The experiment, however, shall not be entirely useless, and will serve to explain to us precisely the formation of all languages. Man, endowed with tlie greatest taU^nts for c -1 20 ON SPEECH. imitation, first describes by imitative sounds the voices of the various animals that attract his no- tice ; thus, the young babe will point at the hah- lamb^ the bow-how^ the moo-cow, &c. &c. At best we are but children, and the language of every nation in its infancy or uncivilized state is almost purely imitative ; hence in all countries, however advanced in civilization, you will still find in the language of the inhabitants onoma- topoeias, or words most admirably constructed to imitate the voices of their wild beasts, the notes of their sino-incr birds. We have no sound in our European tongues that could express the grating howl of the tiger, or the deep and sono- rous roaring of the lion, both so forcibly depicted by the guttural aspirations of the Arabic tongues ; but our European languages, altogether confined between the tongue and the lips, are admirably adapted to imitate the snapping barking of our dogs, the mewing of our cats, and the whistling, thrilling notes of our birds. A German poet has expressed, in the most charmingly imitative verses, the songs of the nightingale, so numerous in the ancient forests of that country ; and a French author has trans- cribed the conversation of a rookery with a sur- prising degree of imitative harmony, (or more pro])erly cacophon//). Perhaps the fi)ur French ON SPEECH. 21 nasal sounds, so difficult to be acquired by foreign- ers, could be traced to some peculiar grunting animal, primitive inhabitants of their formerly woody and impenetrable country. Thus, in the first instance, the same animals have taught the same syllables to nations far dis- tant, and in no wavs connected too:ether. Secondly, all vowels, spontaneous emissions of the voice, are naturally adapted to express all spontaneous feelings, and thus we see all inter- jections expressed in the same sounds in all lan- guages, ancient and modern; they need no trans- lation, and are almost as intelligible as pantomi- mic signs. The English, French, German, Spa- nish, Italian, Dutch, &c., have all ali ! ahi ! oh ! the Hebrew ha ! he ! hen ! Greek a'i ! ia ! iu ! Latin ah ! eheu ! Arabs ahh ! ahhi ! Persians ei! Illyrians ah ! ahah ! Thirdly, by a universal impulse the most easy syllables, and consequently the first ones uttered by infancy, have been in all nations applied to designate the first objects dear to the little being. Thus papn, 7na7nma, are almost the spontaneous expressions to designate 22 ON SPEECH. parents. Hence the Tuscans have hahho. the Persians hah. Turks haba. Moguls hoah. Arabs hu. Hebrews and ^ , Chaldeans S '"* Syrians aha. Hence the Greeks have mamma, mamme, mam- mia, and mammea. the Latins mamma. Epyrotes mame. Gauls and Celts mam. Peruvians mama. Siamese mem. Fourthly, the various parts of the organ of speech are naturally denominated by the conso- nant they are best adapted to pronounce ; hence, the lip of the English, levre of the French, lahia of the Latins ; hence the teeth of the first, dents of the second, odous, odontos of the ancient Greek, dondi of the modern ones, dandan of the Persian, dis of the Turks, ta7id of the Dutch, toth of the ancient Saxons, &c. &c. Fifthly and lastly, certain sounds have been ascribed to certain ideas, to which they had a ON SPEECH. 23 figurative similitude, for every sound has its pecu- liar innate harmonies, rendering it more or less congenial to some peculiar ideas. Thus the hard hissing consonants will express naturally every thing hard, stiff, compressed ; the nasal ones, re- sounding inv^^ardly, will give an idea of any thing secluded, intimate, or monotonous, — the inward mind, the peaceable home. The thrilling, vibrat- ing /■, will naturally adapt itself to all round, rol- ling, radiating, restless objects ; whilst the liquid / will depict any thing soft and limpid, — the liquid light, the juelting, lulling love. Thus the syllable st, acquiring from the diffi- culty of its utterance a certain degree of precisc- ness and firmness, has been adapted in most languages to express the idea of stability, as in the word to stand : in Latin stare. Greek istane. Sclavon stati. Saxon , standan. Hebrew tiitsob. Persian istaden. Dutch staen. Spanish estai\ French restcr. Italian stare. English stand. 24 ON SPEECH. The words to stir and to rest come from the same component principles, transposed in their order with relation to their meanings. For being admitted that st expresses fixity and r motion, when the change is from repose to action, the word will be to stir, to start ; but when the change i&, on the contrary, from action to repose, the word will be to arrest, to rest.'^ This natural and spontaneous formation of speech, as shown by the great similitude of sounds in all languages, has been held as a proof of the common orio;in of these in a universal mother tongue; our learned doctors, absorbed in their pro- found researches on etymology, and determined on proving their interpretation of the Scriptures, never giving it a thought that the conclusion to be drawn from their premises would be, that the Almighty had found insurmountable difficulties in his attempt to divide the proud masons of Ba- bel by languages that he intended to be totally different from each other. For my part, I think that the true explanation of this passage may be easily found in the very confusion brought on earth by those learned inter- preters of Holy Writ. They wished to raise * See " De la Formation mechanique des Langues, par President de Brosses. Paris, an ix ; " and " Intorno a' prin- cii)ii deir arte Etymologica," by Pasquale Borrelli. Pia- fenza, 1834. ON SPEECH. 25 themselves to the foot of Jehovah's throne; they boasted, each in his individual creed, of having erected the everlasting monument of human wis- dom, and they only succeeded in dividing and dispersing the human family into a multiplicity of canting sects, more hostile to each other than the various species of carnivorous animals. In order to avoid the accusation of substitutinij theoretical fancies for inscrutable scriptural re- velations, I will mention the immortal Leibnitz, who emitted a similar opinion to mine with re- spect to the origin of language ; and I may quote even a Father of the church of great renown, Gregory of Nysse, who says, that " God made the things, not the names ; and that to man he gave, by a special favour, the power of designat- ing, by true and expressive names, the things created by him." With regard to the confusion of Babel, he says again, " The confusion of lan- guages ought necessarily to be attributed to the will of God in the theological sense, although in the historical sense it is the work of man."* * The same idea is again emitted in the following lines : " Volens Deus homines diversis uti Unguis, naturam dimisit, lit pergeret pro arbitrio apud linguas [sonum articulare ad explanationem nominum." — Centra Eimomiuin, Orat. xii. page 182, 1. 11. Edition 1638. CHAPTER II. ON WRITING. NATURAL AND SUCCESSIVE FORMATION OP THE VARIOUS CHA- RACTERS, FROM THE PICTORIAL FIGURES AND HIEROGLY- PHICS, TO THE PHONETIC SIGNS AND ALPHABETIC LETTERS. We have seen, in the preceding chapter, that the speech of every people in its infancy is an imitative description of the surrounding objects, intermixed with the natural interjections or ex- pressions of pain and pleasure, surprise and cu- riosity, love and aversion. Add to these a few pantomimic signs, and you will have the complete language of all uncivilized nations, such as at the present day is used by some of the natives of America, as well as by the savage tribes of Middle Africa, amongst which the courageous advocate of the Gospel contrives in a short time to be understood without an interpreter. Co-existing with that instinctively spoken lan- guage, we find also generally a conventional written one, or acknowledged way of recording numbers, dates, past events, &c. With the wish to relate, came the desire to retain ; from the pleasure of ON WRITING. 27 conversing with a present friend, arose the anxiety of communicating with a distant one. First, huge images were carved in clay or wood ; afterwards the same were reduced to their simple outlines, traced on the thin bark of trees, and subsequently painted. Thus we have arrived at last, after a considerable circuit, at the hieroglyphics of Egypt; thus the first attempts made by our young children to fix on paper their early conceptions, are the self-taught principle of that divine art. In America this pictorial writing was in use at the time of its discovery, and the king of Mexico i was apprized of the landing of the invaders by paintings sent from the coasts by the first tribes who had encountered them, describing their ves- sels, numbers, arms, and mode of warfare. Some of these pictures are still to be seen at the royal palace of Madrid. Had the hieroglyphics of Egypt always remain- ed pictorial, they might be still, in a great mea- sure, understood ; but the picture of the real object was soon abandoned for its allegory, a change which allowed a greater number of ideas to be expressed, and which also made writing a science. Our antiquaries have laboured much in order to understand the strange figures traced on the an- cient monuments of Egypt. A French traveller 28 ON WRITING. of some repute, Champollion Figeac, has even pub- lished a sort of key to these symbolic representa- tions ; but in reality his discoveries go no farther than the deciphering of a few proper names, which are written in a different system to the rest of the inscriptions. The characters in these instances being used, not as symbolic representations, but as mere phonetic letters, and consequently repre- senting not ideas, but sounds. The priests of Egypt, in order not to deface their classical mo- numents by writing the proper names in the vul- gar characters, which would have exposed them to be partly understood by the profane public, had recourse to those means in order to express phonetically all names, which however they took care to enclose in an oval line, pointing thereby to the adept that they were to be read, not inter- preted as the pure hieroglyphics. These names, thanks to the persevering French- man, we may now read ; but the remaining parts of the antique inscriptions are still as unintelligible to us as they ever were. In every art or science, the principal object of man is to simplify his means, to lessen his trou- ble ; thus, the process of speech, gradually im- proving with the progress of civilization, became more and more easy and expeditious ; the harsh imitative sounds were shortened into softer ac- ON WRITING. 29 cents, and a conventional language replaced the natural one. The same process ^^as also fol- 'jlowed in the writing which, abandoning gradually jail descriptive images and allegorical figures, I became also almost entirely conventional. Speech had been made so copious as to express, in addition to the voices of animals and the sud- den emotion of the heart, all ideas previously explained by a pantomimic language ; and it became obvious that a figurative representation of that speech would convey the various concep- tions of the mind with much greater facility than the painted objects, or the far-fetched symbolic images of the metaphysical conceptions. It was certainly a most glorious eff'ort of human srenius to have substituted for the series of irre- gular images and arbitrary symbols, a regular, unalterable standard writing ; simple, uniform, concise, and universal. Such was the syllabic character, the third stage of writing, in which every word was represented phonetically by a distinct character. This is still the writing of the Chinese. Their historians will tell you whi(;h of their kings in- vente<l Astronomy and its syllabic signs; which, Botany ; which. Chemistry, and their numerous characters. But though no new words or science have been introduced for some thousands of years, 30 ON WRITING. yet it requires nearly a whole life to acquire a perfect mastership over its complicated writing, and but few Europeans have been able, after many years' study, to acquire a tolerable know- ledg'e of its characters relative to commerce and the necessaries of life. It is obvious, that with this writing every new word requires a new syllabic sign, and that, by the natural progress of science, the increase of words in every branch of learning would soon render writing far too complicated for the memory of man to retain. It must have been a most awful crisis when the philosophers, the friends to knowledge and wis- dom, discovered that there was no room for new discoveries or improvements ; and that they must either stop all progress in every branch of science, or discard their books, become an encum- brance, since there was no longer a sufficient space under the human skull for both. Of all the nations on earth, the Chinese was the only one that mistrusted Providence, and stopped short all farther progress, enacting the severest laws against any innovation whatever. They would not allow the destruction of their Ibooks ; they wished to retain what God had con- ixlcmned ; reluctant to venture on new disco- veries, they dropped anchor, and drifting round. ON WRITING. 31 turned their faces to the past ; but behokl, as fthe wife of Lot, they were petrified. They [exist, it is true, but theirs is the existence of the Egyptian mummies. On this condition only they were allowed to make a stand in the univer- sal progress of mankind, doomed to remain as a warning to any people who should be tempted to resist civilization. The other nations follow^ed the divine impulse, and were soon rewarded in their faith ; they re- ceived the Alphabet. A man was found who, analyzing every sound of speech as a skilful builder does the various compartments of an organ, dissected the various articulations of the voice, and on a sudden pro- duced the key-board to that splendid instrument to the gaze of the astonished world, viz. the Alpha- bet, so simple in its structure that a child might learn its gamut in a few days, yet so complete in its perfection, that there was no combination of the human notes which the fing-er could not follow with scrupulous exactness. Thus, in the same manner as the simple pic- ture-writing had led to the scientific hieroglyphics, so the syllabic or simple phonetic writing was the first step towards the alphabet, or analytic scale of the principles of speech, both of these being phonetic characters or representations of sounds. 32 ON WRITING. whilst the two former had been pictorial figures or representations of objects, either in their natu- ral form or in their allegorical attribution, either physical or metaphysical. The alphabetic character is the fourth and last stage of writing ; the mind can go no farther, and it is even highly probable that some of the first cha- racters invented still exist amongst ours, though our modern grammars can give but a very imper- fect idea of that first alphabet, which, represent- ing in its various figures all the multifarious sounds of speech, and having a distinct letter for every distinct sound, reduced orthography to the simple rules of pronunciation. Happy the chil- dren of that golden age ! They did not know the miseries of the spelling-book. CHAPTER III. ON ALPHABETS. EXAMINATION OF THE ALPHABETS OF THE ANCIENT AND MO- DERN LANGUAGES, PASSING FROM PRIMITIVE PERFECTION TO EXTREME CONFUSION, AS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. The invention of the alphabet, like many other masterly creations, has been ascribed to various individuals, and the names of Seth, Memnon, Prometheus, Mercury, seem to have an equal claim to the gratitude of mankind for this asto- nishing composition. Far be it from me the desire of lessening the merits due to the inventor ; but although I assent to the opinion of the learned, that the alphabet is the most important creation of the human mind, I still will maintain that this invention was the na- tural result of leading circumstances which must inevitably have brought it to light. For no useful discovery has ever been made public, without its importance, its necessity, having been felt pre- viously, if I may say so, in private; and its out- D 34 ON ALPHABETS. lines, its characteristic features, having been drawn by the thoughtful philosopher. Thus the man of genius, who, feeling in the highest degree the wants of his age, collects the dis- seminated glittering sparks, and enlightens the world with a resplendent pile that projects, from his frail form, a gigantic shadow over the remotest posterity, is certainly the first, with regard to prac- tical talent, or usefulness, the scale in which the world weighs men,; but he is nevertheless the lojst, with regard to contemplative merit and theoretical science. The world may reward the aspiring inventor, for whom fortune has prepared the times ; but the reflective man will feel that, the greater the invention, the more unbounded ought his admira- tion to be for those his predecessors, who, with a spirit above the frailties of man, disregarding even fame, kept within themselves and for a few adepts, the great thought which the world, unpre- pared, could not yet hear. How different those fame-hunters who, anxious of being the first to tell the good news, desert the field, to bring to the city incomplete truths, more dangerous than untruths ! How often the hopes of a whole generation have been blighted by the untimely disclosure of a blundering cox- comb talking about liberty, enfranchisement of ON ALPHABETS. 35 the people, civilization ; without even suspecting the existence of a moral atmosphere, out of which neither liberty nor civilization can thrive !* But to return to our subject. The alphabet, whoever might have been its inventor, created, without doubt, an immense revolution in the sci- entific world. It must not be left unnoticed, how- ever, that this new writing, which offered so easy a means of communication to the intellect, effec- tually separated the learned men into as many communities as there were languages spoken. The hieroglyphic language, composed of real images or poetical allegories, addressed itself universally to the mind and could be understood and written by all learned men, as mathematics are in our days, independently of the tongue in which these characters might be spoken. But the alphabetical language, being a mere written sound, was confined to the speech and varied * I hope I shall not be suspected of alluding to any of our modern politicians. It is too well known that such as might feel themselves offended are no fame-hunters, and that, if they disturb nations in their very vitals by feeding them with the green fruits torn from the tree of knowledge, or if after- wards, maddened at their deeds, they suddenly blaspheme their own soul, trampling under their feet the young kernel which is taking root in the disturbed soil ; if they do those things, they well know what name will be given to the bar- gains they have made. D 2 36 ON ALPHABETS. accordingly, thereby keeping each little academy secret and alone in its own sphere. Thus the people who, united, had raised the pyramids, portentous works now above our con- ception, were disseminated into numberless na- tions by the new characters which rendered their various languages unintelligible to each other, — a confusion, ordained by Providence, that men should seek separately knowledge and trutli, which when found would unite them for ever into one faith, one lip, one word, one language. Of this more anon. The same principle, no doubt, which had pre- sided over the symbolic or hieroglyphic writing, prevailed also in the tracing of the various alpha- betical signs, intended to convey, by their forms, ideas of their sounds, as we may easily perceive by the inspection of the various characters of our modern alphabets, in which still are to be traced some of the original conceptions of the inventor. For instance : B, profiling the mouth closed, as in a well-pro- portioned face, the underlip a little thicker than the other, represents in its curves the exact out- line of the organ on the point of uttering that labial consonant. P is a harder utterance of the same sound, and ON ALPHABETS. 37 requires a closer contact of the lips to resist the pressure of the breath ; in this the under lip con- tracts inwardly, as represented in the figure. F is the hissing consonant of the same kind, the labials ; and is figured by the same character, modified in accordance with the modifications of the lips; viz. the under one being compressed in- wardly as in P, whilst the upper one, propped up in a horizontal line, discloses the upper teeth, under which the breath forces itself in a hissing stream. fj pronounced by a quick vibration of the tip of the tongue, is represented in the letter by a little appendage suspended loosely at the end of a slight vibrating spring. Other letters have represented animals, whose natural voices are imitated in the spoken sound, as in S, (particularly the Greek letter,) which is the exact representation of a serpent hissing, and ready to dart upon its hearer. Ao;ain, some sounds were called to the mind in an indirect yet equally forcible manner : for in- stance, the sound of th^ for the utterance of which the tongue is brought between the teeth, as for the action of sucking, was represented in the Greek by the first object that attracts the baby's atten- tion, and at the sight of which it brings between its teeth its little curling tongue ; viz. the teat, or tJieta, as represented in the ancient manuscript ; Mseos 38 ON ALPHABETS. not oblong, but perfectly round, with a small knob in the middle. Since I have mentioned the Greek alphabet, 1 will remark the great analogy that exists between the -v/^ (ps) and the sound of an arrow darting from the bow, as represented in the letter itself. This last consonant is one of four which were added to the Greek alphabet during the siege of Troy, and which Palamedes is said to have learned from the cranes in their migrations; a supposition which implies that the four sounds belonged to the language of the feathered tribe, instead of to that of man. Certainly, Palamedes had time to invent many things during those ten years ; but I think, never- theless, that in this, as well as in the invention of chess, also attributed to him, people have given him credit for more than he deserved ; and that he merely borrowed the four letters from the alphabet of some of the besieging nations, apply- ing them to some sounds already existing in the Greek language, for which there were not before any correct representatives. Without carrying this examination farther, it is easy to perceive that the first alphabet was a pic- turesque representation of the sounds of speech, systematically arranged in a complete phonetic scale, corresponding to the various modifications of the voice. ON ALPHABETS. 39 I have delayed mentioning the vowels, because in primitive languages they were never written ; as, for instance, in the Hebrew and Arabic, in which, even to the present date, they are but faint- ly indicated by means of small ornamental signs which do not belong to the writing, and which, had they been traced, however imperfectly, when these languages were the living speech^ would have constituted a capital offence, a sacrilege ; — for the vowels, pure inarticulate emanations of the breath, constituting the first spontaneous acclamations of the human soul, have always been ascribed to God ; Jehovah, that revered name, which the Jews were forbidden even to pronounce, far more to WTite. At a later period, when other nations ventured to write those holy sounds, they consecrated to them the three mystic characters, principles of all sciences, and considered as the attributes of divinity ; viz. the straight line, the circle, and the triangle, I O A . Even the whole of the English vowelic sounds might be encompassed within those three sio-ns. In our modern alphabets we write five of our il vocalizations ; why five only, when we have three ' times as many simple inarticulate sounds? Why ? Because we have copied those five letters servile- j i ly from the Romans who knew no better, having copied them in the same manner themselves from 40 ON ALPHABETS. other people unknown to us ; and thus the five mystic sounds have been transmitted through ages in their primitive purity. It is a fact, that those five letters, so defective in our modern alphabets, when written in their natural order, viz. that of their natural progression, from the smallest to the fullest aperture of the organ, present to our sight the same forbidden name which, after tra- versing the Pagan ages under the faint imitations of Zeus among the Greeks, and Jove among the Romans, is presented to the Christian world in the five characters which are the fundamental, the vital part of their language : i e o u a^ (p^'o- nounce ee a ho oo ah^ as all Christian nations except the English and French do pronounce them,) and with the two aspirations iehouah, JEHOVAH, the living speech.* The introduction of characters to represent vowels is always a proof of a degenerated writing. The Romans took their alphabet partly from the Greeks, partly from other people unknown to us ; I dare say without much knowledge of the sounds expressed by the signs they were bor- rowing. The moderns, viz. the English, French, Ger- mans, Spaniards, Italians, &c. &c., formed their alphabets with Greek and Roman letters, without * I need not state that the j and v arc corrupt pronun- ciations of i and n. See page 44. ON ALPHABETS. 41 I knowing even as much as the sounds of those / letters, without regard to the sounds of their own languages ; in short, without any knowledge, sense, - or judgment whatever. Let us take, for example, the first alphabet that comes under our eyes: the English one. A, the first letter, has alone three various simple sounds, as diff'erent from each other as any other three in the whole scale. In diphthongs, a enters in the representation of all the various sounds as- cribed to vowels ; so that when we consider the variety of sounds written with this letter, we see no more reason to call it a than any other name. This may be said of each one and all of the five vowels. There are about thirty ways of writing in English the four sounds attributed to a ; ten or twelve for each of the three sounds of e ; as many for those of o, and not less for those of u. For instance, we write the sound of e, in Jier, equally with every one of the five vowels, as in altar, alter, stir, actor, arthur, pronounced, accord- ing to Walker, altur, altur, stur, actur, arthur ; then the same sound again with two or three letters combined, as in famous, fashion, pTecious, pro- nouncedyamz/5, fashun, preshus. By supplement to these five signs comes the w, which, " when a consona7it, has the sound of oo," as says most facetiously our friend Murray ; and 42 ON ALPHABETS. the y^ another quaint character, described also as a consonant with the sound of a vowel ; viz. a speaking-mute, and destined to represent what has already one or two representative signs. If we turn from the vowels to the consonants, we find still greater confusion and absurdity, if possible. There, each character has three or four sounds, and sometimes a fifth one borrowed from the French, besides the privilege of remaining mute at times : these need no example. Let a foreigner read attentively the twenty-two pages consecrated by Murray to the pronunciation of the letters ; let him study those twenty-two pages for a twelvemonth, and if he can make sense of them, — but what am I saying ? The poor fellow , would lose his brains long^ before a twelvemonth \ had elapsed. Just notice the A, that letter so dear to the classics and etymologists, and so profusely deco- rating all scientific words derived from the Greek. There is a slight remark to begin with, viz. Ijthat h is not a Greek consonant, and that conse- Ijjquently its introduction in Greek words is a true ! * barbarism. The character certainly has been copied from the Greek alphabet, but there, it is the representative of a vowel, e long. Of that vowel we make a consonant, or a something inde- scribable ; and as we arc told it comes from the ON ALPHABETS. 43 Greek, we show our learning by forcing it into I almost every word derived from that language, . by which process these same words would be ' completely unintelligible to the good people of Greece : all out of respect for the classics, and for the sake of scientific etymology ! However, for that etymological writing we are indebted to the Romans, who showed by it that they had certainly seen a Greek alphabet; and also, that they had certainly not been able to read it. In the English language it is quite bewildering to follow that letter through all its sudden trans- formations, as in the words thought, through, trough, hughes, &c. &c. Now we see it intro- duced by way of accent, and called aspirated h ; then it appears by way of ornament, and is called mute h, and that is right at last ; a fool who does not know his own mind had better remain silent. Really, the manner in which we apply most of our letters, shows about as much judgment as was exhibited by the New Zealanders, related by Cook ; who, having stolen sundry wearing apparel of which they did not know the proper use, placed it about their persons in the most ludicrous con- fusion, trying every possible way but the right. We cannot conclude this chapter without men- tioning two letters, so modern in their sounds If 44 ON ALPHABETS. that our lexicographers have not yet ventured to give them a place to themselves, but continue still to keep them lodged with their relatives, to the great annoyance of the young student forced to have recourse to the dictionary ; I mean the j and the y, two hissing consonants squeezed out of the two soft vowels z', u^ (pronounced ee, oo, every where but in England, as we have said previously,) and which alone might characterize the modern European tongues. The operations of speech, as we have explained before, are of two natures ; viz. the intonations, or pure musical sounds, called vowels ; and the articulations, or pure mechanical ones, called consonants. The people of the rich countries whence civi- lization arose, inhaling freely the embalmed air of their oases, breathing happily their luxuriant lives, singing harmoniously their acclamations of thanks to the Almighty, composed their languages of almost all musical sounds ; hence the numerous vowels of the Greek, and their harmonious pe- riods ; hence the full tone of the Latin, and its rich and lively accent. Not so with the modern languages. The nations of the North, of a later civiliza- tion, restless and harassed in their minds, with their mouths closed against their cold atmos- ON ALPHABETS. 45 phere, force their words between their compressed teeth in a strain of sounds descriptive of their hard climate ; their language, stifled with conso- nants, now breaks and rolls as the torrents from their rocky mountains; now oozes and whistles as the wind, sharp and keen, along their dry coasts, or between the rustling frozen leaves of their lofty forests. What have we done with the beau- tiful vowels of the Greeks ? Some we have neg- lected as useless ; others we have transformed into hard aspirations or hissing consonants. What have we done with the variegated consonants of the Latins ? We have confounded nearly the whole of them into sharp hissing sounds. The sound of sh can be written in five different modes ; with sh, s, t, ch, and c, as in show, pension, action, chaise, and ancient. The sound of y is written in three ways, as inya^, philoso- phy, enough. That ofj with four different let- ters, g, j, s, and z, as in gem, Joseph, measure, azure. Now the Romans, who furnished us with that character, j, had no such sound ascribed to it, no more than they had the sound of v, given by us to that letter ; but these two vowels, i, u, (pronounced ee, oo, as we have said before,) being the two weakest of the five, viz. the two that require the smallest aperture of the organ of speech, were soon squeezed, in our half-frozen 46 ON ALPHABETS. mouths, into two hissing consonants, as the warm breath is transformed into icicles against a frozen pane of glass. The Latin word for victory is not r victorisLy but wictoria. ; and there might be some ' erudition in the affectation of some people to pro- nounce the V in that manner ; provided they did not make vs of double us. The English, by a sort of compensation, have given to the two original vowels, in many in- stances, a double sound ; pronouncing the first ah, ee, the second e, oo ; these diphthongal sounds are called the long sounds of these letters: a definition worthy of the absurd pronunciation pecuhar to the English language. I will not carry this examination any farther. I hope by this time to have given a sufficient idea of the absurdities of the modern alphabets, each in its own language. If we learn the French, or I any other language using the same letters, new difficulties will arise ; so that the common alpha- bet, which should be the common key to all Euro- pean languages, is, on the contrary, an impedi- ment to a common understanding ; and the various nations, instead of being brought nearer by the quantity of words borrowed from each other's dialects, are farther set apart by the alphabet, the {Babel of our modern times. To guide us in these labyrinths, we have the f I ON ALPHABETS. 47 t spelling-book, a fascinating little composition, with which we open the understanding of our chil- I dren. It is a fact, lamentable enough yet but too true, that every elementary book seems to be 1 calculated to try the beginners by every possible 1 means, in order, it appears, that only those en- dowed with the greatest share of energy and per- ■ severance should remain to partake of the fruit of knowledge ; as the ancient Egyptians used to | try, by various mysteries, the courage of those wishing to enter their sanctuaries, (which were their libraries also) ; or as the Russians initiate their young infants to the miseries and hardships of life, by taking them out of a hot bath to roll in the snow : a trial which proves fatal to a great number. Thus, our poor children are doomed to sicken for years over the spelling-book, the rich- est collection of absurdities and contradictions that could be contrived, as an initiation to what they are to meet with in society. How many little understandings are shaken, scattered, in that long trial ! Who can tell ? Perhaps our mad-houses (also a modern commo- dity) might help us in our statistic researches. Indeed, however paradoxical it may appear, I will venture to say, that with no other guide than the spelling-book I could ascertain the general ave- rage of insane people in any community. Thus, 48 ON ALPHABETS. in Spain and Italy, where all letters are pro- nounced in almost an invariable manner, there are but few mad people ; in France we find a greater , number, owing to the great quantity of mute letters ; and in England, where the spelling-book is the most complicated, there are more insane ,' people than in any other part of the civilized world. Be it as it may, what no one can deny is the positive and real miseries brought to the world by the spelling-book ; the hardships, the suffer- ings it inflicts upon our poor innocent, sensible i children, whose little brains are bewildered by that glittering accumulation of letters, whose , health is impoverished by their attention (w^hich, ' I' good creatures, they lend so readily to any thing useful) being forced upon things beyond the ! comprehension of a Leibnitz or a Newton, and whose distorted features too often bear, to the last of their days, the stamp of amazement, dulness, and misery. LOGOGRAPHY. PART SECOND. Regeneration of Writing, or Logography based on its simple and universal Principles. CHAPTER I. ON ORTHOGRAPHY. IMPOSSIBILITY OF HAVING AN ACCURATE WRITING BY MEANS OF THE ROMAN LETTERS. NECESSITY OF ADOPTING A NEW SERIES OF PHONETIC CFIARACTERS. We have seen, in the first part of this work, how the writing of speech has been gradually formed, and how it has gradually degenerated. Numerous attempts have been made amongst the various nations using the Roman alphabet, in order to improve that art, by successive alterations in the orthography of their various languages, which have only contributed to render the science more and more confused and arbitrary, notwithstanding all the talent and wit of the {ratlier short-sighted) reformers : witness the Voltairian orthography of the French. In language, not protected as the one here mentioned by an Academie Royale, E 50 ON ORTHOGRAPHY. the confusion has increased with greater rapidity ; till at last, as a finishing stroke, some writing- masters, and such like literati, have seriously pro- posed a radical reformation of the whole ortho- graphy at once, by adopting such spelling as should be deemed the nearest to the pronuncia- tion, without regard to any other consideration or grammatical rule ! It wanted little penetration to have foreseen, that the first deviation from the strictest etymo- logical spelling was invariably leading to this conclusion. If the beginning had been good, good also would be the end, the only test in all tilings. Let us, then, examine this final propo- sition of the doctors in calligraphy, with respect to the English and the French languages. In the first instance, we have an alphabet of five vowels and twenty consonants, to express a language consisting of nine intonations and twenty articulations, perfectly distinct, as will be hereafter explained. With regard to the conso- nants, they certainly appear at first sight to be in equal number with the sounds they have to express ; but in reality, as three of these signs are superfluous, (viz. c, </, and x, which represent sounds already expressed by ^, A:, and ks or gz^) their number is eff'ectually reduced to seventeen, leaving three articulated sounds without any ON ORTHOGRAPHY. 51 representative sign ; and with respect to the vowels, they are not even equal in number to one-half of the intonated sounds they have to represent : for i being rejected as the superfluous expression of ae or e, five of the nine sounds are left without proper signs, making, with the three articulations above mentioned, a total of eight sounds of speech deprived of figurative signs. How, in the name of common sense, can these be distinctly expressed otherwise than by eight new distinct letters f However, such an innovation could never enter the head of our judicious re- formers, whose w^hole labour is seriously spent in contriving such combinations of the characters already used, as will represent {to their fancies) these eight puzzling sounds ; although they have not the least connexion with those previously ascribed to each of the combined characters.* In the French language, which has the same number of letters, there are six more intonations * These eight sounds, added to the twenty-one already expressed, constitute the twenty-nine simple sounds of the human organ strictly analyzed ; they are the elements of speech, and as such should have every one its elementary character in the wi-iting. The complete combination of any two, three, or more letters, can never convey to an un- biassed mind the idea of a simple sound ; consequently, all the successive pretended improvements in the orthography are equally absurd. E 2 52 ON ORTHOGRAPHY. or vowels to be expressed, making a total (the two tJi not being pronounced in that language otherwise than as t alone) of twelve sounds, or nearly one-half of the whole speech left to be expressed, any how, by the above-described com- binations. Such is the end of the successive alterations in the orthography of the modern languages, which the neglect of their etymologies has rendered so complicated, that there is hardly an author in whose manuscripts are not found numerous ir- regularities, although they mostly resort to the ingenious method of writing in the worst possible hand, in order to avoid detection. The greatest men even have not always been above this little- ness, and the Emperor of the French has some- times endangered the success of a battle, by the almost illegible manner in which he scribbled his orders. Napoleon, however, might have made ample excuses for his not having devoted the required time to those grammatical accomplishments ; for some otherwise very clever men have given up in despair the study of the spelling-book, and candidly acknowledged their inability in the science of orthography; the most arduous of all studies, because the least submissive to rules. Now that so many unsuccessful attempts have ON ORTHOGRAPHY. 53 been made, we will try, in our turn, to fix the egg on its point ; and, taking a lesson of the perse- vering Spaniard, prove at once that nothing could be more simple and easy than the long-wished for reformation. The Roman letters, as stated in the Preface, having been adapted to the modern languages by the learned classics, who have paid the greatest regard to the etymologies, and considered the sounds of their languages as things of a secondary importance ; how can any one expect to find now, in those very letters, a perfect scale of the modern spoken sounds ? If we want to express our mo- dern accent in a manner satisfactory to our ear, we must cast aside the ancient characters, and form our own phonetic scale; if we retain the classical alphabet, we must retain also the most accurate etymologies, we must write every foreign word with its foreign spelling, whatever might be the sound pronounced for them; no half measure can answer on either side. Since the first is the reformation most gene- rally wished for, since the great desideratum is to have in writing a perfect and unalterable repre- sentation of speech, the first thing to be done is to remove at once every vestige of the ancient alphabet. 1 will not attempt to deny that such a step 54 ON ORTHOGRAPHY. would greatly lessen the importance of the ancient languages. Certainly none can feel a deeper respect than I do for those noble ancestors of our modern tongues ; but it is because I know the full extent of the benefit they have conferred on the modern, that I do not hesitate in stating that the study of them has already lost the greatest part of its interest. The Latin has undoubtedly an everlasting claim upon all civilized nations ; viz. that of having preserved the vital spark of knowledge, in spite of the most wild persecutions; and we cannot doubt that, after the fall of the Roman empire, the world might have been driven back into bar- barism, had not the holy Muses been kept alive in that sacred arch which protected them from the raging hurricane, and whence, at the appointed time, they sallied forth with a fresh splendour under the rainbow of a new covenant ; the art of printing given as a guarantee, that no longer should the discoveries of science be smothered by the flood of barbarism. But since then, the Latin has become a mere empty vessel ; old doctors may preserve the venerable remnants, they may brighten them with their black sleeves, or carve them into elegant cups to sip their wine after dinner; God forbid such innocent amusement should be denied ON ORTHOGRAPHY. 55 to them ; but to us, men of the rising generations of the living world, belong the living languages. Nay, I will say more in reference to dead lan- guages ; I will say that there is a sort of irreligion in the obstinacy with which certain classes of people persevere in making these languages the principal channel to knowledge ; for if we allow one whose word is life, who called himself the LIVING SPEECH, Still to bc the supreme ruler of mankind, we must feel convinced that when, in his everlasting wisdom, he uproots and throws down, as the tempest does a tree, a whole nation and its language, it is because that nation has become adverse to the holy progress of civiliza- tion ; it is because that language and its literature are representative of a morality repulsive to the rising generations ; it is because the whole fabric, rotten in all its parts, was sucking through its far extended roots the most nutritious substances, in order to feed in its portentous limbs nothing but pernicious fungus and noxious animals. Thus, judged by their deeds, Greeks and Romans were doomed to fall, in order to^^elerafe, By tBeir" speedy decomposition, the rising of new genera- tions, new languages. The learned might dissect their great bodies, of which we still admire the majestic and harmonious proportions, in order 56 ON ORTHOGRAPHY. (thereby to improve the constitution of the living ; but to galvanize their withered sinews, to force the stream of life, the sap of knowledge, through their dried up veins, is at once an injury to the living world, a sacrilege towards God. / The dead languages, it must be acknowledged, have too often been cultivated, not for their literature, but for the secrecy they afforded, being unintelligible to the world at large, or, as it were, unknown tongues ; for the scheme of the Rev. Dr. Irving is no invention of his own : many canting sects have proved this in all ages. It is a general observation, that every corpo- ration, every association, will try to have its own private language, unknown to all others. The free-masons have their mottoes and emblematic devices; the nobility, their heraldry; the mer- chants, their private marks ; the thieves, their slang ; and all the gentlemen of the black cloth, doctors in law, physic, or divinity, their Latin, which is, in no ways, that of Virgil, Tacitus, or Cicero. All these are unknown tongues. We do not pretend to establish any comparison be- tween the various trades or callings above men- tioned; they all act through various motives, — some with the most honourable principles, others with the reverse ones ; but nevertheless, they ON ORTHOGRAPHY. 57 seem all to have one point in common, viz. to keep others in the dark respecting their pro- ceedings. Now, from the most ancient times down to the present ages, wherever has existed a strong government, a privileged aristocracy, there has existed also a dead language, an unknown tongue, in which were written the laws of the land, most energetically enforced upon those who could not ,read them; in which were written the prayers and religious dogmas most fervently uttered, and most strictly adhered to, by those who could not understand them. The Sanscrit was, 1500 years i before Christ the dead language of India, for- j i bidden to the hulk of the nation, under penalty of death. And the greatest empire of modern times, the Papal government, has never acknow- ledged any other mode of communication but that of a dead language, — the Latin. Hence it is easy to explain why the first step in all noble social improvements has been to tear aside the veil, to renounce the unknown tongue, \ in order to teach mankind in the living speech ; I — witness the religious reform of the fifteenth \ century. ' From religion the movement has extended to politics, and every branch of learning; the social 58 ON ORTHOGRAPHY. laws as well as the religious ones are now to be enforced, not by violence, but by persuasion, every member of the human family being cheer- fully invited to partake of the fruit of knowledge; and now, at last, the ancient languages may well be considered as irrevocably dead. Let us, then, deposit, with every sentiment of respect and gra- titude, within their revered monuments, every remnant of what they have so generously lent us, even to the last letter of their alphabet. CHAPTER II. ON PHONOGRAPHY. ANALYSIS OF HUMAN SPEECH, Having once renounced the Roman letters, the creation of a new alphabet is one of the simplest operations that can be conceived. A hundred school-boys would contrive a hundred different ones in a half-holiday, every one of which would be far superior to the Roman one. The numerous quantity of short-hands, or phonetic alphabets, published every year, are again corroborations of this ; yet there can be but one possible perfect system of speech-writing, as there is only one straight line between two extremities. But the reason why there are so many different roads is probably because the right one has not yet been opened. Let us then proceed systematically to our goal. The great desideratum is to obtain a perfect written gamut of the sounds of speech. For this, two operations are necessary. The first : to ascertain what are these sounds, how they are formed at the various points of the 60 ON PHONOGRAPHY. organ, and what relation they have with each other in their succession or combination. Thus obtaining, by means of the most minute analysis, all the simple sounds or elements of speech, which should be classed methodically in the order of their relative importance. The second : to form a series of characters in equal number with the sounds obtained ; these characters to be so contrived as most easy to the natural motion of the hand, then classed accord- ing to their relative rapidity of execution, and ascribed to the elementary sounds in such order as to let the most important, viz. the most fre- quent ones, be represented by the most rapid and easy characters, preserving as much as possible between the various figures the same analogies of formation as may be observed between the various sounds ascribed to them. The sounds of speech have been already de- scribed and classified in the first part of this work, but not sufficiently to the present purpose ; for it is only by means of the most scrupulous analysis that we can succeed in laying down the firm foun- dations of a good phonography. Speech is naturally divided into two very distinct parts ; viz. the intonated and the articu- lated sounds, commonly designated as vowels and consonants. None of the numerous definitions I ON PHONOGRAPHY. 6l have met with have ever appeared to me to give a clear idea of these ; not even that of the gramma- rian we have had occasion to mention in the fore- going pages, although it may be, for aught I know, and to quote the author's own expression, " more exact and philosophical than any other."* "A vowel," says Lindley Murray, "is a simple articulate sound, perfect in itself, and formed by a continued effusion of the breath and a certain conformation of the mouth, without any alteration in the position, or any motion of the organs of speech, from the moment the vocal sound com- mences till it finishes." " A consonant is a simple, articulate sound, imperfect by itself, but which, joined with a vowel, forms a complete sound, by a particular motion or contact of the organs of speech." Now let us examine how far we may rely on the exactness and philosophy of the above defi- nitions. As to exactness, we remark, firstly with regard to the vowels, that the two letters i, u, long, being formed each by two successive operations of the organs, necessitate an alteration in the position of those organs during their utterance, thereby forming two exceptions to a rule given for Jive letters ; and secondly, with respect to the * See Lindley Murray's English Grammar, page 18. 62 ON PHONOGRAPHY. consonants, that there is not a single one accu- rately defined, since seven letters, viz. f^ j, /, r, 5, sh, z, can be heard perfectly without any other sound being combined with them ; and all the others, although they cannot be uttered when alone, may be fully articulated with the help of any one of the seven sounds above mentioned. For example, the two mutes j», t, are as well sounded in the interjection pst, (a sound much used in France to attract the attention,) as in the word pot. The letter 5, in the first instance, as well as the letter o in the second, are pure emissions of the breath necessary to the pronunciation of the letters />, t, and answering equally well to the de- finition of a vowel above quoted ; whilst the p and t, being heard in the first word without the help of any vowel, constitute also two exceptions to the definition of a consonant. As to philosophy, or more clearly speaking, common sense, it is worth remarking, that there could hardly be any thing more confused and un- intelligible than the second paragraph : " A con- sonant is a simple articulate sounds So far so good, the definition here is all that is required for the elements of speech : " imperfect bi/ itself'' — here begins the confusion : how articvlate xiimper- fect? — ^^hut which, joined with a vowel, forms a complete sounds This can have no other mean- ON PHONOGRAPHY. 63 ing but that the conjoined vowel perfects the im- perfect simple diYWcvXdXQ, sound; thereby implying that the combination of two sounds constitutes ONE complete, perfect, simple, articulate sound. This is a strange sort of analysis, and must cer- tainly be founded on philosophical principles not to be met with in the works of Leibnitz or Bacon. Without attempting to give a definition of the sounds of speech, which could never correspond to their letters, so ill adapted as they are to those sounds, I will proceed in their examination, merely illustrating the subject by a comparison which appears to me of a nature to give a correct idea of these two elements of speech. Let us, then, consider the voice as a stream running through the organ of speech which forms its conduit, and by its diversified construction allows it to flow deep or shallow, broad or narrow, in a variety of strains, every one of which may continue unmodified, until the breadth, the source of sound, be exhausted. These are the vowels ; the intonations, properly speaking, being the only sounds with which music is ever sung. In certain and distinct points of that conduit are placed various contrivances, which opening and shutting against the stream as so many locks, obstruct its passage entirely or partly, according 64 ON PHONOGRAPHY. to their various constructions. These are the consonants, or better : the articulations. It is obvious that the intonations may always flow freely, without touching any of the articula- tions; whereas few articulations can be distinctly heard, unless an intonation or stream be run- ning, against which the action of the lock might be felt. The impetus with which the stream is propelled might also give some idea of the aspiration in the language, which cannot affect any other sound than the vowels, or intonations. Previous to entering into the examination of the different structures and modes of action of these various pieces of machinery, it is necessary to make a few observations respecting the nature of the voice, or stream of sound, itself. The human voice has two different accents, viz. a low, and a loud one ; the first being the clear emission of the breath, the second the same breath vibrated in the throat by a peculiar organ, placed at the top of the wind-pipe and called the glottis, which is the musical instrument of the voice, and acts in the same manner as the mouth- piece of a clarinet. The vibrations of the glottis cannot affect in any way the pronunciations of the vowels or intonations, which, as we have seen, ON PHONOGRAPHY. 65 consist of a series of modifications or curves given to the conduit open for the passage of the breath ; for each of these, once formed and set in its rela- tive position, will continue to give the voice the same intonation as long as the breath continues to flow through it, either in a simple or a vibrated sound, viz. either in a whispered or a loud voice ; but they have a powerful action upon the greater part of the articulations, by causing on the edges, as it were, of these various impediments to the breath a sort of tremulous motion, which alters considerably their sound. Resuming now our analysis of the elements of speech, we will proceed to their examination in the same order as already adopted. On Articulations. All the articulations of speech may be classed in three categories, called the Gutturals, the Palatals, and the Labials, according to the three different parts in which they are uttered; viz. the first, at the source of all spoken sounds in the deepest part of the organ, and as it were from the throat, as ng, k, sh, in the words sitig-, kate, shoe; the second, in the middle of the mouth and from the palate, as n, f, s, in the words no, tea, say ; and the third in the extreme part of the vocal apparatus, and from the lips, as F 66 ON PHONOGRAPHY. m, p, /, in the words ma/i/, pea, foe. A few sim- ple operations, performed in an analogous man- ner on each of these three seats of articulation, producing three series of analogous sounds, which constitute the whole of the articulations of speech, and which we present to the reader in the follow- ing order: — I. THREE MUTES. The breath being closed up in any of the three points above described, produces three articula- tions perfectly mute of themselves, unless placed in contact with some sound upon which they may be heard opening or shutting their firm gates. They are expressed in Roman letters by k, t, p, and constitute the only three perfect consonants of the modern languages, as heard in the words key, toy, pew. These three locks, although they join perfectly and stop every particle of breath, cannot however prevent the latter, when vibrated, from being heard accumulating and pressing behind their slight partitions. In these instances the articulations are softened by this internal murmur, and the k, t, p, are changed into g, d, b, as heard in go, day, bo IV. II. THREE HISSING VOICES. Examining again the same points, we find that the three gates, if imperfectly closed, will let the ON PHONOGRAPHY. 67 breath escape in a rapid stream ; and this furnishes us with three hissing articulations, as designated in Roman characters by sli, s, Jl pronounced as in the words shoe, say, foe. In these also, as in the three perfect mutes previously described, the vibrations of the glottis produce a striking modification ; for the tremulous motion thereby communicated to the edges of the partly opened gates, changes the three sharp hiss- ing sounds into three soft buzzing ones, expressed by z, s, V, as pronounced in azure, ease, vew. The English and Spaniards, amongst the Euro- pean nations, have a fourth hissing articulation, intermediate between the palatal and the labial ones. It is formed, if I may be allowed so to ex- plain it, of the upper part of^ and the under one of s, being pronounced by bringing the latter, the tongue, in juxta-position with the former, the upper teeth, and forcing the breath between the two. This articulation is susceptible of the same vi- brated modification as the other above mentioned. The English, nevertheless, have no peculiar cha- racter for it, and use the combined letters th for both sounds, as heard in the words thy, thigh* * The Spaniards give this articulation to the letter z., which in our alphabet is a mere synonyme of s soft ; and it may be supposed that the Spanish pronunciation of z, is the right one of the Greek zeta, or vibrated sound of the theta. F 2 08 ON PHONOGRAPHY. The seven articulations which have now been successively submitted to our analysis, producing as we have seen fourteen sounds in the language, are the only ones on which the vibrations of the throat have a distinct action, and for this reason it is necessary that we should well examine them before we proceed any farther in the elementary sounds of speech. In modern alphabets some of these articulations have two characters ascribed to them, SiS p and b for the labial mute, yand v for the hissing voice of the same class ; whilst others have but one character for their two sounds, as s for the two hissing palatal sounds as heard in season, and th already quoted. Some even can hardly be said to have any proper representative character : for instance, the guttural hissing one which Walker represents in his dictionary by sh and zh, and which is generally expressed in English by the letters s, t, z, and as in the words asia, addition, azure. But every simple sound of speech has, nevertheless, an equal claim to a distinct repre- sentative in the alphabet, and no difference can judiciously be made between the seven articula- tions we have as yet examined. The reader, who might doubt whether these fourteen sounds be really formed by means of seven articulations only, can easily convince him- ON PHONOGRAPHY. (39 self of the fact, by pronouncing in a sharp whis- per the seven following words : cog, toad, pebble, change, season, favour, therewith ; for he will find that the vibrations being suppressed, all difference disappears between the two sounds of each articulation, and he will pronounce as if reading, coc, toat, pepple, cJianche, seasson, fafour, therewith* Resuminar our examination of the elements of speech, we remark — HI. THREE NASALS. In the same three points we shall again find the three nasal articulations of our European languages by one single operation being per- formed, in the three different circumstances, as follows : — Having previously closed the lock as for the ut- terance of k, t, or p, if we open for the stream of sound a passage above on the roof of the mouth, the voice, escaping through the nostrils as through a safety valve, or, to keep up the former compa- rison, a waste-gate, will emit the sound of either ng, 71, or m, as heard in king, tin, or beam ; * Some foreigners, particularly the Germans, seem not to have even the power to distinguish the two sounds of eacli articulation, and their accent in the English language is the most unpleasant of all. 70 ON PHONOGRAPHY. according to its being repercussed from the first, second, or third gate. IV. AND LASTLY, THREE LIQUIDS. These articulations are called liquids from their great fluency and facility of blending with other sounds. They have a great analogy together, and are formed also in three distinct points of the vocal apparatus corresponding with the other ar- ticulations, excepting the third one, which instead gf a labial is another palatal sound, and is pro- nounced with a much weaker emission of breath than the two first. These two, answering in all respects to our general division, are formed with a slight contraction of the parts pointed at by k or t whilst the breath is forced through them, emit- ting at the same time a guttural or a palatal roll- ing sound, as that expressed by h, r, in hat^ rat* The third liquid, which is written /, is pronounced in a manner similar in a great measure to that of r; for instance, they are both formed by bringing the tongue in contact with the palate, with this difference only, viz. that in / the tongue is applied * The great resemblance that will be remarked between these two words, particularly if pronounced by a native of the capital, will prove to the reader the analogy of the two articulations, although he might have been startled at first by my classing the aspiration amongst the liquids. ON PHONOGRAPHY. 71 once ; the breath, during its short pressure, being forced each side of it ; whilst in r the tongue is only brought at first near to the point of contact, when the breath being forced in the narrow space left, causes the tip of the tongue to vibrate, there- by producing the sound alluded to. The following table presents a synoptical view of all the articulations of speech, arranged accord- ing to the foregoing classification. Articulations, Sounds. Gutturals. Palatals. Labials. 3 mute <. 3 simple 3 vibrated k g t d P b 4 hissing < 4 simple 4 vibrated sh zh s t z t h f b V 3 nasal 3 unalterable ng n m 3 liquid 3 ditto h r 1 13 articulations. 20sounds. 6 guttural. 7 palatal. 2 m 5 labial, ixed. The above table contains all the articulations of speech which, with a few exceptions, are iden- tically the same in all languages, all nations ; and these exceptions even are limited to the guttural sounds, as hereafter explained. 7*2 ON PHONOGRAPHY, 1. The hissing articulation of that class, (the guttural,) is pronounced thoroughly from the throat by all the people of the East, and also by the Spaniards, as exemplified in their j ; whilst the English, and other nations of the West, pro- nounce it more from the palate and tongue, and consequently nearer to the palatal sound as placed in our table. It is probably for this reason that our children are so apt to confound the two classes of hissing sounds, pronouncing soes, mea- zuse, for shoes, measure^ &c. &c. 2. The liquid guttural is much more strongly pronounced in the Eastern tongues than in the European ones, and we may even say that this harsh sound is gradually disappearing from the modern languages. In French, for instance, an aspirated h sim- ply indicates that the following vowel cannot be joined in the pronunciation with the letter that immediately precedes the h ; and a positive aspir- ation uttered for that sign would be intolerable. 3. The palatal liquid is pronounced in two dif- ferent manners, viz. the first, as already described, by the vibration of the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, which produces a pure pa- latal sound ; the second, by the vibration of the deepest part of the palate against the root of the tongue, which produces a sound almost aspirated. ON PHONOGRAPHY. 73 This guttural pronunciation was the most natural to all primitive or aspirated languages, (see the Introduction, p. 11,) and distinguishes to the pre- sent day all the Eastern tongues ; but the first, a pure palatal sound, is the one adopted in all European languages. And even softened as it is, it would appear as if it tasted still too much of the wild tongue, since the natives of the two first capitals in Europe disdain to sound its vibrating note. On Intonations. This second component of speech being the musical part of the voice, varies with every cli- mate, every country, every town, every indivi- dual, and cannot easily be brought under the sway of fixed rules. But nevertheless, since I have undertaken to write with the greatest accuracy attainable all the spoken sounds, I will try to class also the inarticulate ones ; following in this the order of their gradual formation through the pro- gressive expansion of the mouth. I must again recur to a comparison of the same nature as that which has served to explain the articulations. But here I will compare the sounds formed by the mouth when running by a progres- sive expansion of its vacuum, the scale of into- nations which forms the soul of speech, to the successive sounds heard when a bottle is being 74 ON PHONOGRAPHY emptied, and in which each note produced by a bubble of air going up to replace a quantity of wine corresponding to its bulk, has its peculiar sound; the first being the deepest, because sound- ed the farthest into the vase, and the successive ones decreasing gradually in fulness and tone, as they are formed nearer and nearer to the orifice, until at last they die in a soft oozing murmur. These gentle sounds will vary with every vase, and almost every liquid ; they will be modified also by the various angles at which the bottle may be held, being full, cheering, and generous, or meagre, faint, and half suppressed ; thereby tes- tifying, in a great measure, the disposition of the individual who is filling the glasses. In the same manner, the vowels or intonations of speech vary in a thousand ways. These are the sounds whose various modifications characterize the accent of each country, the peculiar voice of each indivi- dual, and oftentimes disclose even the innermost sentiments which the mind in vain attempts to conceal.* * The primitive nations, as we have said, (see Introduc- tion,) never ventujred to fix in writing these waving sounds. In after years three great divisions were made, and three signs ascribed to thera, viz. / O ^4, which encompass all possible intonation of speech, as the three notes of the per- fect chord do the musical scale. From three, the gamut ON PHONOGRAPHY. 75 The reader can have no difficulty in under- standing now, why our modern alphabets, which have characters to express every articulation, are nevertheless so deficient in signs to represent the intonations of speech. These, however, may be written, if not with the same unerring precision as the first, at least with a sufficient degree of clearness to give a satisfactory idea of their re- lative depth, provided a fundamental sound be agreed upon in the same manner as the key-note given by the tuning-fork. Beginning with the three primitive vowels, placed, as we have said, as the first, middle, and last notes of the inarticulate sounds of speech, we will proceed by filling gradually the space be- tween them, till we have obtained a scale equal has ultimately been extended to seven notes ; and the scale of the intonations, likewise, was successively carried to seven letters, as written in the Greek alphabet. It took many centuries, however, to introduce the inter- mediate degrees in both sciences, for the severest punish- ments of the law were decreed against such innovations. " Adore the one whose name could be written in four letters^' said Pythagoras, who did not even presume to pro- nounce the hallowed sounds ; from which precept we have a ri<dit to infer that in his time four vowels only were written in the language. (See Chapter iii., page 39.) The Romans, who formed their alphabet at a later period, had five written vowels, consisting of the primitive full- toned trio, mysterious symbol of the divine gift, to which 76 ON PHONOGRAPHY. in its divisions to the number of spoken intona- tions in use amongst the various nations of the civihzed world, as represented in the following table : — Prijnitive Era, I 2 3 3 SIGNS. J A Second Era, 1 2 3 4 5 5 SIGNS. I E u A Third Era, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 SIGNS. J E H n T A Fourth Era, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 SIGNS. 1 E E E U A A This last class representing the sounds of the living languages, (the only ones we are able to ascertain,) as they are successively uttered in the 12 3 4567 89 words if, her, break, met, not, no, hull, fat, fall. were added two semitones, or transitory inflexions, placed at equal intervals, and forming in their succession the sacred name forbidden to our fathers. What the origin of the Roman alphabet was, and how the five mystic characters representing the word Jeova, one God, have been preserved by the pagan nations, and after- wards are become again the name of God, one in three PERSONS, who calls himself VERBUM, the word, the speech; are become again the soul of the limng speech amongst the various nations of the world, whose languages all difier, to whom even Latin itself is mostly unknown, but who are all united in that one word, and all worshippers of one God, is, and ever shall be, an unfathomable mystery. ON PHONOGRAPHY. 77 These nine intonations will be found sufficient to pronounce English, Italian, Spanish, and al- most all other living languages except the French, in which there are six more inarticulate sounds. These six notes have in themselves very little of the melody that characterizes the others of the same genus, and their pronunciation is so diffi- cult in consequence of this, that the natives of the south of France have not yet learned to give them their true character, as heard in the northern part of the same country. The first of these six sounds is written zz, and formed by bringing the tongue against the under teeth w^ith the smallest aperture of the mouth, as for the sound of i (short), whilst the lips are rounded in the same form as given for the ut- terance of w, (m bidl). It requires the smallest vacuum after ?*, and is consequently placed next to that sound. The second, written eu^ follows immediately in the same order, its sound partaking of the one just explained, and the second sound in the English scale, {e in her.) The four remaining unexplained, form a distinct class of themselves, being called nasal, and written as m, un^ on, an ; which representation conveys an exact idea (to the French scholar) of their mixed sounds, by showing that the mouth and 78 ON PHONOGRAPHY. tongue being disposed as for the utterance of the French letters ^, w, o, a, the nasal valve is opened, in consequence of which the breath divides itself in two streams, one running through the mouth with the vowel, the other through the nostrils with the consonant; thereby pronouncing both signs in one simultaneous chord.* Having thus completed the scale of the inton- ations, we find it consisting of fifteen sounds, which are to be classed thus : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 i, U, eUy 12 13 e, e, 0, 0, 14 on, u, a, 15 an. «", according to their pronunciation in the words it, ut (French), eu (French), her, break, met not, no, bull, fat, Jail ; vin, un, on, an, (the last four French,) thereby following in their succession the order of the gradual expansion of the organ of speech. The four nasal ones to be classed separately in a second line, since they partake as much of the articulation as of the intonation. * The Chinese, I understand, have this nasal accompani- ment to all their vowels ; such harmony must strike the ear in a manner, I should say, similar to that of the bagpipe. CHAPTER III. PHONOGRAPHIC ALPHABET. FORMATION OF A NEW CHAT^ACTER. ADVANTAGES (wiTH RE- GARD TO NEATNESS AND EXPEDIENCY) OF FOLLOWING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN THE WRITING, THE NATURAL MOVE- MENT OF THE RIGHT HAND. We have said it in the beginning of the preced- ing chapter ; the formation of a good alphabet is an operation very simple in itself, and which could be easily performed by any person of ordi- nary abilities ; yet by a good alphabet, we mean a series of phonetic characters, expressing by clear and distinct signs all the various elements of speech with the same preciseness with which we have analyzed them. But this is not all that is required of us ; for be- sides inventing; a series of characters answerino- to all the articulations and intonations of speech, we have to contrive for them the figure most rapid of execution; which implies that they should be not only most concise in themselves, but also most con- genial in their forms to the natural movements of the right hand. We have, again, to combine their 80 PHONOGRAPHIC ALPHABET. various lines in such an order, as to allow them to join one another with the greatest fluency, ease, and at the same time distinctness ; thereby secur- ing to our phonographic system the advantages of clearness and preciseness of expression, joined with ease and rapidity of execution. And still this is not all; for keeping in mind the promise we have made, to present our readers with the shortest hand yet devised, we have to make such distinctions and selections in our representative figures, as to reserve the most expeditious for the sounds which the reporter must write, in order to be afterwards enabled to retrace to his memory the complete speech, and which form the basis of all short-hand: and lastly, we have to establish such close relation between both systems of writ- ing, that the imperfect one, or short-handy might at any time be made perfect, or long-hand^ by the addition of the letters omitted at first ; and this without altering the general aspect of the writing. Such are the conditions we have imposed on ourselves ; how far we have succeeded in our exertions to fulfil them, the reader will be able to appreciate from the following pages. Our sounds being divided into two classes, viz. the articulated and the intonated ones, we must have a corresponding distinction in their repre- sentative characters: and since we see a similar PIIONOGUAIMIIC ALPIIAIU'.T. 81 division in all geometrical figures, whicli are com- posed either of straight or of curved lines ; we will at once apply this distinctive feature in the following manner. The triangle, a simple, firm, unalterable figure, supported by an upright, will give us in its various lines, the consonants or articulations, the frame- work, the unalterable skeleton of the language ; whilst the vowels or intonations, harmonious, soft, waving sounds, will be represented by the various curves to be found in the circle. The two sorts of characters could be joined and intermixed in writing, syllable by syllable, in the same manner as the sounds they represent are joined and intermixed in speech ; but, although this method might appear the most exact and re- gular, we must write each class separately, after the manner of the Eastern languages, if we wish to secure to our system the manifold advantages recently alluded to. Thus, in each w^ord, we will trace at first the outlines of its sound, by a representation of its va- rious articulations, joined together in one figure; and adorn afterwards this angular form, the skele- ton of a word, with the signs representative of the intonations necessary for its pronunciation, and giving it, as it were, life. Beginning with' the articulations, as analyzed G 82 PHONOGRAPHIC ALPHABET. and Classed in our table, we find that they consist of seven double and six single ones, making in all twenty sounds, to be represented in writing bv means of straight lines, which we will vary in their positions, since we cannot do so in their forms.* Thus we have five straight lines : one horizon- tal, one perpendicular, and three slanting ; the first upwards to the right, the second downwards to the right, and the third downwards to the left. These we will apply to the five articulations re- presented in Roman letters with s, r, t, A:, and w.* Each of these five characters may be multiplied by a small dot being placed at its termination ; and since there will still be a great analogy be- tween the two series of figures, the dotted and the undotted, we will ascribe the five new figures to five sounds, having corresponding analogies with the five already transcribed, viz. to those written with z, I, d, g, and m : this series of dotted cha- racters should be made a little longer than the undotted ones, in order to distinguish them more clearly, even if the dot happen to be omitted.* Although we have denied ourselves the use of curved lines for any other purpose than that of expressing intonations, yet, since the circle and the oval are two distinct figures in themselves, which * See Plate I. FHONOCiRAPHlC ALl'HABET. 83 <'aii iicMT 1)0 altered or confounded with other signs, we have made two exceptions with regard to them, ascribing their representation to the sounds of p and /"; and the same signs a little larger, with the addition of a dot in the middle, to the two analogous sounds, h and v. We have now six articulations only left unrepre- sented, w^hich are the two th, sh, zh, ng, and A. As to the last sound, it will be sufficiently ex- pressed with a slight mark added to the intonation upon which it falls, and the five remaining arti- culations need not have characters entirely new invented for them; but they may be expressed by figures (slightly altered) representing other sounds, with w-hich they have a striking analogy ; in the follow^ing manner, viz. sh and zh, by the signs of 5 and z with a small line across; the two f/t, by the signs of t and d with the same distinctive mark ; and ng, by the sign of n similarly altered. With regard to the intonations, we have distin- guished fifteen of them, which must be all repre- sented, according to our system, with curved lines. But we cannot introduce such a number of diff*e- rent curves in our writing, without endangering the distinctness of them all ; and since perspicuity is the most important point, we will divide the circle into four curves only ; limiting ourselves to four distinct figures, which, with the addition of a 2 84 I'llOXOGRAPHlC ALPIIARKT. a dot, make a number equal to the vowels of the Roman alphabet. A careful examination of the sounds to be represented, will enable us to class them under these five heads, according to their various relations and analogies with each other ; a slight diiference in the pressure of the pen at the end of each curve being sufficient to express the difference existinir between the various into- nations of each class. Consequently giving the dot to the smallest of intonations, the i (short), we will ascribe the perpendicular curve, concave towards the left, to the sound of e in break, met ; the horizontal one, concave at the top, to the sound of o in not, no ; the reverse horizontal curve to the sounds of u in hut, bull ; and the perpendicular one, concave on the right, to the sounds of a in fat, fall. The danger, which exists now in the Roman character, of confounding the two sounds of each sign, will be avoided effectively, if we distinguish the second sound, viz. the full sound of each class, by a small loop terminating the curved line. The diflerence of quantity may be expressed by writing the long sounds with a longer curve, and the short sounds with a smaller one. The nine sounds we have now classed and ex- pressed, are sufficient to write English, Italian, German, Spanish, and almost every modern Ian- IMIOXOGHAPUIC ALl'IIABET. 85 guage, with the exception of the French, in which exist the six remaining intonations, consisting of two pure ones and four mixed sounds, or nasal intonations, as previously described. The two first, written in French ?/, e?/, we shall express with the sign already ascribed to the English ?/, in hut, bull, with a small line across ; and the nasal or mixed one will be very correctly ex- pressed, if we trace their articulated part in the body of the writing, taking care to cross it after- wards with the intonation which is heard simul- taneously with it. But since the i necessary to make the sound of i)i is expressed in our writing with a dot, we must use in its stead the curve ascribed to e. Thus the four curves given for e, o, u, a, traced across the nasal articulation, or straight line slanting towards the left, will express the four French sounds, m, on, un, an. The elements of speech thus described, are represented in the following table, which com- ])ines in one })age all that has been said in this chapter. 86 PHONOGKAFHIC ALPHABET. Explanation of the Plate. The elements of speech are here represented in the order followed throug-hout the book. The distribution of the present Plate, showing on one side all the logographic signs, and on the other all the various Roman characters expressing si- milar sounds, in corresponding columns and num- bers, has appeared to us the clearest synoptical exposition we could present of our system. The column V, containing examples of all the articulations and intonations combined into sylla- bles and words, is doubly transcribed on the ex- planatory side ; firstly in English, and secondly in French, presenting, in the same succession, all the sounds of these two languages. The sounds which are deficient in either language, are marked by an asterisk in their stead. At the bottom of the Plate we have added a transcription of the nineteen words which Walker places, in his valuable Dictionary, at the top of every page, as references for the pronunciation of the other words. This we give as a test for the accuracy of our system. P u A te: I wzJ?^n^o(y 3 4 // ^■/^^{:>u/{z/w-^J ^ -¥- ^^^ "^ II "V _0_ -^ T^ T V n/-fP-^^-tiiA<m4 III Y T IV of -=^ V ^ ,/^ 0f -^ / -^ ■r^ ^ 1^ ^^^ ^ 7 7 ^ 7^ ^ *>. _^_^ -1 <r-^^;?>^^^<?^y^.^?';^ y,-^y^^'' ■^6€^7a^-YZy^y L^f/.'iZytaA^/^^ {^^J-UU^^Ji-i^^^ la^-^ < I II III IV M^ U^.6^,e&.,._ ^ V IV i^ fp^.^/MM) u^ a"& V 'U/^M/J'y ^y J ^4/-/H£^^A ;^^- J. 9i- J, £-<^' yp^fyg^/^ d., m,c./-.j. y^.2f.j. ^ ^.e.a..o.o.t/. Jn^u^n^ j/-m^/Hy £/^^S ^ '£ayit£y_ /.g.^. TJ. £<Z,ea^.a^. «^4^^ J^^^. ^ JMl^ 'V.^^/ £• . £^i^, a^. /At zs'i^y ^ •Hi- £y>ayV' . ^- £^ eyy y/i^ .^^ nj£^ f-^/- /f-i^Jeyr. n. ^ ^ .i>a.cn' aM- ^^yi^^- cTA^ ny m f?-(^/. yJO^y y^L^ yy^ a- /JK-a4^.aM. ^^ /^^t^iT^n^ y^'^yt tZy/- yr->!- g^^^^^^^fCYC.^ yn^-Myj^^y /^^.-tfc/- €y^ / jL i'i/f^y / (y-y^- yQ I My2L. {7 ^^ -4L /9^y ..azfly- JL ^y^y y yy /gy/S //^Uy /fiz/c .^^ /Pi^^y y^^^^/- yA^y^^: - /l-jy^y /^^ y^yf^.^n'S /Tyl^V /^-^- /u yP-^ yju^' <i?^ 'n-< 7-tyty»yVi^ /^^e^ ^,^^^^-y^ J phonographic alphabet. 87 Remarks on the foregoing Table. I. We have made no distinction in our phono- graphic signs, between the intonations o^ far and fat; nor and not, &c., &c., although there is a notable one in the pronunciation ; and here we might appear at fault, but we beg to observe that the difference, which is one of quantity, is entirely owino; to the influence of the articulation immedi- ately following ; for r being a liquid and almost aspirated sound, cannot stop the intonation as shortly as t, a perfect mute. The same differences of quantity are observable in pit and pill, cut and cur, &c., although Walker has not deemed it necessary to mark the latter distinction. II. Although the parallel columns of words are intended to show the universality of our system, we need not repeat that the articulations are the only sounds which we call identically the same in both languages. The intonations are as near as possible to each other ; and we may add even, that without any further instruction, a native of England who should pronounce the French /sounds as they are written on the same line in I the English column, would speak much more purely than many a native of France; or, also, that i a Frenchman pronouncing English according to 88 PHONOGRAPHIC ALPHABET. the instructions given in the French column, would be much nearer to the pronunciation given in Walker's Dictionary, than any uneducated countryman of England, without mentioning the native of Scotland, or Ireland. But yet withal, there would still be a foreign accent, which seems almost the result of a peculiar conformation of the organ of speech, and which would be de- tected solely by a peculiar sound given to the intonations. These various shades, (as well as the few sounds peculiar to each language, viz. the two th^ English, the II, eu, and four nasals, French,) can never be clearly explained without auricular demonstra- tion, and the few instructions we subjoin here, are presented merely as a guide to the student, who should learn all foreign sounds from the natives themselves. 1. The two sounds of e in break, break-fast, written in French e, e, are generally pronounced in English, the first long, and the second short ; whilst in French the quantities are reversed. A sound similar to the French e short, is heard in the word sleep?/, which would be written in that language slipe.* * We are aware tliat tliis is not llu- proimnciation iiuli- catcd hv AValker. \\\\o <'ives the .sanic sound to both svl- PIIONOURAPHIC ALPHABET. 89 2. The sound of a long in Jiall., is pronounced very round in Enc^lish, where the tono-ue beinff drawn backwards, gives it a great analogy to the sound of in whole ; whilst in French the mouth is kept nearer to the shape necessary for the pronunciation of a short, as in hat, the French a long being the exact open sound of the same kind. 3. The English contracted pronunciation of le in little, &c., does not exist in French, and very few French people can acquire it; but they might pronounce it much better were the e mute sup- pressed in the writing, as it has been for many other words of the English language. lables, as it" written sleepc. This last pronunciation may be the correct one. We do not presume to argue on this point, we merely mention the other, (the one we have always heard in conversation,) because it affords us the opportunity of describing to the English ear the sound of the French e. 9i) PHONOGRxVPHIC ALPHABET. Directions to obtain Expedition and Elegance in the Writing. It may have been observed already by the mere inspection of the alphabet, that our charac- ters, with the exception of two, are all traced in the direction most natural to the movement of the hand. This contributes much to give ease and elegance to the writing ; but what constitutes its great fluency, is the facihty it affords of joining in one single curved or undulated line, any number of articulations which may happen to follow each other at obtuse angles ; the difficulty of striking with rapidity and accuracy such angles, renders this contraction more precious still. The two loops, again, may be joined in various directions, as most convenient at the time ; they may be repeated in different ways, which will render the writing more pleasing to the eye, at the same time that it will add to its effect upon the memory. We also suggest, for the sake of expediency, two deviations from our simple rule, viz : — 1. To trace all incipient intonations at the same time as the articulations, and in the body of the writing, taking care to trace their curves in the exact proportions, to ])revent their being con- founded afterwards with the articulations. PLATE II . (y/s^f'^U'^^e'JJ ) Mst^fyi'*^ '• aA^^€;^J |. /^6^/^J^^^ta/frm ^ A e. \ / s / / /. y /: 1 7 o Q '/ n/ J. Die N \ \ y\ y^ \ +N / V \ \ ^ y\ \ \ N ^ y V V / y 1^ ^ z' v^ V ^ </ /* ,^ -^ _/ ;^ \ ^ y GP a -/-^ ^ \ s> J> dS> <22 ^ >^^ ^ > V V .^ /" ^ -/-y- y^ ^ /^ O^ ^^-^ -^ ■T^W- X" a_ ^ \^ '^^ ^ / z^ ^ ^ v^ V / f ^ -r^ -^ 7 -^/ 3> j> / 7 \ ^ / / 1 / y / 1 Z X ^ ^ / 1" 1 cyA^-oU/r/z'JJ ■^ rY^^^m^'A ^uJ<^^^fuo^^/^^ J > ~T7J.. rY^//^ X /7 /^ /^ f ''f- /^ ^P. / /^-: / 'yXy ^ \ x\ ^ ^ d^ / ^\. ^ < c ^j< *s. ^ / w y\y / -^ '^ i^ ,? ^ / <f / ^ ^ ^ i/^ i^ \<^ --i-^:/^,^- ';- V- r^ 6r ^ ^ (T^ <r\/ -j' yy^jrj / ^\y^ \y J" '^ ^ ^ ^ \/ nil M If Ir ^ I ■^ s ^ ^ \ y\/\/ \ 1 s -J I. 5^ I /^ / y e/ ^-1- / y J y 4 ^ jy ^' V ^ J / J z A / A" y s/ d v^ J / /_ { ) J 1/ V J J I U- L V ^ [^ J \J y J 'J J ) 1 PHONOGRAPHIC ALPHABET. 91 2. To express the two incipient ones, written in English w and ^, by a backward stroke, but still in the same form as the sig-n ascribed to them in the middle of words. The tendency of the English tongue, to squeeze these two sounds into hissing articulations, seems to necessitate some mark of this sort, to distinguish them from the purely intonated sounds. The accompanying Plate exemplifies the seve- ral instructions herein contained. Concluding Observations. Writing, being intended for the picture of speech, cannot be correct unless it convey to the mind, through the eye, the same ideas that have been communicated through the ear. Some means, therefore, should be contrived of expressing, be- sides the proper pronunciation of the words taken individually, the various modifications of the voice, under the successive feelings of the soul, which may be called the music of the language, and which distinguish the true orator from the mere speaker ; consequently we beg to subjoin the following rules, as a useful addition to our pho- nography. 9*2 PHONOGRAPHIC ALPHABET. 1. Be attentive to write the syllable upon which falls the accent in each word, and the word upon which falls the emphasis in each sentence, with a bolder stroke of the pen. 2. Use all the signs of punctuation in the Ro- man hand : if you place them a little apart from the other characters, they cannot be misinter- preted. Other symbolic characters may be added in order to express admiration, hope, envy, pity, scorn, contempt, &c., &c., which are all marked in the common hand with the sign of exclamation (!) Some of the arbitrary signs given in our short- hand may be used for that purpose ; and we will point out the most distinct ones amongst them, at the end of the part of our book relating especially to the latter science. 3. As the voice of the orator raises or lowers itself in the speech, alter in proportion the direc- tion of your writing, raising it above or lowering it below the straight line. Using ruled paper would render a slight alteration of this kind very conspicuous. PHONOGRAPHY. BOOK I. PART II. SHORT- PI AND. SHORT-HAND. CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARY NOTIONS. ANTIQUITY OF SdOKT-HANU ; ITS USES AND ADVANTAGES. According to our conception of the present work, the part we are about to introduce to the reader is but of secondary importance ; never- theless, since the knowledge of this simple art (short-hand writing) is likely to be the principal, if not the only object the purchaser of our volume will have in view, we feel it incumbent upon our- selves to enter into this second part more mi- nutely even than we have done with regard to the first. " The antiquity of short- hand," says one of our predecessors, " would be sufficient to prove its utility, were the various advantages it affords contested by any one. It was known amongst the Greeks under the name of Semiography, ((Tr]/x€Lorypa(pl(o) ; and according to Diogenes Laer- tius, Xcnophon was the first who, in order to fol- 96 SHORT-HAND. low the speeches of Socrates, made use of abbre- viating' signs, of which the forms are described by Plutarch. This art went from Greece to Rome, and it is to its rapid characters that we owe the preservation of Gate's famous speech against the measure which Gsesar was proposing, in order to overthrow Gatilina's conjuration. Gicero, who was then Gonsul, and who had an excellent re- porter in Tiro,* his affranchised slave, took care to have notaries, or short-hand writers, placed in various parts of the senate, in order to collect carefully all that came from the lips of this great genius. To these proofs of the existence of short-hand amongst the antients, we may add the testimony of Horace, Virgil, Ovid,f Martial, Valerius Probus, Sertorius Torquatus, Ennius, to * Tiro was brought up amongst the slaves of Cicero, who gave him afterwards his liberty. He became so useful to his master, in his public as well as private affairs, that the latter gave him every proof of confidence, and even friendship. " I thought, my dear Tiro," says he, in one of his letters, " I should have been able to do without you more easily, but really it is impossible. Take care of your health," does he add, " and be persuaded that, however important might have been the services for which 1 am indebted to you, the great- est you can render me is to keep yourself in good health." f Ovid, in speaking of Julius Caesar, who wrote to his friends in short-hand, says : — " His arcana votis terra po].'igO(]ue fornntur." SHORT-HAND. 97 whom Paulus Diaconus by mistake attributes the nvention of this art ; of Persanius Philargirus, Fennius and Aquila, both affranchised of Me- csenas; of Seneca, Manlius, Saint Isidore, and Ausonius.* The study of this science was encou- * We cannot help quoting the verses which this poet, who was preceptor to the Eaiperor Gratianus in the year 385, wrote in honour of a very expert reporter of his time : — Al) NOTARIUM VELOCISSIME EXCIPIENTEM. Puer notarum praepetum Solers minister, advola ; Bipatens pugillar expedi, Cui multa fandi copia, Punctis peracta singulis, Ut una vox absolvitur. Evolvo libros uberes, Instarque densse grandinis, Torrente lingua perstrepo : Tibi nee aures ambigunt, Nee occupatur pagina ; Et mota parce dextera Volat per aequor cereum : Cum maxime nunc proloquor Circumloquentis ambitu Tu sensa nostri pectoris, Ut dicta jam ceris tenes. Sentire tarn velox mihi, Vellem dedisset mens mea Quam prsepetis dextroe fuga Tu me loquentem praevenis. Quis qua3so, quis me prodidit? H 98 SHORT-HAND. raged by the Emperors, who even learnt it them- selves ; and Titus often used to challenge all his secretaries, even to the most expert, to equal him in celerity. It was taught in the public schools, and the shortened characters were employed in Quis ista jam dixit tibi Quae cogitabam dicere? Quae furta corde in intimo Exercet ales dextera ! Quis or do rerum tarn novus Veniat in aiires ut tuas Quod lingua nondum absolvit ? Doctrina non haec praestitit ; Nee ulla tarn velox manus Celeripedis compendii Natura munus hoc tibi Deusque donum tradidit Quae loquerem ut scires prius, Idemque velles quod volo. Translation. To a very clever Notary, or Reporter. Come, young and famous reporter, prepare the tablets on which you express, with simple dots, whole speeches, as rapidly as others would trace one single word. I dictate volumes, and my pronunciation is as rapid as hail ; yet your ear misses nothing, and the pages are not filled. Your hand, of which the movement is hardly perceptible, flies over the waxy surface; and although ray tongue runs over long phrases, you fix my ideas on your tablets long before they are worded. I wish I could think as rapidly as you write ! Tell me, then, since you precede my imagination, — tell me p. SHORT-HAND. 99 the tribunals to follow all the proceedings of the law. They were used, also, in the writing of all public acts, which with the notaries* were simple preparatory notes, and had only legal force when they had been transcribed in full length, without abbreviations, and sealed and signed by the re- gular officers, or lawyers. We have very few books written in short- , hand; but this is not to be wondered at, when we ^ remember that the superstition of the first ages condemned them to the stake, as the impious work of mao'icians and astrolosfers. The royal . who has betrayed me? who has revealed to you what I was meditating? How many thefts does your hand make in my soul ! What is this new order of things ? How is it that what my mouth has not yet expressed, has already arrived at your ears? No art, no precept, can have given you this talent, since no other hand has the celerity of yours ; and you cer- tainly owe to nature and the gods, a gift which allows you to know what I am going to pronounce, and to think, as it were, with myself. * The private notaries, Notarum scriptores, notarii, were formerly but the lawyers' clerks ; and the ecclesiastical notaries, in the first years of the church, had for employment to collect, in short-hand notes, the acts of the Martyrs. They had been established by Saint Clement, seven in num- ber, and placed in various quarters of Rome. The Pope, Fabianus, thinking that short-hand was above the general understanding of the people, created seven under-clerks, to translate in the long-hand what the notaries had written with their shortened characters. H 2 100 SHOUT-HAND. library of Paris, however, possesses various ma- nuscripts in Tironian notes, a Capitular and fifty- four Charters of Lewis the Pious, successor to Charlemagne, which have been printed in 1747? with an Alphaheticum Tironianum, to facilitate the reading; of them. Amongst the modern nations, England was the first to make an application of this art to its own language, owing, most probably, to its early political reform. Short-hand, however, remained much confused and complicated until the year 1786, when Samuel Taylor published his Uni- versal System of Stenography, which was soon translated into all the living languages of Europe. This work, by showing the simplicity of the prin- ciple of so useful a science, increased the taste of the public for its acquirement, at the same time that it stimulated numerous authors to improve this system, or to combine others. The various works now existing in England in short-hand, under the names of Brachygrophy, Polygraphy, Semiography, Stenography, Tachygraphy, &c. &c., amount to much more than a hundred. There are nearly as many published in French, German, Italian, &c. Add to this that every re- porter or practitioner of the art has generally his own private system, and it may justly be supposed that the total of the short-hands in actual prac- SHORT-HAND. 101 tice amounts to some thousands. We have made it our purpose to analyze and compare those that we could meet with, either in print or manuscript, and a constant study of more than ten years du- ration has enabled us to examine a few of them. Whatever we have found interesting, useful, or advantageous in any way amongst these, we have carefully preserved and adapted to our own sys- tem, in which we have contrived, on the other hand, to the best of our ability, to remedy the various objections, of any weight, raised against the art itself. There is an important distinction to be made at first between the short-hand or contracted character used instead of the long-hand or Ro- man letters, and the abbreviated hand or con- tracted words which can be practised with all sorts of characters or letters ; for although the first appears to afi'ord the greatest advantages, the real speed in writing is principally, if not en- tirely, due to the second; so much so, indeed, that most of the reporters recently alluded to, after having spent many months in the study of a sys- tem of short-hand, or contracted character, re- nounce suddenly these strange figures to return to the well-known Roman hand, which by means of all the abbreviations they have learned, and with Ithe help of a few arbitrary signs, enables them to t 102 SHORT-HAND. follow the most rapid speakers with perfect ease, and to give afterwards their entire speeches in full length, without the omission of a single word. This is rather a dangerous disclosure for an author to make, at the same time that he publishes a new system of contracted characters, and we do not wish the reader to understand that he may do better, or even as well, with the Roman letters as with any contracted figures ; we merely substan- tiate a fact, the result of our personal observa- tion, and which we will explain in the following manner. The various systems of short-hand yet pub- lished, consist generally of a series of characters given as pure representatives of sounds, but which are nevertheless identified, each of them, with some peculiar letter of the Roman alphabet. Thus, for instance, whilst they have but one sign for the mute and the hissing sound of g in gage ; one only figure for the four distinct sounds of s in sea, reason, pleasure, cession ; they trace with two characters, entirely different, the similar hiss- ing sounds heard in chaise, shall, &c. &c. Some new systems even follow entirely the Roman let- ters and English orthography, having a character for^ and another for j)h ; one for k, another for q, and a third one for c hard. Consequently, the Roman letters are constantly kept, as it were, in SHORT-HAND. 103 sight within the mind ; adding to this, that they are^eveiTliised^in their own natural shapes wher- ever the writer wishes to express a word or a sentence with any preciseness, according to the instructions given by the short-hand professors themselves, who cannot find in their method the means of wTiting any sound accurately or dis- tinctly. And again, when the reporter is return- ed from the house, or the court, he immediately translates into Roman hand, whilst the words are still resounding, as it were, in his ear, (I do not mean for the press alone, but also for his own use afterwards, if required,) all that he has col- lected in his imperfect notes, because he has no Qiieans of making them mo7'e precise tlian they are. This constant intermixture of both charac- ters must necessarily turn to the disadvantage of the one but very recently learned, and of so limited an application ; thus, the new figures, however concise in their forms, never become familiar to the pen, and lose the sole advantage inherent to them ; viz. that of a greater rapi- dity of execution. The Roman hand is there- fore resumed by the greater number of persons, who had begun the study of short-hand with the greatest eagerness. None of these disadvantages are found in our system, which is too complete in itself to require, 104 SHORT-HAND. in any circumstance, the assistance of the Roman form ; and although we can use all the possible contractions of syllables or words which expe- diency may require, we yet find the means of expanding these contracted sounds to their full length, by a few additional signs placed over the characters first traced, and which still preserve their primitive aspect ; an advantage we have even over the Roman hand. Various objections, more or less plausible, have been raised against the study of short-hand in general ; these we will now examine, with respect to our system in particular. Firstly : the time which must be consecrated to this study has been considered as one of the greatest obstacles, and has deterred many indi- viduals from looking into it. The same argu- ment may be raised against all sciences, which can be acquired by no one without time and application. It would have had some weight if applied to the system of Seneca, (who was, never- theless, no idler of his time,) who had invented five thousand diff'erent signs, or hieroglyphics. It might even be used against the various arbi- trary signs collected to a certain amount by some of our predecessors,* or against the various com- * For instance, n round for /7ie world, then a dot in it for in the world ; a line across it for iltrough the SHORT-HAND. 105 plicated systems of double or treble letters ; but with regard to our own, it is certainly most futile, since all that is required to be committed to memory consists of seven simple figures, repre- senting the seven primitive characters of our alphabet, and which may be learned in seven minutes. All the remaining parts of the system, being natural deductions of a few simple princi- ples, will be invariably fixed in the mind by one single reading. Secondly : it has been said that the practice of short-hand spoils the hand for plain writing. We certainly do not see any fair ground for such an objection, since the characters alluded to have no connexion whatever with those of the common / world, &c., &c. A straight line | foi* uprightness; a 5 small cross f for Jesus Christ ; a point of exclamation ! ; for the Holy Ghost, &cc. Sec. No douht such signs are very expeditious, hut if they be used also for other purposes, they must sometimes lead to a great deal of confusion ; and if they be reserved for these allegorical significations, the sounds they are made to represent in other systems have in these to be expressed by more complicated figures, which in the end must be a considerable disadvantage. At the same I time, if an author collect a certain number of these signs, ' and contrive to place them in a specimen plate, he may cer- ; tainly pretend to a great superiority over other short-hand » composers ; provided the words expressed by his hierogly- ' phics are made the only test for the excellency of his method. 10(3 SHORT-HAND. hand. One might as well say that painting, or playing on the flute, was an impediment to the attainment of a good hand-writing. The only objection which might be maintained with some foundation is, that the short-hand characters have nothing in their forms which reminds us of the ease and elegance of the human hand ; that, although they constitute writing, yet they have no connexion whatever with the usual writing ; and that their practice, however perfect, can lead in no way to a better formation of the Roman letters. No short-hand author ever pre- tended to the contrary ; but with us, this argu- ment even falls to the ground, since most of our characters, being formed in the slanting direction natural to the movements of the right hand, the general aspect of our writing is not unlike that of the running hand ; whilst the oblong loops, (a complete innovation in short-hand,) by their va- ried modifications and combinations with the other characters, give to the whole much fluency and elegance. The last reproach generally made is, that the practice of short-hand is injurious to orthography. This might have some foundation with regard to the system in which the short-hand characters represent, as we have previously remarked, the Roman letters ; because, unless they follow closely SHORT-HAND. 107 the English orthography, as in Mr. Whitehead's system,* they may, by a long practice, influence the writer to use in the common hand the same contractions or substitutions which he practises in short-hand ; but when a system like ours is purely phonetical, the two writings can never be so far identified Avith each other as to lead to such mistakes. For example, the word judge, generally written in short-hand guge, is spelled, with our characters, dzhudzhe : in the first in- stance, the reporter, transcribing his notes in a great hurry, might be led to spell both syllables with the same letter g, which he identifies w^ith his short-hand character ; but with us the pho- netic characters represent the pronunciation of this word with a preciseness unusual in the com- mon hand, and which, in this instance, cannot be translated into English orthography. After stating the various objections raised against short-hand, we will make a brief enume- ration of the advantages to be derived from it, and which are of two sorts ; viz. the direct use- fulness of the art itself, and the indirect and beneficial influence resulting from its practice. The first advantage of short-hand, or, more properly speaking, the one most universally ap- preciated, is the facility it aff'ords for preserving * See Mr. Whitehead's System, Plate III. 108 SHORT-HAND. the rapid speeches made in parliament, at the bar, or in the numerous meetings, social, politi- cal, or religious : this needs no commentaries. The only remark we shall make on this point is, that the future progress of short-hand is essen- tially united with that of religious and political reform, in which cause it exerts an influence as powerful as that of the press itself, with which it is closely united. This explains why England was the first amongst the modern nations to bor- row this science from the Roman republic ; w^hy France began only to make some progress in it after the year 1815, when she received her present form of government, and why Italy and Spain appear as yet to have hardly had any use for it. The next advantage is, that of facilitating the studies of our schools and universities, by enabling the pupil to collect more from one single lecture than he could have done from five by the com- mon characters. To a gentleman following the profession of the law, short-hand is almost an indispensable ac- quirement, if he W'ish to preserve in their pre- cise forms the arguments of his adversaries, the depositions of the witnesses, the answers to the interrogatories and cross-examinations, the ver- dicts of the juries, or the sentences of the judges. SHORT-HAND. 109 It is not even necessary to be proficient in this art, to derive benefit from it. A few days' study will be sufficient to give any one the means of taking, in a comparatively short time, and a very small compass, the various extracts he may want at the public libraries ; and at the same time that he will be gaining speed in his writing, he will be collecting a considerable store of agreeable or useful information, which may form a very inte- resting volume of his portable librari/ ; and if Homer's Iliad, copied with semiographic charac- ters, was once enclosed in a walnut-shell ; we cannot doubt that, with proper materials, and by means of our concise characters, the principal works of the immortal Shakspeare might be pla- ced in the same compass. The linguist will find in our phonetic charac- ters the means of transcribing the exact pronun- ciation of a foreign language, with a preciseness not to be equalled with the Roman characters ; and their conciseness will enable him to pencil them between the lines of his class-book, under the direction of his master, to remain as a con- stant and unerring reference.* Authors, again, will find in it the means of * This last remark is only applicable to our characters written in full, which constitute, nevertheless, a very short hand ; though not so concise as the one we are about to in- troduce to the reader. 110 SHORT-HAND. writing their compositions with a great rapidity, and I may say with a perfect security to them- selves ; for if they take the pains to add a few con- tractions and arbitrary signs to this system, they will be in no danger of having any of their un- published productions stolen from them : an evil much complained of in the literary world. Another advantage, which may be best appre- ciated by the fair reader, is, that short-hand will give to a devoted friend the means of engraving the warmest protestations within the smallest com- pass, such as the inside of a ring ; and, if the ini- tials only be written, to trace on its surface more matter than he could have done otherwise on a whole sheet of paper.* Two persons, by means of our characters written upon a large scale, and exposed on a height, could understand each other at a great distance, with a certain degree of secrecy; they might even use the same means at night, by pla- * This representation of the whole words by their initials was much practised by the Romans, particularly on their urns, and funereal monuments : v. s. m. signified votum solvit marito ; o. o. olla ossuaria ; o. d. a. v. oUa data a viro ; s. p. p. p. T. c. sua propria pecunid potii, sibi curavit. In their epistles, also, the first part generally consisted of ini- tials ; for instance, s. v. g. e. v. for Si vales, Gaudeo, ego valeo ; s. T. E. T. L. N. V. E. E. s. c. V. for Si iu ct TuUia, lux nostra, valetis, ego ct suamssimus Cicero valemus. SHORT-HAND. Ill cing before the characters a lamp or other light, — a contrivance much in practice by the Romans, who in besieged towns made use of these fiery characters to express their wants to their friends. The initials s. c. signified succurrite cifo, help quickly, &c. &c. But the greatest advantage of short-hand lies, perhaps, in its indirect influence on the mind, which it tends considerably to strengthen, by putting into action its highest faculties, viz. me- mory, imagination, and judgment ; for, no other sounds being written but those strictly necessary to give an idea of the phrase, memory, or in its stead imagination, is called upon to supply in the reading the sounds left unexpressed, in order to make sense of the unfinished characters ; and as the exact meaning of each phrase is closely con- nected with what precedes and follows it, judg- ment, by comparing the various words to be ex- pressed under these simple characters, points out those most fit for the occasion. Hence it follows, that a man of experience and learning has a greater facility to read short-hand, than any other ; the necessity of incessantly comparing the various parts of each sentence forcing the reader to dive, as it were, into the very thoughts of the author, (as far as his own abilities will allow.) If, perchance, a sentence be not clearly under- stood at first sight of the characters, the young 112 SHORT-HAND. practitioner should pass it over, and read on for awhile, in order to allow the intuitive judgment to make its own investigations ; and, returning to the same part afterwards, he will be astonished to find that he reads it with the greatest facihty. The success of this almost infallible method is owing to the instinctive sensations, by means of which the judgment, apparently unoccupied with an object, from which we think to have drawn its attention by directing it upon another, still con- tinues to dwell upon it without our knowledge, and gives us, when our eyes or memory return to the same, the word of the enigma we had in vain attempted to explain. Although the reading of short-hand may be difficult, and rather slow at first, yet by practice and application it will soon become much more easy and rapid than any other ; for as the charac- ters need not be pronounced to be perfectly un- derstood, the more concise they are, the sooner they are examined and their meanings ascertain- ed. For instance, the date of this year, eighteen hundred and forty -two ^ is much more rapidly un- derstood from the four symbolical figures 1842, than from the twenty-six letters above written.* * This observcation is only applicable to silent reading ; for when the words are to be pronounced, the process of speech must take its necessary time, however rapid migjht be the perception of the eye, or the conception of the mind. SHORT-HAND. 113 The habit of short-hand strengthens memory which preserves the object intrusted to its care in proportion to the brightness and strangeness of the images created. Hence it follows, that monuments, medals, and all other relics perpetu- ate facts much more efficaciously than history and books. It is through the distinctness of the various features of the human form that Cineas, ambassador of king Pyrrhus at Rome, could re- member all those who were presented to him, and that the next day he named every one of them, senators and plebeians, without missing one individual ; it is through the same analysis that Cyrus could preserve in his memory the names of all the soldiers of his army ; lastly, it is by associating- certain ideas with certain forms, that lawyers, actors, and all those who have to speak in public, acquire an artificial memory much more powerful than the natural one, as we may learn from Moliere and Shaks- peare, the greatest actors as well as the greatest authors of their ages, and also from Pascal, who never forgot one single thing of all that he had done, read, or thought during his life ! One of the most efficacious means of helping the memory is, to write ourselves what we wish to remember ;* * Should any one put in question tlie advantages of this I 114 SHORT-HAND. the more irregular the characters, the stronger will be the impression on the mind, and conse- quently short-hand, with its abbreviations and strange figures, is certainly the most advantageous of all writings for that purpose. We will conclude this chapter with a consider- ation, which in the present age may have more weight upon the mind of the public than all that has been previously said : viz. suppose every man in active life to be three hours at his desk every day ; were all his business transacted in short- 1 hand, he would be able to write as much within one \ I hour, as he did before within the three. And if I he be a man of useful pursuits, working ten con- secutive hours every day, the two hours saved daily will be equal to one-fifth of his productive life, or to ten years in fifty ! ! practice, we merely refer him to Demosthenes, the great- est orator of Greece, who copied eight times the works of Thucydides, in order, as he said, to give more power to his genius. 1 CHAPTER II. SHORT-HAND OF LOGOGRAPHY. ITS ALPHABET, ABBREVIATING RULES, AND ORTHOGRAPHY. COMPARISON OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM WITH THOSE OF GURNEY, BYROM, TAYLOR, MAYOR, MOLTNEUX, HARDING, LEWIS, HUNTER, AVHITEHEAD, ETC. ETC. The art of short-hand writing, as we have already stated, is divided into two very distinct branches : the first, relating to the characters, consists in substituting for the common letters of the Roman alphabet, a series of arbitrary figures, much supe- rior to those in conciseness and rapidity of exe- cution ; it is purely mechanical, addresses itself entirely to the memory, and constitutes what is generally understood under the common appel- lation of short-hand. The second, relating to the abbreviations, consists in suppressing methodi- cally in the writing all that which is of a secondary importance, preserving only in each word the letters strictly necessary to lead afterwards to its sounds, and in each phrase the words indispen- sable to bring to the memory the whole sentence; it varies according to circumstances, addresses I 2 116 SHORT-HAND OF itself principally to the judgment, and may be practised with all sorts of characters. Each of these two we have treated separately, as follows : Short-hand Characters. Our short-hand alphabet differs but slightly from our long-hand one ; the only distinction consisting in the suppression of all the little addi- tional marks ; viz. the dots and cross lines placed at the end or in the middle of certain articulations in order to distinguish them from others with which they have a great analogy.* The inton- ations being always suppressed in short-hand as hereafter explained, our alphabet is reduced to seven signs, expressing, as it were, the seven roots of all the articulations of speech. If the reader have followed with attention what we have said with respect to the analogies exist- ing between the various spoken sounds, in the first part of this work, he is now fully satisfied that all the articulations may be classed with facility under these seven heads. It would be superflu- ous to dwell any longer upon the subject, and pre- senting our short-hand alphabet to the eye, we will refer for all further explanations to the above- mentioned pages. It will be observed that two of our figures * See page 65 on articulations. LOGOGRAPHY. 117 represent as many as four different sounds; this example is given to us by the English ortho- graphy itself, which writes with the same cha- racter the four hissing sounds heard in sir, rose, measure, se^^ion. The analogies existing between the various sounds belonofino; to each sign, will bring them all instantaneously to the mind at the sight of their representative charac- ter. Some distinction, however, might easily be made between them, by tracing the characters of the second and fourth columns with a long-er or heavier stroke of the pen. This we indicate as a means of facilitating the deciphering of the words to young beginners, but after a few weeks' prac- tice it will be found almost superfluous. The next consideration is the materials to be employed : for these we advise the pupil to pro- vide himself with a sharp steel pen, or a hard pencil, (Brookman's HHH,) and ruled paper, with a sufficient space between the lines to pre- vent the characters from running into each other. This last requisite may be objected to: it has beeji said that " ruled paper is not always at hand," which is doubtless true, nor was the Dutchman's anchor ; (to quote the words of Mr. T. How, in his Ideograplty, by far the cleverest pamphlet published of late years on this subject,) "nor is a pen or pencil always at hand, or even plain 118 SHORT-HAND OF paper ; but it is highly presumable that he who wanted to exercise his art, would see the pro- priety of being provided with these necessaries, unless he aspired to place himself in the tritely proverbial predicament of the illustrious personage alluded to, or that he inherited any family pride as a descendant from one of the foolish division of ten virgins, of whom we read in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew." Here it may be asked if it would not be as easy to procure ruled as plai.i paper f If however, perchance, the second only were to be had, the lines might be dispensed with without much inconvenience. Abbreviations.* Rule I.— No intonation is ever written in short-hand. Remark 1. However, as the words which have no articulation in them must still in some way be recalled to the mind of the reader, we propose to indicate all intonated sounds by a dot placed exactly in the position where each intonation would have been begun in the long-hand ; as, you spoke and I listened^ write . . spk .nd : Isnd. — No. 1. * We have given our examples here in the Roman hand ; the figures refer to the Phite III., where tlie same words are traced in short-hand. LOGOGRAPHY. 119 Remark 2. Words which have an intonation before their first articulation, should be begun a little above or below the line. All other words being traced from that line, the distance left in the first instances will give the reader to under- stand that there is a sound left out, which sound can be no other than an intonation ; as, they have done it. — No. 2. Remark 3. If there be two intonations before the first articulation, the distance from the line to the beginning of the word must be doubled ; as, the orders which were received from the United States. — No. 3. Remark 4. When ruled paper is not used, a dot placed immediately before the first articulation written, will indicate the intonated sound ; if two intonations be pronounced, two dots must be pre- fixed. Thus the example quoted in Eemark 3 would, in the present instance, be written in the following manner : th . rdrs . .ch . .r rsvd frm th ..ntd stts. — No. 4. Remark 5. When great preciseness is required in the writing, a dot may be added in the middle of a word to indicate the place of a vowel, as in the form of this frame, write th frm of this fr.m — No. 5. Rule II. No more should be written than what is strictly necessary to assist the memory. 120 SHORT-HAND OF Thus most terminations may be suppressed in compound words, provided a dot be placed at the end of the shortened word to point out the abbre- viation to the reader; as in comfortable^ immen- sity^ goodness, write cmfrt. .mmns. gdn. — No. 6. A great many words even may be sufficiently expressed by their initials alone. The following ones are generally written in that manner. B C & K D F G L M N P R S T V Z List of Alphabetical Words. be, been, by, bad, bought, but. can, come, could, king, queen. day, do, did, done, dead. if, of, off, far, for. go, God, good, give. all, ill, will, law, Lord. me, my, man, many, ma'm, miss, master. an, in, no, nor, not. up, upon, people, person. are, art, or, our, right. us, sir, so. at, it, to, into, unto. vertu, voice, Victoria, victoi'y. as, is. Such are the principal abbreviations in short- hand. The reader may add to them as much as his ingenuity may suggest, or his memory allow him to practise with safety. The following tran- scription of the Lord's Prayer will give him an idea of their effect in general. PLATE III . •i^^/rfj^ / \ kc 2 I P 4 s -^ ^ / / ny 7' r r',"^ rVa^fS .^ d s ^ p T^y I 3.cliys ^ SAy ai. //^.Cia^. l^l :^k 'i^ (^^-lZ/?^/'.//'^J'. --£ ;l^!^^ ^ 1 ^ y^-' - i\ ,-1/ s. ) ^^ / /-^ ^ ^^ -^ ^ iZ /2 >-^ X^ ^-^ -9^ ^ -yr^ ^. ^ ^^ f-n 00 !/^ ^ ^ ^ /S T-^ i fev ^v^ -^ ^1- ^^^ "V7 -^/--T^^^'^— y-y- ?y? ^/ V r- y ~y .^^-^^/f-/-^^-^^-^ .^ ^^ f p/ /y Jl fyUsan, iu^^ : ^^/i^p-ya/A S(re^l. La/v^.v- LOGOGRAPIIY. 121 Th Ls Pu.b. R fthr ..ch r n .vn .ll..d b th nm th c. c th I b d n .rth 2 t z n ,vn g s th d r dl brd .nd frgv s r trspss z .. frgv thm tht trspst .gnst s nd Id s n n tmpt. b dlvr s frm .vl f thn s th c th p..r nd th glr f .vr nd .vr mn — No. 20. Orthography of Short-hand. Rule I. — All the articulations contained in a word should be joined together without lifting the pen until the word is finished ; as, satisfaction, considerable. — No. 7. Remark \. — When two straight lines follow each other in the same direction, their succession presents the appearance of one single character traced a little longer than usual. In order to prevent the confusion that might sometimes arise from this, it is advisable to place a dot at the point of junction, provided there be an inton- ation pronounced between the two straight lines ; as in system, determination. — No. 8. Remark 2. — When there is no intonation be- tween the two similar characters, the writer may lift his pen after the first, and trace the second parallel to it ; as in aynnistie. — No. 9- Remark 3. — Even with an intonation between the two similar characters, it may sometimes be 122 SHORT-HAND OF found more convenient to write each character separately ; for both, being in the same form and position, will be as rapidly traced in two parallel short lines as in one single long one, and the WTiting will be rendered, through this, much more distinct, neat, and intelligible ; as in determinate, monument. — No. 10. Rule II. — All characters following each other at an obtuse angle, should be blended into one curved or undulated line ; as calm, seci^et, dis- crimination, exchequer. — No. 11. Rule III. — In tracing round loops, some atten- tion should be paid to the intonations sounded with their articulations ; for in many instances they may be partly indicated by the manner in which these loops are joined together in short- hand. Thus Bible, hawhle, bubble, although written with the very same character, bbl. are traced in three distinct manners, indicating, by the various little curves that must be left between the loops, the sounds of the intonations pro- nounced with them. — No, 12. Rule IV. — Two or more words expressed by their initials only, may be joined together as if they formed one single word ; but, in this case, a small horizontal line should be drawn over them, LOGOGRAPHY. 123 in order to show that they are to be divided and pronounced singly ; as Queen, Lords and Com- mons. The will of God. — No. 13. Remark. — In writing alphabetical words, the small ones, such as articles, prepositions, and conjunctions are always omitted, as in the above example. Rule V. — Whenever the form of the characters will permit, it will add considerably to the clear- ness of the writing if we join together the words that have an immediate relation with each other, as the adjective with the substantive, the adverb with the verb, &c. &c.; but the junction should be made by placing the pen, not at the end, but in the middle of the first word written, and begin- ning the second word from that point ; as in good si/stem, well said. — -No. 14. Remark 1. — When the second word begins with an intonation, the articulation which follows, and which is to be joined on the preceding word, should be traced across it ; as in good army, well administered. — No. 15. Remark 2. — Should there be a double inton- ation pronounced before the first articulation of the second word, this articulation must be traced across the preceding word in such a manner, as to show a greater proportion of its figure projecting into it; as in great house, so united. — No. 16. 124 SHORT-HAND OF Rule VI. — A repetition is indicated by a thin m line drawn under the word or words repeated; as Never, never shall we meet again. — No. 17. Remark. — When one or more words intervene between the words firstly pronounced and their repetition, a caret should be placed wherever the repetition occurs. Ex. Lord, have mercy upon us; Christ, have mercy upon us: write, L .v mrc n s krst ,. — No. 18. Rule VII. — A contraction or suppression of any sort at the end of a word is indicated by a dot. Ex. sentiment, sentimental, glory, glori- ously, write snt. sntm. gl. glrs. — No. 19. Rule VIII. — The punctuation is not written in short-hand, but indicated with spaces left between the words in proportion to the time that the voice should rest between their utterance ; a full stop being generally indicated by beginning the next word on another line. Rule IX. — Whenever words occur which re- quire great preciseness, as proper names, quota- tions, or strange and unusual expressio7is, and also whenever the sense is not perfectly clear to the writer, recourse must be had to the long- hand, (or Logography,) in which all such parts should be written as accurately as possible. Rule X. — All short-hand notes or extracts LOGOGRAPHY. 125 should be carefully read over at the earliest opportunity^ and made as much as possible con- formable to the above rules. Here end our instructions relative to Shot^t- hand: a part we consider merely as a useful ap- pendage to Logography. Yet to those who give this science their first consideration, we hope that our system will not appear unworthy of notice, since we feel satisfied that it is superior in its principle and constitution to a great many, as we intend to prove by a comparative examination of the most popular ones among them ; this being said without disrespect to any. For we have been pleased to relate the progress of the art of short- hand, proud to acknowledge the merits of our numerous predecessors, and it is with a deep sen- timent of gratitude for their assistance that we now lay before our readers a table of those systems most generally esteemed, and which we have taken the liberty to analyze through the medium of our characters. The first inspection of the plate will show that they have generally a great analogy and even sameness with each other, and are considerably inferior to ours in conciseness and fluency, or rapidity of execution. These deficiencies are owing to two principal causes ; viz. firstly, to the complication and irregularity of the characters ; 126 SHORT-HAND. secondly, to the total disregard in their formation, of the movements most in harmony with the arti- lation of the right-hand. The numbers at the bottom of each column give the comparative quantity of simple inflections of the pen contained in each alphabet ; presenting, in an inverted form, the exact ratio of their rela- tive shortness. Plate i v . ^/^^^//^ .^. wi^m- y^y9^s^. ^^sf^- J^^<^ CiJ-^^y*^" ^/<^^y??i^iy CHAPTER III. ALLEGORICAL WRITING. SUPERIORITY OF ALLEGORICAL CHARACTERS OVER ALPHABE- TICAL ONES. ADVANTAGES RESULTING FROM A COMBINA- TION OF BOTH. WHAT PARTS OP SPEECH ARE BEST ADAPTED TO ALLEGORICAL SIGNS. APPLICATION. A SHORT-HAND book would never appear com- plete to the generality of readers, unless it con- tained a great collection of arbitrary characters or hieroglyphics. As to us, although we have previously remarked that all those apparently ingenious allegories, contrived by many short- hand writers, are more an encumbrance than an advantage in a well-combined system ; although we further add that, amongst the numerous works we have perused treating on the subject, those most approved of by the public, such as Taylor's, Harding's, Lewis's, &c. &c., contained the least of such allegorical figures ; yet withal we must acknowledge that, were proper precautions taken in order not to confound the allegorical with the alphabetical characters, great advantage might be derived from the combination of both species of writing. For the allegorical figures, bringing the 128 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. objects at once to the mind, are much more easily understood than the alphabetical characters, par- ticularly when the latter are contracted in a rapid short-hand; and by combining both together, the clearness of the first would throw a considerable light on the second, and render them at once perfectly legible. Provided, however, that the parts of speech most useful and frequent in the language were selected to be thus allegorically expressed. For instance : having ascertained that sub- stantives are generally accompanied with articles either definite or indefinite, and declined (as well as their representative pronouns) by means of a few prepositions, of which the most frequent are o/J tOj for, from, at, in, on, by ; that verbs are generally accompanied with pronouns, and conju- gated by means of the auxiliary verbs, he, have, do, loill, shall, must, may, might, would, should, let ; that regular or complete phrases contain always a substantive or pronoun in the nomina- tive case and a verb ; and that irregular or in- complete phrases are always accompanied with one of the two conjunctions, or, and, which con- junction is either written in each irregular phrase, or (when two or more of these, having the very same irregularity, follow each other without inter- ruption) expressed only in the last one of them ; ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 1*29 and lastly, that all sentences are either affirm- ative or interrogative, according to the relative situations of the verb and its nominative, and either positive or negative according to its being constructed without or with the neo;ative adverb not ; having, as we said, ascertained these parti- culars of the English language, if we ascribe allegorical characters to all such articles, prepo- sitions, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, and adverbs, that we may write, when we read the same sen- tences again, the meaning of these leading parts of speech being thus expressed without the least chance of ambiguity or doubt, the remaining words will, in many instances, suggest themselves to the mind even before their signs are read; or at least their simple roots will be more than sufficient to render them perfectly intelligible, principally if we have taken care to point out by a dot placed in two different positions, the substantives and verbs that may be found without any one of the above leading words to designate them. Let us exemplify this by an application of the combined system of writing to a part of a speech delivered by Lord John Russell in the House of Commons, on Feb. 2(3, 1828, for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Act, and which we find quoted as a specimen in almost all short-hand books published since that epoch. K 130 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. " Sir, / have shown that the Acts, to which I have called the attention of the house, originated in circum- stances altogether different from those under which their burden is complained of, and their repeal sought /or. / have gone through the causes which occasioned the enact- ment of the statutes ; / have enumerated the reasons that now exist for their abandonment ; / have endeavoured to show that, so far from not inflicting any hardship on the body against whom they are directed, they are, in fact, the cause o/" great mischief and injustice, and produce a corre- spondent degree of irritation on the minds of the parties aggrieved hy tliem. I have shown, or attempted to show, that these laws are founded on principles of persecution ; that they inflict very serious grievances on a large propor- tion of our population ; that in their spirit and operation they are totally at variance with the improved state of our own legislation iyi relation to these matters, both in Scot- land and Ireland ; arid that they are diametrically opposed to the legislation of all liberal and enlightened Christian countries. " Sir, / think an alteration in the laws most loudly called for and imperatively demanded at our hands, the rather as their repeal will tend to render the dissenters more attached to the constitution, and more willing to bear with cheerfulness the proportion of the burden imposed upon them for the maintenance of the church and state, great as these burdens most undoubtedly are. " /advocate the repeal of these laws, because I am con- vinced that their abolition will materially tend to allay the ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 131 bitterness of party and religious feeling, and contribute to the promotion of harmony and good-will among the dif- ferent classes of his Majesty's subjects ! But, sir, above all / urge the repeal of these enactments, because / am satis- fied that it will suit the tone and spirit of the times. It ivill he better to consent to the repeal of these enactments, than to permit the existence of those angry yet inefficient and impracticable laws, which are a disgrace to the statute book." The words printed in italics being those which compose the first class, would be expressed with allegorical characters, conveying to the mind at once full and complete ideas of their meanings before their sounds could be pronounced or even thought of by the reader. The remaining part of the speech printed in Roman letters, would be written with alphabetical characters, as usual ; and the combined writings would read thus : — Sr / have shn that the .cts to which I have eld the .tnshn of the .s .rdgntd in srcmstnss .Itgthr dfrnt from those .ndr which their brdn is cmplnd of and their rpl st for, &c. &c. By the above example we must feel convinced of the great advantages to be derived from such a combination. For not only are the meanings of all the allegorical words expressed through it more plainly than they could ever be with the K 2 132 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. most perfect alphabetical writing, but also the remaining words of the sentence have all their grammatical construction and relative importance thoroughly made known to the reader by means of their different positions and relation with the first class of words ; and this even before he has been able to ascertain the sounds of their repre- sentative letters ! For instance : the first word wTitten alpha- betically is shn. This, the allegorical figures tell us, is a past participle intended to repre- sent by means of the personal pronoun / and auxiliary verb have, the first pei^son singular of a verb in the pei'fect tense and indicative 7nood. The second written word is xts, which is designated by the same process as a substantive in the definite sense, jilural number,^ and nomi- native case : eld., the third written word, is desig- nated as a past participle, expressing by means of the personal pronoun /, and auxiliary verb have, the first person singular of a verb in the perfect tense and indicative mood; .tnshn is next designated as a substantive in the singu- lar number, definite sense, and direct objective case, submitted to the direct action of the active * Although the English articles do not determine either crender or number, we have thouglit it more advantageous to express both in oiu" allegorical signs, as hereafter explained. ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 133 verb, eld, previously analyzed ; .s is afterwards designated as a substantwe in the singular num- ber, definite sense, and possessive case ; .rdgntd is designated by the dot underneath as a verb in the perfect tense : this verb having no nomi- native near it, we have had recourse to the above-mentioned dot (see Plate V.) to show its grammatical importance. But as every verb must have a nominative, as well as every nominative a verb relating to if, as soon as we under- stand (by means of the dot) this word to be a verb, we immediately conclude that it is the one relating to the nominative .cts, previously ana- lyzed and left in suspense till now w^ithout its verb. We need not continue this analysis any further. We have said enough to convince the reader of the great clearness of such a writing ; and those who have any practice of short-hand, must have often felt the want of some such dis- tinctive marks to lead them in deciphering their confused and perplexing characters. It will be remarked, that the allegorical charac- ters contained in the above speech (see Plate VII.) are more numerous even than the alpha- betical ones ! The proportion is not always so favourable as this to our combined system ; but yet we may with confidence assert that the arti- cles, pronouns, auxiliary verbs, prepositions, con- 134 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. junctions, and adverbs, above mentioned, and which do not amount altogether to sixty distinct words, or one thousandth part of the English vocabulary, form nevertheless at least one third of all that is ever printed in any kind of books, and one-half of all that is ever delivered in the forms of addresses, lectures, sermons, and speeches of any kind. Such are the words we have selected for our allegorical characters, which in their formation constitute a class of figures perfectly distinct from the others, as hereafter explained. In our long hand, it will be remembered, we have divided the characters into two distinct classes ; the first consisting of straight lines and expressing all the articulations, the second con- sisting of curved lines, and expressing all the intonations of speech. But in short-hand, where we do not write intonations, we have no use for the curved lines, and consequently we can apply them to the formation of our allegorical charac- ters without fear of ever mistaking them for alphabetical ones. Another characteristic feature of our allego- rical signs is, that they are always written above or below the line followed in the writing of the alphabetical ones, so that were they intermixed with intonations, no confusion could ever arise ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 135 from this circumstance, even if the paper had no ruled lines, for the various positions of the two kinds of characters would be still perfectly dis- cernible ; add to this, that most of the allegorical ones have upward and backward strokes, which are never found in the alphabetical figures. Explanation of the Allegorical Characters.* To be expressed allegorically : Istly. Both ai'ticles, viz. the dejinite with a comma or small stroke of the pen slanting down- wards to the left, and the indefinite w^ith an inverted comma or small stroke of the pen slant- ing downwards to the right : both these signs being w^ritten in the singular above, or to the left of, and in the plural under or to the right of the substantive they accompany. — Ex. No. 1. Singular, the system, a system, the law, a law. Plural, tJie systems, systems. f the laws, laws.f 2ndly. The Jive personal pronou7is, viz. the first and second persons, with the two curves ascribed to the intonations o, e ; the third person mascu- * The numbers given at the end of each paragraph refer to Plate v., where the examples are repeated in allegorical characters. f The character of the indefinite article plural is only written under substantives which are not preceded by any adjective relative to them. 136 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. line, with the curve ascribed to the intonation o ; the third person feminine, with this last curve looped at its beginning ; and the third person neuter, with tlie curve ascribed to the intonation u : these five signs being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line,* — Ex. No. 2. Singular, /, t/wzi, he, she, it. Plural, we, you, they, they, they. 3rdly. The Jive possessive adjectives, with the five signs ascribed to the five personal pronouns to which they relate, having a small comma placed above them when the substantive possessed is in the singular, and under them when it is in the plural number : these five signs being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line. — Ex. No. 3. Singular, my, thy, his, her, its 1 , , . ■^' •^' ' ' S colour, (sing.) Plural, our, your, their, their, their ^ Singular, my, thy, his, her, its ) , , ^ ' •" •" .' _' > colours. (PLU.) Plural, our, your, their, their, their * 4thly. The Jive possessive pronouns, with the signs ascribed to the five personal pronouns to * Although the gender is not indicated in English in the plural of many words which have this distinction in the singular number, we have preserved the three genders with our signs in both numbers. The advantages of this uniform preciseness need not be explained. ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 137 which they relate, having a small inverted com- ma placed above them when the substantive pos- sessed is in the singular, and under them when it is in the plural number : these five signs being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line. — Ex. No. 4. Sin. tnine, thine, his own, hers, its own i ^ 7 - 7 ■ , • > seems good, (.sin.) Plu. ours, yours, theirs, theirs, theirs ) Sin, mine, thine, his own, hers, its own i i / s . . > seem good, (plu.) Plu. ours, yours, theirs, theirs, theirs ) 5thly. The two demonstrative pronouns, with the two perpendicular curves ascribed to the inton- ations «, e, looped at their beginning ; these two signs being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line. — Ex. No. 5. Singular, this, that reads well. Plural, these, those read well. 6thly. The two demonstrative adjectives, with the two perpendicular looped curves ascribed to the demonstrative adjective, having a small dot placed before them : these two signs being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line. — Ex. No. ti. Singular, this, that book reads well. Plural, these, those books read well. 7thly. The relative pronouns, viz. that, with a small comma having a dot over it; who, or whom. 138 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. with the curve ascribed to the intonation u loop- ed at its beginning ; which, with the same looped curve, having a dot inside ; what, with the same sign having a larger loop ; and whose, with the same looped character, having an inverted comma placed above when the substantive possessed is in the singular, and under when it is in the plural number : these five signs being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line. —Ex. No. 7.* Sin. I know that, whom, which, what, whose 1 mean Plu. I know that, who, which, what, whose ) 8thly. The relative adjectives, which, what, whose', viz. the two first with the same characters as the relative pronouns, having a dot placed be- fore them, and the third with the small looped character, having a comma placed above when the substantive possessed is in the singular, and un- der when it is in the plural number ; these three * Remarks. Our allegorical characters constitute a svs- tern of writing in which every part has been studied with relation to itself, as well as to the whole combination which we are now explaining. We hope, therefore, that the reader will not judge hastily of what has been as yet laid before him, and that, if he were disposed to think the above signs might have been simplified, he will suspend his judg- ment until he comes to the end of this chapter, when he will feel satisfied that simplicity, perspicuity, and conciseness, are the result of those apparently confused and superfluous ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 139 characters being written in the singular above, and in the plural under the line. Ex. No. 8. Sin. 7vhich m.ar\, what house, whosehovsQ, whose horses. Plu. which men, what houses, whose horse, whose horses. Each of these eight sorts of words is susceptible of being placed in a variety of circumstances or cases, of which the most frequent are the nomi- native, the objective direct, and the objective indirect. In the first instance : the word being the principal substantive in the phrase, is gene- rally written before the verb ; in the second, the word being the object upon which is directed the action of the verb, is placed next after it; and in the third, the word being the object yor which the action is performed, is written last of all ; as in 1 _ .2 3 the phrase, / give it him. Sometimes, when the direct objective is a longer word than the indirect, it is placed after characters. In this example (No. 7), the words w?io, which, what, are not smiply relative pronouns, (viz. words show- ing that the same substantive is used with the following verb,) but they convey besides a peculiar meaning with them. For instance : whom signifies the person that ; which, the one that ; what, the thing that : it was therefore neces- sary to give a distinct sign to each. But when they are sim- ple relative pronouns, as in the phrases, / know the man who came; the person which you mean, &cc,, they need not be expressed otherwise than by the dotted comma ascribed to the relative that. 140 ALLEGORICAL AVRITING. it ; as in the phrase / give him those, but yet the sense of the phrase cannot be misconstrued ; and when there is more preciseness wanted, the preposition to is added before the indirect objec- tive. We follow exactly the same rules with our allegorical characters, with the exception that we have but one character either in the nominative or in the objective case. As to the various pre- positions which are used, we have selected a few of the most frequent to be represented with alle- gorical signs also, as explained hereafter, para- graph the 12th. 9thly. The most frequent auxiliary verbs. By auxiliary verbs we mean verbs used as helps to conjugate other verbs, and which, losing all indi- vidual character, preserve no other signification but what is necessary to express the time and mode of the verbs they are joined to. For in- stance : the verb ivill is a verb active, expressing the action of the mind being directed on a certain object in a certain manner ; as, in the phrase If you will go, I cannot detain you. But in the fol- lowing one. If you go, you will repent it, there can be no will to repent, and the verb will, losing all individual character, is nothing more than a simple auxiliary to the verb repent, conjugated through its means in the future tense, indicative mood. Again, when one says, / have the book ; ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 141 the verb have is employed in its proper signifi- cation, and indicates possession ; but in the phrase / have lost the hook, the verb have, instead of in- dicating- possession, contributes to give a contrary- idea, being auxiliary to the verb lost, conjugated through its means in the past time, indicative mood. It is of the greatest importance to consider well before we make any application of the allegoric signs, whether a verb is used in its proper sense, or as auxiliary to the following verb, for on this distinction depends all the advantages of our alle- gorical characters. The English language, in consequence of its deficiency in simple tenses, has a great number of auxiliary verbs, by means of which it expresses a variety of delicate shades in time and mood, which cannot be translated without much diffi- culty, even in more perfect languages. The fol- lowing table, in which we have conjugated the verb to run, in the mood and tenses most fre- quently used, and which is transcribed literally on the Plate V., has appeared to us the most intel- ligible way of explaining our allegorical figures, ascribed to auxiliary verbs. 142 INDI' PRESENT. 1 PAST. ^ ^v Simple. Simple.* Contemporary, ' 1 person I run I have run I was running 2 person thou runnest thou hast run thou wert running g 3 person (m.) he runs he has run he was running 3 person (f.) she runs she has run she was running 3 person (n.) it runs it has run it was running 1 person we run we have run we were running < 2 person you run you have run you were running g 3 person (m.) they run they have run they were runninc 3 person (f.) they run they have run they were running 1 3 person (n.) they run they have run they were running Additional Moods in the Ti Eventual simple. Eventual conditional. Conditional simple. . '1 I may run I might run I would run 2 thou may est run thou mightest run thou wouldst run O 3 m. he may run he might run he would run 'A iri 3 f. she may run she might run she would run ,3n. it may run it might run it would run f 1 we may run we might run we would run 2 you may run you miglit run you would run 3 m. they may run they might run they would run a. 3f. they may run they niii;ht run they would run , 3 n. they may run they might run they would run The same Moods in the Ti '1 I may have run I might have run I would have run a. < 2 thou mayst have run thou mightest have run thou wouldst have run 3 m. he may have r\in he might have run he would have run ■A 3 f. she may have run she might have run she would have run ^ 3 n. it may have run it might have run it would have run /I we may have run we might have run we would have run •< 2 you may have run you might have run you would have run 3 m. they may have run they might have run they would have run 3 f . they may liave run they might have run they would have run ,3n. they may have run lliey might have run they would have run This tense in our sign is the same as the preterite, I run. : V E MOOD, 143 - FUTURE. Anterioi . Simple. Anterior. "^ I had run I shall run I shall have run tliou hadst run thou will run thou wiit have run he had run he will run he will have run she had run she will run she will have run it had run it will run it will have run we had run we shall run we shall have run you had run you will run you will have run they had run they will run they will have run they had run they will run they will have run they had run they will run they will have run RESENT, OR FtTURE SiMPLE. Obligatorii hii right. Obligatory byjorce. Obligator n by presumption. Obligatory by prayer, order, or determination. Infi- nitive I should run I must run I will run let me run thou shouldst run thou must run thou shall run run he should run he must run he shall run let him run she should run she must run she shall run let her run it should run it must run it shall run let it run c 3 we should run we must run we shall run let us run O you should run you must run you shall run ru n they should run they must run they shall run let they run they should run they must run they shall run let they run they should run they must run they shall run let they run VST, OR Future A nterior. should have run I must have run I will have run let me have run ou shouldst have run thou must have run thou shalt have run have run ' should have run he must have run he shall have run let him have run e should have run she must have run she shall have run let her have run ^ should have run it must liave run it shall have run let it have run Qi 2 should have run we must have run we will have run let us have run > u should have run you must have run you shall have run have run o ey should have run they must have run ihey shall have run let them have run ey should have run they must have run they shall have run let them have run ey should have run they must have run they shall iiave run let them have run 144 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. In each of these various tenses and moods a verb raay be repeated in four different manners, viz. — f 1. in the possessive sense, as I have run. Affirmatively, | ^ .^^ ^^^^ negative ... / have not run. Interroo-a- C 1 • i^"^ ^^^^ positive sense, as Have I run ? tively, ^2. in the negative ... Have I not run? Consequently, preserving the signs in their sim- ple form for the representation of the verbs in the affirmative positive sense, we shall express, lOthly, The negation and interrogation by a thin line drawn across the characters in the first case, or joined before them in the second. Ex. No. 10. / have not run. Have I run ? H ave I not run 7 llthlv. The verbs have and he; these two words, when auxiliary, being expressed, the first with a loop, and the second with a straight line joined at the end of the pronominal characters, are distinguished, when used in their individual sense, by a small dot added to them. Ex. No. 1 1 . / have TjoolxS. I am studious.* 12thly and lastly. The prepositions, conjunc- tions, and adverbs most frequently used ; viz. * It is useless to remark that we express the root of the verb alone with the above signs, and that all the variations of time and mood are expressed with the auxiliary charac- ters, as well as all those of persons and numbers with the pronominal figures. ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 145 to, of, for, with, so, on, more, less, very, amU than, with the signs given in Ex. No. 12, being written above the line ; and at, hy,from, without, as, in, most, least, ever, not, or, with the same signs, being written under the line. It might appear at first sight a rather difficult task to class in our minds, and to remember in the practice, the numerous arbitrary figures con- tained under the above twelve heads, and which form the basis of our symbolical system ; but on a closer examination we soon perceive that al- most all these variegated and apparently irregular figures are formed in a simple and regular man- ner, from the various combinations of di few ele- mentary signs, which latter signs are the only real arbitrary ones.* For instance, having chosen five simple distinct characters to be applied to pronouns or adjectives, we express in the following manner : Istly. The five singular personal pronouns ; viz. / or me, thou or tJiee, he or him, she or her, it, with the five characters written above the line. 2ndly. The five plural pronouns correspond- ing to the same persons ; viz. we or us, you, they or them, (masc.) they or them, (fem.) they or them, (neuter,) with the same characters written under the line. * See Plate V. 146 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 3rdly. The five singular pronominal adjec- tives ; viz. my^ thy^ his, her, its, with the same characters, having a small comma added to them, written above the line. 4thly. The five plural pronominal adjectives corresponding ; viz. our, your, their, (raasc.) their, (fern.) their, (neuter,) with the same cha- racters and comma written under the line. 5thly. The five singular possessive pronouns ; viz. mine, thine, his own, hers, its own, with the same characters, having a small inverted comma added to them, written above the line. 6thly. The five plural possessive pronouns corresponding; viz. ours, yours, theirs, (masc.) theirs, (fem.) theirs, (neuter,) with the same characters and inverted comma written under the line. Consequently, with five simple characters and two commas, we express thirty different words of the English language, and as many as sixty dis- tinct meanings, since we express in all possessive words the number of the substantives possessed, by writing the possessive comma for the singular above, and for the plural below the pronominal character ; besides giving the gender of plural pronouns in the third person. Those distinctions, which cost us no extra trouble, at the same time that they render writing more regular, are indis- ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 147 pensable in our allegorical system, where all verbs being written in their simple roots only, we have to look to the nominative pronouns for the distinction of numbers. For instance, the phrase, Your sheep are ivhite^ and mine is black, would be written in your system. Your (plural) sheep be white, and mine (singular) be black. Proceeding in our examination of the allego- rical characters, we find that The singular demonstrative pronouns this, that, being expressed with the two characters ascribed to /, you, looped at their beginnings and written above the line, we have also, 2ndly. The plural demonstrative pronouns corresponding ; viz. these, those, with the same characters written under the line. 3rdly. The two singular demonstrative ad- jectives ; viz. this, that, with the same characters, having a dot placed before them and written above the line. 4thly. The two plural demonstrative pro- nouns corresponding ; viz, these, those, with the same characters and dots written under the line. Consequently, we have here again eight differ- ent words expressed with two characters and one dot.* * There is a great deal of confusion in some grammars, as well as misunderstanding among some grammarians, with L 2 148 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. Lastly. The singular relative pronoun who or whom^ what, and ivhich^ being expressed with the character ascribed to the pronoun it, having at its beginning a small or a larger, or a dotted loop, and written above the line, we trace also, 2ndly. The plural relative pronouns corces- ponding, with the same looped characters written under the line.* 3rdly. The singular relative adjectives what, which, with the same looped characters, having a respect to various words called adjectives, or pronouns, or pronominal adjectives, &c. &c. The rule we have followed is this : whatever is written for a noun, (pro nomine.,) we call pronoun ; whatever is added to a noun, we call adjec- tive ; consequently, in the phrase Take this, the word this is a pronoun ; and in the other phrase, Take this hook, the same word this is an adjective. f In English we write both in the same manner ; but such a confusion would have been a blot in our allegorical system, which we give as a mathe- matical (and consequently strictly exact) written language, addressing itself to the mind, not to the ear, and legible to all eyes, although the tongue may translate it into a hundred different dialects. * We need not repeat here, that the distinction of num- bers is as essential to us in relative pronouns as in other words, particularly when used as nominatives of verbs. f The articles, in our opinion, are true adjectives. How- ever, as we are not writing a grammar, we have preserved in this (as well as in other instances where they did not interfere positively with our system) the acknowledged denominations. ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 149 dot placed before them, and written above the line. 4thly. The plural relative adjectives corres- ponding, with the same characters and dots written under the line. 5thly. The singular possessive relative adjec- tive whose^ with the small looped character, having a comma placed above it when the substantive possessed is in the singular, and under it when the substantive is in the plural number; this looped character and comma being written above the line. Gthly. The plural relative adjective corres- ponding, with the same characters written under the line. ythly. The singular possessive relative pro- noun with the same character, having an inverted comma placed above or below, according to the number of the substantive possessed, and written above the line. 8thly. The plural corresponding pronoun, with the same character and comma written under the line. Therefore with two signs and two commas, we have expressed five English words and four- teen different meanings. With respect to the verbs we have also sim- plified the characters as much as it was possible ; expressing, with twelve auxiliary signs, almost all the different variations of moods and tenses of 150 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. the English grammar. As to the prepositions, conjunctions, and adverbs, although we call them arbitrary, yet, with respect to the English lan- guage, they are nearly all written phonetically : thus, should the student forget their allegorical meanings, the logographic sounds of their charac- ters would soon bring them to his mind. Orthography of Allegorical Characters. It is desirable to join into one combined figure as many characters as possible, provided each individual character remain perfectly in its form, and the sense of the compound figure be not doubtful. In illustration of the above precept, the following rules are subjoined. Rule I. — All nominative pronouns, immedi- ately followed by one or more auxiliary verbs, must be joined with them in one character, as Ex. No. 13. I had eaten. You should have said it. Rule II. — When an adverb intervenes be- tween the pronoun and the auxiliary verb, the latter may be joined with the pronoun, as in Rule I. ; but in this case, the adverb should be joined to the verb to which it relates, in the man- ner indicated for the writing of logography, page 123; or a dot placed under the said verb, in order to point it out. Ex. No. 14. We shall soon have done. He seldom icill appear. ALLEGOHICAL WRITING. 151 Remark 1. — When the pronoun and the auxi- liary verb relating to it are separated by other words, a dot should be placed after the pronoun, and another dot before the auxiliary verb, in order to indicate their relation with each other ; and also to show that the pronominal sign, form- ing a part of the auxiliary character,* is not to be pronounced in the reading. Ex. No. 1.5. Mine, as I have said, would have suited them. Remark 2. — It is advisable to place a dot also before all auxiliary characters, whose pronominal sign is not to be pronounced in the reading. Ex. No. 16. The black horse has ivon the race ; (otherwise it would read thus : Tlie black horse, HE has won the race). Rule III. — All pronominal, demonstrative, or relative adjectives, separated from the auxiliary verbs to which they relate by the nominatives alone of the phrases, should be joined with the said auxiliary verbs in compound characters. Ex. No. 17. My vote decided the question. This book shall be bound : which book is it ? * Our auxiliary characters being so constructed that a per- sonal pronoun is always united with them, it is necessary to adopt some means to show the few exceptions when that personal pronoun is not to be uttered ; otherwise, for in- stance, the Ex. No. 15 would read thus: Mine, as I have said, then ^vould have suited them. 152 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. Remark 1. — When a qualificative adjective intervenes between the pronominal or demon- strative adjective and the nominative, the two allegorical characters may be joined as above, provided the qualificative adjective be joined to the nominative in the manner indicated for loffo- graphic characters, page 123. General Remarks relative to Perspicuity and Expedition. Rule IV. — The two impersonal pronouns, people, one, may on all occasions be expressed by the personal pronoun, we. Ex. No. 18. People should remember their promises ; (write. We should remember our promises.) Rule V. — All substantives not accompanied by any allegorical signs, and whose short-hand characters might offer some difficulty in the read- ing, had better be pointed out by a dot written above it, (far enough from the character, how- ever, not to be misinterpreted for a vowel point,) as Ex. No. 19. Many boats start from London Bridge every day. Rule VI. — All verbs placed in similar circum- stances to those of the substantives above referred to, had better be pointed out by a dot underneath. Ex. No. 20. The acts, to which I have called the attention of the house, originated in I -LA I J. ALLEGORICAL CHARACTERS. r. xirlAcles. •%ncf-i- -^H^ P;ar~:- -T- Z^.^J'erscrtaZ I*rcnc lifts. a> ^ ' Smcf: C y ^ ^ ^ ' rinr: G:Zc'urf''97n<^j ruicrMie tc twc cr Trvore objects. Sinff: flar: <., >, T- <^ -f ) 4 ^?' J^c-ss&sszve I^roThOun^. ily JO •'' Ne^cLly'cn, andJhierri'^uy72n. J T Hft^havf:. to de. ^Z^-^ frepos, Conj, adv. -i5 \j ^ i. >^ f' r r* C^ ^~r I ^ SJ r J — I «-. ^ ^ xi § -S ^ « S ^ Sincf; (.3 ,^ a> v^ > Ffy-r: <n iy ) \ seern^ (^ce'J,- secin (focJj Mnff FfM^r: c, K ^ <^ "-^ I .^ y Derr>. cn^Iraf^veiyon^cfy^?^. ■Sin^if: e 9 7-ea^'S weZZ^ Plicr: ^ ^ 7v?<K^ Tv^Zl^ 6 ^Defn/yn str-aZive ^d^ective^. Zxampl.es. / ^ ■ ^^ \f> /y.- -^ M }r /J:- A.,Z. '^ i6:- J'f.i^r: •e -9 7>r'c7c^ -ret7..d. w/'M flur^ S ^^J?e7ftjjve^4dfecf7rr.s . PTlir' ( 'i^7»rr>. -liter's fa t^7t-t.r.rr ^7',r'rcfe^ i7~ /Sr y"^ i9: // r-^ -^- n I. ^-^r A jy so. — '/^■^-st^ "- ^ yl ()Ty <iy7iary. f -7 INDICATIVE MOOD. 1 \ V 1 Trt^senJ:. /'/^.>'<^. 1 Future. varos. 1 S77/?p7S .9in^fjle. Cmknw^r- uivterior. Sr-m^iJe. (?7? fe^'tf/: Zp :i;>. M. .3 p. J. .'ip>. fi. c 6 i £. S ^ J } J 3 ) 1 .' *-' ^ J ) -7> J ) ) "n J 0^ J J ) 7 } ~7 ; y ^7 J ; ; k ■/peri. 3 p. M Jp. J. 3 p. c/-. '^ —67— t; ZJ V 6; ^) ^) J7 2; i; <?; -> -J ^va 1 ^; -; ^) «>y -y OV^ I o-y .H.; -) ^ "^*or- •^1 ^) --; Ad^dztzoru/l Moods irb the Ur//^ prese?^: orHiiiire ^s-imj:>le. } — — _ — . 1 Simple. C'fidiiion.m Simple. c7/lCqatery iy ■ 1 1 MiiTvt. FC7-C€: iz-cn . 1 VpeT: ?p. .-ip.M. ?.pj. 3 p. .V. (T <^ V •y i % V^ ) i ^ > V ' ^ > i ^ 2 \^ ^ 1 *>< . J> /^*rf •-rx - ^ -» <^-l ^ ' W ' <r^ a>-vP <y'>c \ - J^ ^ 'J y> --o^ v^^^O ) 1 ; ; ; ^ ) si is 7 p. 2P- , ^ ) v^ J v ; V ; i ^ i J V^ J 3 p. M IT } V ; y ) ^^^ I i 1 ^ V ) 1 1 -Y ; T ; ^ ) r^ f -Y- y --C ) -r ; n ^ ( ^ ) ^ ; (f^-^ J <7\~»' 1 1 ^^ c ) 1 w^; U ) ^^ ^ ^ v^VN I <-S^~ 1 -- ^*-4 ) TA^. -fanLC niycods iji i^ tirtzepoM or Fi4.tu-re an.ter/or. » • 2 p. •f p. A//. 3 p. /:• 3 p. 7f. r . v^ ^ V ^- . i ^ V ' ^r ^ v^ ^ I ^ i ^ 1 -^ ! 1 Of ^ .? ^ J -k-j> ; /-^ ^' ^ J '^^ ^ ^ ^^ ^' OVvi> ^> 3^ ^ ^ ) W> — 1 J V ^ T r ; J -Vi 2 P- ■? p. rn.. 3 p. fi ^ } ^ 1 ^ } ^T i, 1 T~r V ^ r ) v° ^ 1?^ ,9 i ) S T V^ i ^ f -i^r 0? ) /-*AJ> f -v-a 1 '^ ^ 1 (O , V ^ ) cW j ewp ) OVO 1 <'>^ i 1 ^^nr i -y^J ^ ) ;^ J »-v» J \.<»...>0 1 .-^^; ALLEGORICAL WRITING. 153 The above Rules we feel confident will be found sufficient to ensure perspicuity and expe- dition in the writing of our combined system of short-hand, (viz. both allegorical and logogra- phic). The Plate VI., which contains the speech quoted in page 130, transcribed firstly in logo- graphy, secondly in logographic short-hand, and thirdly in the combined writing ; illustrates si- multaneously the three systems, demonstrating how they combine with each other, and may be consulted as a reference in corroboration of the various instructions and rules given in the course of the above work. Excepting a few signs, or rather positions, ascribed by Mr. Mote, and after him by Mr. Whitehead, to some of the pronouns and auxi- liary verbs, we do not remember having ever observed any sort of classification or order in the various arbitrary characters, more or less numer- ous, contained in all short-hand publications; and we may say, that they off'er not the remotest analogy with the regular system we have deve- loped, the advantages of which are sufficiently illustrated in the first part of the chapter to in- duce the experimental reader to try its practice. As a conclusive remark we will add, that our allegoiical system presents a collection of logi- cal formulas addressing themselves to the mind. 154 ALLEGORICAL WRITING. and consequently intelligible to all philosophical readers, independently of the dialect in which they may be spoken ; being entirely similar to those of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, chemistry, mineralogy, or any other science w^hich has been sufficiently investigated to admit of an analytical and, as far as it extends, universal language. With respect to the first, and starting from the point at which we have stopped, it might be pos- sible to analyze also, and to class systematically, all the remaining words of the language, or more properly speaking, all the remaining meanings of the philosophical world, and thus to establish a universal written language, in which could be treated all the questions relating to religion, morality, and political economy. Such a creation might prove a valuable gift to mankind ; and we may, perhaps, some day attempt the herculean task, should w^e meet, in this our first acknow- ledged work, with sufficient encouragement from the public, to give us the confidence in ourselves indispensable for such an undertaking. P L AT E VI c^'/€€y "-^^e-fE^Ay ^^^y-^/e^ j^^^€i^^ /3/ _ , /S/. / A-^-U^^^-ffit/iZJ^-^^ayt^ ef^^^y^^'^M^'/e^!0 /^^yLs^a.'^i^rn^ /%^«e^/^e-^-«^ tz^r^^'/ ^^-/-^ ^^ ^^it^4y£c£j ^z^oA^-e^t'^^^'-^ ^■^■e^'*^- c>vC«^^' .^/^.-^'-t.t/fty^ c-iya^-Z/s-t^'^y/^'^ ^i^t^ J-^-t^ /U-ity /^£^e^ /oi^h/ a^^^<^^^t^<^^^ (^^y^^ .^^^yu/- 1^/^^ Zc^^^J. tJ^e</-<>^y^ y^^^My Ztr-e^^-^zy^ e-^^ -/e^ 'Z^^A.ey^z-e..^zy(:f # 1^ L Z^ i-i V 'Z / ti^^u^HV -3; 'S^ 2^" ^ -^ ^' "V>"^ ^^zL. -^ Tt^=W f i' ,-^ Al ,0^, /?. 1^ ^ , ^ P— i-. ^^'^^^ f ..s^T"^:^ ^'"^^^V:-^, >.^^ Jl- / ■vty- xr ■5^ ^^ ' > : 7l/ -T <P \ i i'^^i /^ ^^ ^ V^ r f- ^ "Z" ^r^ S^ ^./^/ ^;, . ^^^-^ ^^-^ ^ ^ /' •< « X/. y^. "VT r^ 7^2-?^ ^^^^-^rt^'^i^^-^^^^^ ^ ^' ^Kf'-^M''-''^ -^^ 7TT •1 t^t^ -^=^[f-^ ^ ■ Wi-Lson^ m^t . ^isk^/;^:iis S'^Z a jz^si^n^. PHONOGRAPHY. BOOK II. [y§0(g©(g[^/S.[?[>^JV. MUSICOGRAPHY. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN AND IMPORTANCE OF ANCIENT MUSIC. As we have stated in our Introduction, Music is the first language ever spoken by man, and its origin cannot be attributed to human invention any more than speaking itself, or dancing, or any other spontaneous exercise of our innate faculties. But by music we generally understand various successions and combinations of vibrated sounds, classed according to fixed rules and a standard scale agreed upon amongst certain communities ; and in this sense, although the gradation and rela- tive proportions of the sounds are generally taken from nature itself, yet the necessity of conform- ing ourselves to the said fixed rules, in order to be understood by others, has made it a science; and a very intricate one it has become. Music seems to have been one of the first arts practised on earth, and we find it connected with the most ancient monuments of mankind. It is probable, also, that vocal music long preceded the 158 ORIGIN AND IMPORTANCE instrumental, if ever there have been amongst the antients a music really instrumental ; that is to say, composed entirely and solely for instruments. Men, long before they contrived instruments, must have observed the different tones of their voices ; they must have learned, from the con- certs of the birds, to modify their accents, in order to render them agreeable and melodious : afterwards wind instruments were probably the first used, in imitation of the whistling of the wind amongst the rushes, or other vegetable tubes. Such was the opinion of Diodorus, and other authors, as expressed in the following verses of Lucretius : " At liqiiidas avium voces imitarier ore Ante fuit multo, quain levia carmina cantu Concelebrare homines possmt, aureis-qiie juvare; Et zephyri cave per calamorum Sibila primum Agrestes docuere cavas inflare cicutas." As to other instruments, sonorous strings are so common, that men must have soon remarked their different tones, and composed tunes with them. Drums, and such like instruments, might have been constructed in imitation of the hollow trunks of trees and other concave objects, which were noticed to produce a deep sound when struck. Besides these natural suppositions, nothing can be advanced with any degree of certainty with OF ANCIENT MUSIC. 159 regard to music itself as an art. Many attribute its invention to Mercury, who is said also to have invented the lyre ; others assert that Cadmus, in running away from the court of the king of Phoe- nicia, brought with him into Greece the musician Hermione, or harmony. In Plutarch's Dialogues on Music we find, in one part, that Lysas attributes the invention of music to Amphion ; in another, that Solericus names Apollo as the inventor ; and in a third, that Olympus has the credit of it. We have little means, and perhaps less interest still, to investigate the rights of the three claimants. To these first inventors succeeded Chiron, Demo- docus, Hermes, and Orpheus, who is also repre- sented as inventor of the lyre ; afterwards Phoe- nicus, and Therpander, who lived in the time of Lycurgus, and gave rules to music ; then Thales and Thausiris. Most of these great musicians lived before Homer. Amongst the more modern ones we may mention Lasus Hermionicus, who is said to have written the first treaty on this art, Diodorus, who perfected the flute by adding new holes to it, and Timotheus, who was fined by the Lacede- monians for having added a string to the lyre. The antients, extremely obscure and confused with respect to the inventors of musical instru- ments, are not more clear or intelligible with 160 ORIGIN AND IMPORTANCE regard to the instruments themselves, of which we know little more than the names. They differ much, also, among themselves as to the nature, object, power, and constitution of music. In general, they gave to this word a far wider sense than we do at the present age, classing under that name not only dance, pantomime, and poetry, but also the assemblage of all the other sciences. He- sychius tells us that the Athenians gave the deno- mination of music to all the arts and sciences ; and Hermes defines music the knowledge of the order of all things. This was also the doctrine of Pythagoras and Plato, who maintained that all in nature was music, and taught morals through its means. The Pythagoricians, believing the soul to be formed of the most harmonious proportions, sought to re-establish, by means of a terrestrial one, the intellectual and primeval harmony of its component parts ; that harmony which exist- ed in its perfection when the soul inhabited the heavens, previous to its animating our frames. With regard to music itself, in the modern sense of the word, then inseparably linked with poetry, it was highly esteemed amongst the an- tients, and particularly the Greeks, who attri- buted to this art the most wonderful effects and an unlimited power, believing it to be practised even by their gods. Plato and Aristotle, gene- OF ANCIENT MUSIC. l6l rally at variance with each other on all political questions, agree nevertheless in giving the great- est influence to music on the morals of the peo- ple. Polybius tells us that music was necessary to soften the dispositions of people inhabiting cold and dreary countries ; and that the Cyneta^, who neglected music, surpassed in cruelty all the other Greeks, there being no people among whom so many crimes were ever committed. Athenaius asserts that in former times the laws both divine and human, the exhortations to virtue, the history of the gods, heroes, and illustrious men, were all written in verse, and publicly sung in choruses accompanied with instruments. This union of music with poetry in the cele- bration of all that is destined to exalt the mind, may perhaps partly explain to us those wonderful effects of which our modern music can give no example or idea. Indeed, nothing in our present combinations of musical sounds can be compared to the music of the Greeks ; for the simple reason that theirs rested entirely upon the various succes- sions of four notes, forming their musical system, or tetrachord ; whilst ours is based upon the va- rious successions and combinations of eight notes, forming our musical gamut, or octave. They cer- tainly had on their instruments, when tuned in the diatonic gender, the same succession of sounds as M 162 ORIGIN AND IMPORTANCE we would find on a modern harp by striking six- teen successive strings, (a number equal to their complete scale,) but little or no notice was taken of the relation of the octave ; the combination of four sounds, or a tetrachord, forming in their sys- tem a whole as perfect to their ear, as that of eight, or an octave, to ours. This musical scale in its most complete state consisted of sixteen notes or strings, divided into four tetrachords conjoint, in the same manner as our octaves are ; viz. by the highest note of the first tetrachord being the lowest of the second above. There was, however, a disjunction from the second to the third, or from the third to the fourth, according to certain rules useless to re- late here ; this variation caused the third tetra- chord to have two names, as shown in Plate I., fig. 1, in which we have noted in modern charac- ters the whole Greek scale in the diatonic and in the chromatic genders. They had also a third gender, called the en- harmonic, in which, according to Aristoxenes, the three first strings were placed at a quarter of a tone from each other; or, according to Pythagoras, they were tuned at unequal distances, giving a minor half-tone between the first and second, and a major half-tone between the first and third ; so that there was only the difference from the major OF ANCIENT MUSIC. l63 to the minor half-tone between the second and third : a difference which modern ears cannot ap- preciate. It will be further remarked, as another similitude with our octave, that the two extreme notes of each tetrachord were fixed and unalter- able ; and that the intermediary ones alone suffered those various alterations necessitated by the gen- ders, modes, &c. &c. The word harmony had with them a sense entirely different to that which it has acquired amongst the moderns ; being applied only to the successions of the notes and not to their combina- tions, since they never played in their accompani- ments any other note but the unison, or at most the octave. As to time and measure, they were entirely governed by the rhythm and metre of the verses, for which they had the most rigid rules. With regard to their musical characters, or notes, they were taken from the letters of their alphabet, written in different positions according to the various modes and genders, and which have been explained in all their details by their authors. It is generally and erroneously believed, that if the ancient music is entirely lost to us, it is in consequence of its characters being totally unintelligible. I hope that the short account I M 2 164 OF ANCIENT MUSIC. have just given of the music of the Greeks will be sufficient to prove, that we could now decipher their notes as well, perhaps, as the Greeks them- selves might have done ; but to understand, to execute, to feel those melodies, these are the dif- ficulties which will never be surmounted ; for, in music, as well as in other languages, it is a dif- ferent thing to read and to understand, and the ancient music is a dead language, of which the vocabulary is lost. Those who might feel a deeper interest in the subject may consult the works of Aristoxenes, disciple of Aristotle, chief of the sect opposed to Pythagoras, and the most ancient author whose works have been preserved; then Euclide of Alexandria, Aristides, who wrote in the time of Cicero ; afterwards Alypius, then Gaudentius, Nicoraachus, and Bacchius; Plutarch also, whose Dialogue on Music we have had occa- sion to mention ; the mathematician Ptolemy, who wrote the principles of harmony about the time of the Roman emperor Antoninus, and tried to combine in his system the advantages of the two schools that divided the musical world ; and last- ly, amongst the Greeks, Briennius. In Latin we have also, Boecius, Martianus Cassiodorus, and Saint Augustin. CHAPTER II. ORIGIN AND PROGRESSIVE FORMATION OF MODERN MUSIC. Music from the Greeks was transmitted to the Romans, at a time when the degenerated charac- ter of the latter rendered them unfit to feel and encourage it in its higher branches ; and, at the downfal of the Roman empire, music of all the fine arts the most brilliant, because the most delicate and subtle, would have entirely disappeared under the oppression of the northern invaders, had it not been rescued by the first Christians, who had associated it with their imposing ceremonies. However, at the time when the latter began to have churches and to sing psalms, music had already lost the greatest part of its energy and beauty ; and the Christians deprived it of most of its remaining power, viz. that of rhythm and measure, when from verse, to which it had always been applied, they transposed it to the prose of holy writ, or to some barbarous poetry worse still for music than prose itself. Nevertheless, the plain Chant, or church music, preserved by the priests of Rome in its primitive character, as all other external ceremonies of the 166 ORIGIN AND FORMATION church, offers still some precious remains of the ancient melody of the Greeks in the diatonic scale and its various modes, as much as it can be felt without measure or rhythm. For, as early as 370, St. Ambrosius, archbishop of Milan, had established certain rules for church music. These rules, modified afterwards by the Pope Gregory, were ultimately introduced in France by the Em- peror Charlemagne, who brought from Rome for that purpose Theodore and Benedict, two great musicians, who had been taught by Pope Gre- gory himself. This music, called the Gregorian Chant, is the same now in practice in the Catholic churches on the Continent. In the year 1024, an Italian Benedictine named Guy d'Arezzo, having according to the common opinion added to the Greek scale three notes in the treble and one in the bass, or, according to Meibomius, having by these additions restored this scale to its perfect state, marked his lower note with a Greek G, or gamma ; and as it was the first on the ascending scale, he gave its name to the whole system, which he called also gamma-ut, or gamm'ut, from the two names given by him to this first note ; viz. the one gamma, as the lowest note on the scale, and the second id, as the first note of his hexametric division of the same scale. OF MODERN MUSIC. 167 But we must not confound this gamut with our present one. As we have stated, the Greeks had written their music w'ith the letters of their alphabet, and the Romans adopted corresponding letters for their musical sounds. Besides these letters, the Greeks had also four syllables corre- sponding to the four notes of their tetrachord, which they used to pronounce in studying their intonations ; and Guy, having substituted the divi- sion of six to that of four previously in use, gave to his hexachord the denominations o^ ut, re^ mif fa^ sol, la ; these six syllables being the first ones of six verses of a hymn to St. John the Baptist' in which they were observed to fall in succession Upon the six first notes of his scale. ( Plate I., fig. 2). Thus, in running up the twenty notes constituting the full range of sounds then practised in music, the six syllables were repeated every hexachord, in the same manner as the four syl- lables te, ta, the, tho, had been repeated, every tetrachord in succession, by the Greek students. (See Plate I., fig. 1). It was not till a long time afterwards that the re- lation of the octave, being principally attended to,* * We are aware that the common opinion attributes to the Pope Gregory the discovery of the relation of the octave, and subsequently the fovmdation of the modern system of music or gamut ; probably from the fact of his 168 ORIGIN AND FORMATION gave rise to a third system or division by eight, which to our ears is the only natural and perfect one. In the last gamut the six first notes pre- served the six names chosen by Guy, and the seventh had no other designation than its alpha- betical letter. This caused great difficulties in the study of music until the latter part of the seventeenth century, when a French musician, named Lemaire, adopted the syllable si, which was subsequently introduced into Italy and other countries. Thus every note had two names : the first its alphabetical letter, showing its fixed degree on the scale ; the second its syllahle, showing its re- lation with the fundamental note of the music having reduced the musical alphabet to seven letters, re- peated in different type every successive octave. But it is easy to demonstrate the error of both suppositions. Firstly, with regard to the properties of the octave : the very fact of the Greeks playing at the octave of the voices those accompaniments which they called harmonies or anti- phonies, proved that they knew as well as Pope Gregory himself the relation of the octave, named by them diapa- son, and that if they did not repeat the same seven letters every successive diapason or octave, it was probably because their melody, not being submitted to that octametric divi- sion of sounds, gave to every note a distinct character, which called forth a distinct representative sign. Indeed it is highly probable that their first instruments, and conse- quently their first music, had been based upon the very OF MODERN MUSIC. l69 executed ; which fundamental was for that purpose always called ut. For these seven syllables were only invented to facilitate the study of music through a transposition which is practised even to the present day by those masters who, re- gardless of their own interests, desire their pupils to acquire rapidly a thorough knowledge of the twelve various keys. There was besides a third manner of writing instrumental music, called in French tahlaturej and which consisted in tracing as many lines as there were strings on the instrument, and figur- ating, by small marks on these lines, the notes which were to be sounded. From this Guy d'Arrezzo formed his stave, consisting of four system of which the invention is attributed to the learned Father ; as both Nicomachus and Boecius assert that Mer- cury's tetrachord, the first instrument invented, was com- posed of four strings, of which the two extreme ones sounded the octave, and the two intermediate ones, the fourth and fifth, as c, F, G, c, (the very notes of our fundamental bass); and, if we take into account the various alterations which were occasionally made to the two intermediate strings, according to the various modes in which the instrument was tuned, we must come to the conclusion that the suc- cession of sounds given by these four strings was very similar to our modern gamut. The Greeks subsequently extended the range of their in- struments to two octaves, and adopted for the subdivision of these a system entirely new, and perhaps purposely 170 ORIGIN AND FORMATION lines only, which is still in use for church music ; and in 1338, Jean de Muris, a canon of Paris, having added a line to these four, gave to the notes all the distinctions necessary to express their relative duration. Thus was established the system, which is now become almost the uni- versal written language for music. Nevertheless, it was not before the end of the fifteenth century that this noble art began to emerge from the barbarism into which it had fallen, when the organists of Germany gave to sacred music that deep and majestic character for which they have retained their superiority to the present day. Italy soon followed, and, favoured by the harmony of its tongue, which assimilated it calculated to counterbalance the powerful effect of the octave. Whatever might have been their motives, we can- not certainly accuse them of ignorance on this score. As to the second point, viz. that of having established the modern musical system, it has no better foundation than the first, since the plain chant, as he established it, and as it has been preserved in some of the ant'ifplionies sung to the present day in Catholic churches, has little or no rela- tion with modern music. Even three centuries after him, when Guy d'Arezzo substituted his hexachord for the tetra- chord of the Greeks, and gave to its six notes six distinct syllables, destined to facilitate the study of vocal music, the melody was still limited to six sounds, as is proved to us by the hymn itself, which furnished that musician with his six intonation syllables, (see Plate I. fig. 2 ;) by these six syllables OF MODERN MUSIC. I7l in a great measure to the ancient languages, gave birth to a kind of music entirely new ; viz. the Opera, of which the first one, composed by Vincent Galilvea, upon the stirring history of Ugolin, had immediately an immense success. Yet the science of music remained still very limited, the whole harmony known consisting of a few simple chords, until the year 1590, when a Venetian, named Monteverde, invented the natural discords, and thereby opened the field allotted to the composer. But from the seven- teenth century only did harmony begin to receive the wide and firm basis which has multiplied its power and resources, and made it a science. At that time various French mathematicians directed being deemed sufficient then to read all the modulations of music, and by a similar gamut of six syllables being prac- tised in France at the same time that Guy gave his to Italy ; as Jean de Muris found it still in use in Paris in the four- teeth century, and of which the syllables were pro^ to, do, no, tu, a. A very remarkable feature of this hexametric division of the musical sound is, that where the major gamut ends the minor begins ; as, major gamut, c, D, E, f, g, a ; minor gamut, A, B, c, n, e, f; and by playing successively these two gamuts, we lose entirely for the moment all sentiment of the octave. The latter effect will prove that the chant of that time was much more analogous to the Greek, than to the modern music. 172 ORILIIN AND FORMATION their investigations toward the analysis of sound, its generation and properties. Sauveur and the Rev. Dr. Mersenne first discovered the principle of the perfect chord in the vibrations of a single string ; viz. the tendency of every sound to gene- rate its own third and fifth. Upon this Rameau built his Treaty of Harmony ^ published in Paris in 1722, of which the most important part is his system of fundamental bass, which had great success, probably from his having been the first to ascertain that all chords are susceptible of cer- tain modifications, called in French renversement ; that is to say, of having any one of their component notes written in the bass without ceasing to be harmonically the same. About the same time an eminent violin player, named Tartini, published another treaty of harmony entirely opposed to the one above mentioned, inasmuch as he directed all the bass to be engendered from the treble, whilst Rameau had done the reverse ; the one drawing harmony from melody, the other melody from har- mony ; each by an opposite road coming to conclu- sions nearly similar, as to the combination and suc- cession of chords. This sort of invention became almost a mania, particularly in France, where each new system had its followers, who arrayed them- selves earnestly under the banner of its inventor. OF MODERN MUSIC. 173 Meanwhile Germany and Italy had been fast progressing in the practical part of this new science, and the French musicians were still gro- velling in their petty quarrels whilst these two countries had produced many first-rate composers ; for it is but within the last century that France, and afterwards England, have begun to possess a music of their own, and native composers of real merit. In all the fine arts examples have generally preceded rules, but in modern music it has been the reverse : mathematicians have laid the foun- dations upon which men of genius have raised their admirable monuments. This progress, so directly opposed to all that we know, is perhaps the strongest proof we can adduce that music, as we understand it in the present era, is a creation entirely new, and that no relation or even com- parison can be established between the antients and the moderns on that subject. We cannot wonder much at the severity of the Lacedemonians towards Timothseus for having added one string to the lyre, when we consider that the addition of a single note* to our gamut has created in us such an estrangement from the Greeks on this subject, that, although we still continue to hold them as our masters in every * See Note, page 167. 174 ORIGIN AND FORMATION other branch of the fine arts, yet in this one, the most highly honoured and deeply cultivated a- monsrst them, we cannot even form an idea of what they understood or practised, and that (like all those allowed to decide in their own cause) we have not hesitated to attribute to ourselves an immense superiority, doubting almost whether they ever had any real knowledge of music. But before we condemn the Greeks as barba- rians upon this score, it is proper that we should pause a little, and reflect if it be really music that we have invented. " When we think," says J. J. Rousseau, " that among all the nations of the earth, who have every one had a music and a melody, the Europeans are the only people who ever had a harmony or chords, and who find this mixture agreeable ; when we re- flect that the world has existed so many centuries without, of all the nations who cultivated the fine arts, a single one having ever known that har- mony; that no animal, no bird, no being in nature ever produced any chord but unison, or music but melody; that the languages of the East, so sono- rous, so musical, that the Greek ear so subtle, so refined, and exercised with so much art, have never guided those voluptuous and passionate people towards our harmony ; that without it their music had such wonderful effects, whilst with it ours OF MODERN MUSIC. 175 has such poor ones ; that, at last, it was reserved for the nations of the North, whose dull and coarse organs are affected more by noise and strength of sound, than by sweetness of tone and melody of inflexion, to make this grand discovery, and to give it as an ever-ruling principle of the art ; when, I say, we notice all this ; it is very difficult not to suspect that all our harmony is but a gothic and barbarous invention, which we never would have thought of, had we been more sensible to the beauties of the art and to true natural music." Without adopting the opinion of the eccentric French author, who was nevertheless himself a perfect harmonist and an ingenious composer, we may say that the distinctive features of modern music is harmony, whilst that of ancient music was melody; and this at least will be placing both parties on even ground. It is incontestable that, by extending the mo- dern gamut to the complete octave, we have limited our melody to the divers successions of seven sounds, whilst the antients gave it no other bounds but that of the two extremities of their whole scale. Impressed with so strong a senti- ment of the octave that he could never hear after seven notes but the repetition of the same sounds, the modern musician was naturally drawn to seek variety in the different combinations of these seven notes blended in chords of two, three, or 176 ORIGIN AND FORMATION four sounds ; and harmony was created. Modern music is all harmony, nothing but harmony ; and when we consider that on almost every instru- ment we hear, and principally the piano, that modern orchestra in miniature, from which the young beginner receives his first notions of the divine art, and over which the learned composer tries the effects of his scientific combinations, no exact interval can be given except the octave, (which even is not with us admitted as an inter- val,) we may safely assert that where there is no harmony there can be no music. For no note can completely satisfy the exquisite feeling of our soul, unless it be accompanied by its natural chord, which, by blending with it its rich harmo- nies, and shading it as it were with its transparent and mysterious waves, give to the ear an inward feeling of the pure sound it cannot hear.* * The young lady, therefore, who, learning by herself a new song, spells with one finger, note by note, on her newly tuned instrument the difficult passages of the sweet melody^ does certainly the thing best calculated to destroy in her every natural sentiment of music, and to make her sing false notes. But let her first practise the accompaniment; then, playing the full, sonorous chords, let her try the air, and she will find almost by inspiration the pure vibrating intona- tions. But, perchance, she may not be able to derive any advantage from this, and the one note, of which every chord is but the relieving gro^md, may still remain unknown, un- felt : in this case, let her return to her first method ; there cannot be the least danger for her musical organs. OF MODERN MUSIC. 177 But whilst our instruments are tuned in accord- ance to a temperament, or regulated deviation from the true proportions of the octave, the Greeks had theirs tuned with the most strict accuracy, whether that they obeyed the precepts of Pythagoras, and took all their intervals from the mathematical divisions of the monochord; or that they abided by those of Aristoxenes, and ad- mitted no rule but the acute judgment of their well-exercised ear. Hence it follows, that all the notes they formed were sounded with such pre- ciseness and delicacy, that all chords or mixture of sounds, instead of adding to their effect, would only have altered their exquisite purity, and of- fended the fastidious ear of the listeners. The soul of their music was melody, unfettered, unre- strained, unbounded melody ; and whilst the mo- dern composer encircles his audience with a triple and endless chain of chords, the ancient one car- ried his in the wide open space. Whether he were to follow the lively notes of the lark or the deep roaring of the tiger, on that one strain he would direct the whole might of his choruses ; and with him an orchestra of a thousand instruments were but a thousand voices, still joining, still pouring in one sound, still echoing the thrilling or thundering- note. CHAPTEK III. ON MUSICAL CHARACTERS. ANCIENT AND MODERN CHARACTERS FOR MUSIC. The Greeks, as we have seen, had for musical characters the letters of their alphabet, which being also their numerical figures, conveyed to the mind in the same signs both the idea of the notes and the ratio of their different vibrations. The Romans, who learned their music from the Greeks, wrote it also with corresponding alpha- betical signs, which nevertheless, having no rela- tion with their numerical system, were in conse- quence but a very indifferent translation of the Greek written notes. The moderns, having adopted the Roman alpha- betical scale, (which the Pope Gregory had re- duced to seven letters only, repeated in different type for every different octave,) soon remarked the imperfections of that system, and contrived various improved characters, of which the two most universally adopted were, and are still now, the staff, and the arithmetical figures. The latter, however, although by far the most clear ON MUSICAL CHARACTERS. 179 and easy of the two, has never been used but for the writing of basses, and is now no more seen in printed music. We will examine successively these two cha- racters, which, like all other written languages, require to be particularly clear, simple, and ex- peditious, both to read and to write. The Staff. The staff, invented a thousand years ago, has been rendered gradually more and more com- plicated, without having ever undergone a tho- rough judicious reform or radical improvement. Thus, although all our musical system is based on the octave, although in whatever way we trace our musical characters we can never repre- sent but the seven notes of our gamut combined in various ways, or the same combinations trans- posed in various keys ; yet in our written music no advantage is taken of, no relation is established with these well-ascertained truths. Thus, whilst a staff of three horizontal lines, affording seven distinct positions, would have been sufficient to write all modern combinations of sounds, (with a few additional signs designating the octave to be played,) we have five fixed lines and twelve or fifteen additional ones, making a total of eighteen or twenty lines, and above forty positions ! N 2 180 ON MISICAL CHARACTERS. With regard to time, that vital part of music, one single remark is sufficient to demonstrate the absurdity of the means employed ; viz. that the more rapidly the music is to be played, the more confused are the characters, the more time is spent in writing them, and the more space they occupy on tlic paper. Without enterinoj into the minute details of this defective system, we will limit ourselves to the simple observation, that it overloads the me- mory of the beginner in such a manner, that his ear is formed, and his organs have acquired the necessary pliability and ease, long before he is able to read at first sight ; and that consequently, all his attention and energies are spent in attend- ing to the rules, instead of being centered in the sentiment and execution of the music. Hence it follows, that many people play better without than with notes, and that professors have the greatest difficulty to keep their pupils to them. Musicians, it is true, do not see all this, for habit renders every thing easy. Music for them is not the science of sounds, but that of semi- breves, crotchets, quavers, and semiquavers; when these figures do not strike their sight, they cannot see music. Besides, what they have learned with so much hardship, why should they make it easy for others ? It is not, therefore, to the musician ON MLSICAL CHARACTERS. 181 that we must appeal here ; but to the man who knows music, and who has reflected on that art. There are not two opinions among the latter class of people upon the numerous defects of our characters; but these defects are more easy to expose than to correct, and the many useless attempts that have been made, have only cor- roborated the well-known fact, that the public, without investiffatinof the merits of a new system presented to it, keeps generally to what it finds established ; prefering a bad way of knowing, to a better one of learning. The last observation, borrowed from J. J. Rous- seau, brings us naturally to the system which he tried in vain to introduce into general practice; viz. The Arithmetical Figures. This system of writing music, which consists in representing the seven notes of our gamut with the seven first figures of arithmetic, was ge- nerally used, previously to the present century, for writing basses and accompaniments ; but as such a character necessitated in the player certain preliminary notions of harmony, which, however simple they be, are nevertheless considered as a burden by the modern finger ers^ arithmetical fio-ures have been in all cases replaced bv the 182 ON MUSICAL CHARACTERS. present notes, and it is useless for us to enter into more minute details. The system proposed by Rousseau, and relat- ing to which he published in 1743 a volume, entitled Dissertation on Modern Music, cannot however be passed entirely without notice. In this system the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, represent the natural gamut c, d, e,f, g, a, b, and are all written upon one line : the octave above is written above the line, and the octave below under the line. Thus one line is sufficient to write three octaves, and with the occasional addi- tion of one line above or below, the composer has a range of seven full octaves. The sharps or flats introduced in the modula- tions are marked upon the figures themselves, by a line slanting upwards or downwards. The key-note given in the margin is entirely relative to the instruments upon which each per- former forms his own gamut, (by transposition, if necessary,) the music being itself always written in natural keys, in order to preserve in all cases the same characters to the same intervals. Thus 5, which is g in the key of C, will be played a in the key of D ; and consequently always represent the dominant or fifth note from the fundamental. The time is expressed by dividing the line ON MUSICAL CHARACTERS. 183 into bars, and each bar into two, three, or more sub-divisions, as required by the style of the music, or the multiplicity of the characters. It is impossible not to be struck with the sim- plicity of this system ; and, had the author suc- ceeded in bringing it into general use, we would not perhaps have ventured to introduce ours to the public, since the principal advantages of the first constitute no indifferent part of the second. But yet we still hope that the reader will find in the latter some genuine merit ; and also peculiar advantages which could not have been derived from previous publications. CHAPTER IV. REFORMED CHARACTERS, OR MUSICOGRAPHY. The musical characters have to fulfil the double object of representing sounds ; firstly, according to their intervals, which constitute melody and harmony ; secondly, according to their duration, which constitutes measure and time. With regard to the first point: In whatever manner we turn or combine our musical signs, we can never represent with them more than the seven notes of our gamut, based upon various de- grees and raised at various octaves ; consequently a scale of seven signs will always be sufficient to trace these seven notes in all their various situ- ations and combinations, provided a means be taken of fixing the starting note or fundamental sound of each gamut, as well as the relative situ- ation of each octave. The second point is perhaps the most important of the two, since time regulates and entirely charac- terizes melody ; and even of itself constitutes the sole music of many instruments of very powerful effects, such as drums, bells, castanets, cymbals, RETORMED (HARACTEUS. 185 triangles, &c. In our opinion, the only really intel- ligible manner to attain this second object, is to establish such precise relation between the length of the sign on the paper and the duration of the note in the time, that both begin and terminate together in the same instants. By this we do not mean a relation entirely conventional, as that esta- blished on the staff, and which necessitates numer- ous and complicated operations of the mind ; but a simple self-evident one, based on correct geo- metrical proportions : such a relation, in a w^ord, as we observe between the division of a dial and the hours of the day ; or better, between the charac- ters raised on the barrel, and the notes played through the pipes of an organ.* * It is a subject of wonder to us, that the above-mentioned iuatiument never led, by its simple construction, to an ana- logous modification of the present musical characters ; for our reader probably is aware, that the organ-builder traces across his barrels, previously to his fixing the notes a number of parallel lines corresponding to those of the staff, which he also divides, with respect to time, by perpendicular lines iu a corresponding number of bars. Consequently, if the musician, suppressing all additional signs attached to the notes in order to express the duration of their sounds, had replaced the round dots with horizontal lines equal in their length to the length of the notes represented by them, he would have had by these few alterations a musical character at once clear and simple, which character would have been a very near imitation of the notes fixed on organ-barrels. (See an example of Uiis. Plate VIT. fig. 3.) 186 REFORMED CHARACTERS, On these two principles we have based our characters, as follows : Explanation of the Characters.* Firstly, with respect to intervals : Having our paper previously ruled as for com- mon writing, we find that each line affords us three distinct positions ; viz. the first upon, the second above, and the third under the line ; and that the same character, repeated in each position, may be made to express three diff'erent notes. Consequently, beginning with the three notes of the perfect chord, we will represent them with an horizontal straight stroke of the pen, drawn in the three positions above mentioned, as follows : viz. the fundamental or first note, upon ; the me- diant or third note, above ; and the dominant or fifth note, under the line. Afterwards proceeding with the four remaining notes, all more or less subservient in the melody to the three first, we will express the second, fourth, and sixth with a horizontal curve rounded at the top, and traced in the same position as the first, third, and fifth sounded immediately below them ; and the seventh or leading note, with a character peculiar to itself; viz. a horizontal curve rounded downwards, traced on the line. These seven signs representing in * All the examples quoted in the following pages are traced in Plate VIII., in the same succession as followed in their explanation. OR MUSICOGRAPHY. 187 succession the seven sounds, g, a, b, c, d, e^f, Ex. No. 4. Sharps and flats are expressed by means of slanting lines traced in the following manner ; viz. C sharp, or D flat, with the character of C na- tural raised towards the right; D sharp, or E flat, with the character of E natural lowered towards the right ; and G sharp, or A flat, with the character of G natural raised tow^ards the right. Ex. No. 5. Exceptions : F sharp and B flat, modifications of a very frequent occurrence, are expressed, the first by inverting the curve ascribed toy natural, and giving it the form of the leading note, (of which its sound assumes for a time the character, the fifth note having become suddenly funda- mental, or first note of the temporary melody) ; the second, by tracing the character ascribed to B natural, not on the line, its position as leading note, but under the line, and on a level with the fifth ; (the fundamental or first note to which it leads having suddenly become dominant, or fifth note of the temporary melody). Ex. No. 6. Having thus expressed the seven sounds of our gamut, and the twelve diatonic degrees of modern music, nothing remains but to fix by dis- tinct marks the octave of each note. For this, it being once admitted that the characters above described represent in succession the seven notes written in example No. 4, when we have to write 188 REFORMED CHARACTERS, sounds at the octave above or below these, we join a small dot over or under our characters. This mark, once added, influences all the subse- quent characters, which continue to be read in the octave indicated by it until a new mark is intro- duced, to raise or lower the melody one octave. Two dots indicate a double octave ; above or below, according to the position of the said marks. Ex. No. 7. When notes are to be played in two octaves at once, the characters should be accompanied with a short cross line ; in which case the character written expresses the bass sound, and the cross perpendicular line, the octave above. Should the interval be of two octaves, two lines must be traced across the character. Ex. No. 8. Secondly, with respect to duration : The duration of the notes in our system is not expressed through the medium of additional signs, but given in the characters themselves, which have as much length on the paper as their sounds have duration in the time. For this purpose, the line on which we write our music is livided into a certain number of bars, all of a strictly equal length, without any regard to the various numbers of notes to be written in them ; each bar is afterwards mentally subdivided into two or three equal parts, according to the time in which OR MUSICOGRAPFIV. 189 the music is to be played ; * and the characters representing the notes follow each other closely, leaving no horizontal distance between them, but what is strictly necessary to keep the notes distinct from one another ; unless there be a rest in the music. In the latter case, the vacant space left on the horizontal line is always proportioned to the duration of the silence. We need no spe- cial characters for rests : where there is nothing written, there can be nothing to read. Yet, in order to add more preciseness still ; whenever rests occur, we mark by small perpendicular lines * There are but two sorts of times, the double and the triple. The ancient musician considered the triple time as the perfect one ; we, on the contrary, regard the double as the simple and perfect time. The latter opinion may be exact with relation to our mode of timing our characters ; but if we consider them in themselves and with respect to their effect, we cannot but acknowledge that the first is by far the most easily felt, the most exciting, the most powerful. In ancient music we find that the characters corresponded exactly in their subdivisions to each time : thus the breve or square note was equal to three semibreves or round notes in the triple time, and to two semibreves in the double time. We have both times in our music ; but, by a strange oversight, we have only preserved the subdivision by two, although the first was as necessary as the second. In consequence of this, when we have to divide a space of time in three equal parts the characters are wanting, and we have recourse to the figure 3, or to other conventional signs equally com- plicated. 190 REFORMED CHARACTERS, the natural subdivisions of the bar in which they are contained, and express their duration at the same time by small dots joined to the perpendi- cular lines in various positions. Ex. No. 9- Whenever notes are found which do not agree with the regular subdivision of. time followed in the piece, the bar in which they occur should be divided by small perpendicular lines, in order to demonstrate clearly that they have not been writ- ten thus by mistake. Ex. No. 10. It is evident, that the number and respective lengths of the notes in each bar will always indi- cate to the eye, as well as their sounds do to the ear, the time in which the music is played ; yet, in order to render the style of the music intel- ligible at first sight, we express, by means of the figure 2 or 3 written in the margin, whether the piece be in double or triple time. See Ex. No. 9- Remark. All the various sig^ns used in the common staff, such as a pause, a repeat, &c., &c. may be employed likewise with our characters. By the above explained system all modifica- tions of sounds are expressed clearly and correctly. Thus, the octaves having always the same charac- ters, the chords are easily brought to their funda- mentals. Thus, the distinctive feature given to the three notes of the perfect chords by opposi- J'ZA^Ti:. VJl K? J . THE 16 S0U:NDS of tKe GREEK SYSTEM. In TJ^e J)ialon7C &ender. A ^'^ Jetrccccrd Z Tefracord J^Tel record- -f'^J^lraccrd. Tt? 7/fe ^Tiv^rfTii^Tfr' Ge/ider. -^^ ol^ nbivnvy^cn/it i,n lAepO'ftr&JvioTT,' ^ t^ Cfi^/ic ~cer(?r J/p que-oM la-oci^ IRe^^ or/are fi^ros Mc - ra ^e'rio- ricTn. If'CL ' ^ 2 3 -* ♦' > m —m -r-m- ^=^ mu'^ tu, o - Trvm, Sol - ve pcllu -fz Z'^ I^l -i re a Izlttl :3E Sane tc Jc'6Lnn£ti\ The J[f{?deT7iy c^laff The saTTtelrnprc^yed in a^naliP^ wi3. tke oraan 7mrrel. fc t-^ t^ ;M5i 6 8 J itJ J j ^-\ ^ J J rf^rr ^^ m. "^^ ^ yd> yy /i* €3 . il— ,? # g !S 1^ S F^ it i ■^^ rT*L «' -^ ^fv 2j j I. -^ iPTll t " ^^ 3 ^ I M -^=& 51 IIX- Xligxil ' ^' 21^2 1 ^ i=i« f ffr t|<<3 3pa -e--^-^ # ^^3 ^ OR MUSICOGRAPHY. 191 tion to the other four, will cause the style of the music to be intelligible to the eye independently of the sounds : for most consonant intervals being composed of similar signs, and all dissonant ones of dissimilar signs, a simple harmony will be distinguishable by the concordance of its various characters with each other; whilst a scientific composition, a complicated harmony containing a greater number of discords, will always be charac- terized to the eye by the contrary forms of its representative signs. Last of all, unless in minor keys, the various periods in the melody, as well as the whole piece, will always terminate with the straight horizontal bar, affected to the funda- mental note, or tonic, and its harmonics. It is obvious, that if we were to adopt the usual method of writing in the different keys, we should lose many of the above-enumerated advantages ; but we see no reason to bring such a confusion into our system. Since there are but two modes in music, a major and a minor, there can be but two gamuts corresponding. What is it to play or sing in D major, but to transpose the gamut of C a degree higher, and to establish it upon the note D as its fundamental sound ; when all the properties which belonged to C as key-note are given to D, which is substituted to it in all respects ? It is only to explain this substitution that the various clefs 19*2 REFORMED CHARACTERS and keys have been introduced; and this multipli- city of confused signs, which cost much time to the student to learn, and which has no other ad- vantage but to point out mechanically the notes on the instruments, has greatly contributed to de- stroy the natural sentiment of music, by subject- ing the performer to the instrument, instead of the instrument to the performer. Not so with our system : whichever note be our fundamental, is written as such, with all its harmonies and relations to the other notes, which are every one more or less subservient to it. We write the musical, not the instrumental proportions. If the performer is forced to strike A sharp on the same key as B flat, giving to this intermediary sound, in its two occurrences, denominations and charac- ters belonging to two notes with which it has no relation whatever, it is because his instrument is imperfect and his classification incorrect; but a good singer, or violinist, knows the difference and can express it. Therefore we say to the musi- cian : whatever instrument you may happen to play, write the notes perfectly ; you will at least please the eye, if you do not satisfy the ear. The only difficulty is, that you will have sometimes to transpose ; but that cannot be of any great consi- deration, since a little girl six years of age, who begins the piano, does a much more arduous thing OR MUSICOGRAPHY. MY^ without feeling- greatly inconvenienced by it: we mean, reading" with two different clefs siraultane- ously, thereby always transposing with one hand or the other.* The various clefs have been invented in order to save to the composer the trouble of writing so many additional or ledger lines, by keeping as much as possible the music within the compass of the staff; whilst the various sharps and flats, form- ing what are called the different keys, have been introduced, in order to make the written notes correspond exactly to the fixed sounds of our instruments. The latter object being the only one that requires our consideration, we establish the relation of our characters with the notes of the instruments in the following manner. In the key of C natural, (which we express w^ith the letter C written in the margin,) our funda- mental note (or horizontal bar traced on the line) represents, as we have stated, the C which is writ- ten in the treble clef on the third space of the staff. All the other notes follow .in succession at their respective distances. Suppose we wish to raise our music one chro- * However, those who might prefer writing for the instru- ments with all the various keys, which have cost them so much trouble to acquire, are quite at liberty so to do with our signs, and need not find fault with the system under that pretence. For the others only we continue our explanation. O 194 REFORMED CHARACTERS, matic degree, or half a tone, we shall be then, with relation to the instrument, in C sharp or D flat, and we should have to write on the stave 7 sharp, or 5 flat, to express this pitch of our gamut. But with our system we do not trouble ourselves with these details, and still write the notes in a natural key; simply indicating, by a line drawn across our key-letter, (in the margin,) that the said note is to be raised one half of a tone. In D natural, we substitute this letter for the C in the margin ; in D sharp or E flat, we cross the key-letter D with a small line ; and so on for every one of the eight remaining chromatic degrees of our musical scale, which may succes- sively be taken as fundamentals of a natural gamut, proceeding in the same succession of sounds as the first. Ex. No. 11. The vocalist will read as easily in the one as in the other of those keys, which, whatever may be their technical denomination, are all equally na- tural to his voice, and the instrumentist alone will have to find, among the sharps or flats of his scale, those sounds which are not in the natural gamut of his instrument. The difficulty being wholly instrumental, has nothing to do with the music itself; and whatever be our fundamental note, this note we express with the same horizon- tal bar ascribed to it, as first of the scale. But the fundamental note, which is the tonic Tlal£ TTTT La Rosa ^^ STRAUSS TV^ALTZ. ^^S i 1»- ^ 5 ;^V--^ j iTV •i ^ i -# -if _• •_ ^ l-iL £ 9—^ S P — •- 4^ v/- ^>v=y=p pi^ ^ *=i ^ ^ ^izsti ti t t i m t i I li i ^ s ^ 1^ ^ « i t ^ -t «_ ^^5 • P- :|^ r I i b^=f^ iil iim^ * -« ± ^¥^^ ± J_^ L I £^ i%^ sarrre in Jfu^siccc/raph)'. ^-J-=i^ pH. •^^f.^ - H J.t> - JJ :^-^ ru "-^c^^ 3=r^ rt-r^ ^ ^¥=V 1^, k+N ^^ M ti± ^^ ^ ^^ tr I t f 1 1 ! I ?v ^^=3: ^e ^ £: J I ^^' ^^ ? ^ J=i j-ji s i :t=^ i^' ±: /7^ -|'' FS^^ 5F ^^ ftftn^ i ^ £ ?= ^=±ta ^4 r t-^ £ ;^^ g^^ f - J O,.' ^ I I , I • ' 1 77^^ sam^ in Jff^i^Lcc^rajjh^'. tr ir , — — J , ^ -V -i^ -t^r kKl .>ab^ 1 ^(>i : f^ U^ I I < I , -tr ^"^^^ r*l |i t II II iJ ^^ _ • " ' vv^, ^sl::=^ I'^ 3 I .~:. 1 ---^^_:±:' OR MUSICOGRAPHY. li)') in major modes, is only the mediant in minor ones ; the tonic then being placed a third minor below. This difference is marked with a small line drawn under our alphabetical or key-letter, which, by its means, indicates the minor mode relative to the said major key. Ex. No. 12. The Plate VIII., which contains applications of all the above rules, will be sufficient to give the reader an idea of our system applied to INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC ; and with respect to vocal MUSIC, we need not compose a plate on purpose to demonstrate the usefulness of our characters, since their simplicity and conciseness will allow us to print them with the common letter-press. The three first lines of the national anthem, which we give here as an example, will show how one might, by their means, trace with a pencil between the lines of any book the music to which the verses were set. God save our gracious queen God save our noble queen I God save the queen. O I CHAPTER V. * SHORT-HAND OF MUSICOGRAPHY.* In the second, as well as in the first book of the present publication ; viz. in the writing of music as well as in that of speech, we have made it our principal care to render the characters as concise as it was possible to do, without endangering their perspicuity; and it is not to be expected that they would admit of many further contractions or sim- plification. In fact, they will admit of none of those practised in logography, under the common denomination of short-hand, and which consist in suppressing certain intermediary sounds, left to be supplied afterwards either by memory or * Whilst our work was in the press, we have been favoured with a pamphlet published at Antwerp in 1834, under the title of Musikalische ^tenograplue Von Hypolyte Pre- vost. We certainly had never heard of this Belgian pro- duction when we claimed for ourselves in our Preface the priority of the application of short-hand to music ; and we beg to assert that, beyond the analogies of their titles, there are no points of comparison whatever between the two works. Not that we wish to depreciate in any way the system of M. Prevost ; but since it is based upon a new appli- cation of the common staff, to which are added four more MUSICOGRAPHV. 197 judgment; for in music, where so much more li- berty is given to the imagination than in speech, we can leave nothing to be guessed at by the reader. But if we cannot entirely suppress any second- ary note, however insignificant it be, yet the vari- ous properties of sound, and the mysterious rela- tions of the musical degrees with one another, have been so thoroughly investigated and establish- ed on principles so regular and simple, that the greatest facilities are given to the musician to represent, by a few allegorical signs, all those se- condary or subservient notes, which are only used, either in melody or harmony, as leading to, or enforcing the power of, the principal ones. * Consequently, our principal abbreviations con- sist in a selection of allegorical figures, repre- senting- certain musical o-radations or combina- tions, and added to the notes written in a manner lines, whilst ours consists chiefly in the suppression of all the ruled lines but one, the difference between the two is obviously as great as it is possible to be. We grant that M. Prevost's system may present great advantages to its author, or to those wlio might have succeeded in ren- dering themselves complete masters of its intricate combi- nations ; but yet, after having minutely examined it with the previous determination of presenting a translation of it to our readers, should we find it preferable to our own, we have returned with renewed confidence to the latter ; as explained in the following pages. 198 SHORT-HAND OF analogous to that in which the sounds alluded to are added to those represented by the notes them- selves. They are of two kinds ; viz. those in the melody, consisting of runs either chromatic, dia- tonic, or harmonic ; and those in the harmony, consisting of chords or symphonies, either con- cordant or discordant. With respect to the first, all runs composed of more than three sounds following one another by a regular uniform progression, are expressed by joining their first and last notes in the three fol- lowing ways ; viz. for a chromatic progression by means of an oblong loop, for a diatoiiic pro- gression by means of a round loop, and for a har- monic progression by means of a double loop. Ex. No. 1.* With respect to the second, all harmonies formed of more than two sounds struck together, are naturally classed in two distinct categories ; viz. the concordant ones, which can be no other than the perfect chord, (in the simplest form two consecutive thirds,) and the discordant ones, which can all easily be classed under the head of seventh, (in the simplest form three consecutive tl birds.) Every degree of the scale can be made the base of a harmony, composed of two or three con- * All the examples given in this chapter refer to Plate IX., which is placed at p, 204. MUSICOGRAPHY, 199 secutive thirds; or, in other words, every note can be in its turn the first either of a perfect chord, or of a discord, according to various changes introduced in the modulation, and governed by certain rules based on the properties of musical sounds. Among these combinations of sounds some are of very frequent use, others are seldom intro- duced, and a few have been completely discarded. Nevertheless, in our allegorical representations we have not thought it worth while to suppress any of them, since they do not amount altogether to more than twenty-two; viz. six perfect chords and sixteen discords. For, with respect to the first six, all perfect chords being formed by the concurrence of three sounds, having between them in succession two of the three following intervals : — minor third, major third, and fourth ; these three intervals are susceptible of but six combinations: and with reg-ard to the sixteen remaining, all dis- cords (except the augmented fifth) being formed by the concurrence of four sounds, having be- tween them, in succession or repetition, three of the following intervals : — major second, minor third, and major tliird ; these intervals are sus- ceptible of but fifteen combinations.* * llestricted as they are by the necessity of not exceeding ten semitones or a minor seventh between their two extreme notes, as also of avoiding two consecutive seconds, either played together, or left understood in the octave. 200 SHORT-HAND OF The following Table will give the reader a sy- noptical view of all the above chords, classed in their natural order. See Ex. 3 and 4. >^ 1 00 N3 1-^ ^ 3 3 ^ ~i tA U H-k o o fa O P5 g o g O a^ 5 o p- vn 3 g 3 3 3 3. 3 3 3. 3 3 3 3 3. to 5_ to £.£. 3' 5" tS <E 3 a'^. ^. 5' 5' 1 5' 3 o O O o o' o' O o o o o o s" o ^ J^ p. o -i -^ -I H^ ^ 3- B-^ 3" 2 =^ 5; "^ "^ CO 3- 5; S;- 3 r-* ? rt ^* — ■ o e ^ o i s-a: "-I § ^ a. 3-§ s. Ou p. S ? o. 3 (-I D- a- a. C/3 M 3 5 B 4 5-c^. 3, 5' 3 3 3 3 3 3. 3 3 1. i c -1 3 o CO p. C/3 2 o o o 2 ° o o 2 o o o E: ft ET "-J ■-< -3 -^ H- OT r» -» >*> •-S -1 ^ v. to •-3 -^ -! l-l g - " o Tl a> =r D- • S- 2 =r • 3~ cr 2 • ^ 3" 3^ * Co Z t^ ■ W o ^* ^« o 3 ' J 133 CL. § ^ -1 15 C' a; al 1 1— ( d 3 3 3 q 3 3 3. 3 3 3. = 3 ^ O 3. 3 \ H ^. 5- 5' <S. cS. 5" 5' ^.^. 5' B-'E. a ». o 5' £. C/3 O o o o O o o o o o o o ?d o o r-^ O " t-3 •-) t-— -I -1 "-^ "-J 1 -1 i-v *i -! "^ 1-^ 7^ •-J -! ffi t/3 (-»■ rf OO C-. en r* ~^ I-* .-» 03 a> .^ ^ ■- Oi ^ \ o - f- ■n o — • 3^ s: s • E! ^ E! ■ /«> ^ 3- o o §2-0. a^ § ^ Pu a-§ Cu PL, g c c/. . H >< ai 3 P3 c VJ g ■ O £t G- n. 3_ o 3. §. 5 5 o o ^ "-1 ,-» 1 1 3 o c to B P- r^ r^ s ^^ ^ _ to £. en ^ Cn Id o o o 3^ ET ~ ■ t/i W 3^ C o -l" ^ <-!' 1 o ^' 3 a- C^ &. ^ > en p- M 3 3 5 3 3 5 X. ? 3. p QJ &5 ;^ 03 03 K c CO t^. ci:. 13. i 3' o o 'o' "o' "o* o o S CI. - to o -1 z ;: if ^ 3 •^ in «^ Tl (t) cr fo . :7^ 0) 3- • Q. Q o S' '^ iM . <"> r- Vl ^ , o 3-§ a. CL •-1 3 'J 1 3 3 ti ^ ^. t^ a. Bi 1 £t o' o 1 hO <-* i-» ' «-*■. c *^ ^ 3 c o o i. ^_ 5 ■-1 ,-j o- a. <! W > H > O O o MUSICOGRAPHY. 201 All chords beino; formed, as we have seen, from the different combinations of four intervals only, it is obvious that four distinct little signs com- bined in similar groupes, will be found sufficient to express these chords in all their various forms. Ex. No. 2. Having- thus selected the figures necessary to represent the four intervals we may meet with in harmony, when we have to write a chord, placing our pen at a proper distance and beginning with the highest sound, we join successively the signs representing the successive intervals, until we come to the lowest note or root of the chord, which last note we trace at once, and (except in dis- cords 19, 20, 21, and 22,) with the same stroke of the pen, in its proper form and position. Ex. No. 3 and 4. Sometimes a note is added under, or suppressed in a chord. In these cases we still continue to write the chords as above explained, and indicate afterwards the under added note, bv adding- its character to the chord ; and the suppressed sound, by a short bar across the sign representing the same. Ex. No. 7, chords 15 and 19- We have collected in figs. 5, 6, and 7, all the chords generally used in modern music, and re- presented them, firstly with the notes of the staff, secondly with the figures commonly called tho- 202 SHORT-HAND OF rough bass, and thirdly with our short-hand cha- racters, preserving in all of them the numbers referring to the universal table given in page 200, and figs. 3 and 4. With relation to the figured bass, it will be re- marked that we have employed about thirty dif- ferent signs to express the various chords. This is the least number that can be used, and the total of those employed by various masters amounts to much more than a hundred. Yet many diff*er- ent combinations of sounds, being the various forms of the same primitive chords, have the same signs in common ; whilst other chords are figured in as many diff'erent ways as they can be repre- sented on the staff, although their symphonies do not vary in any one of their relative proportions : as, for instance, the two altered discords numbered in our table 19 and 22, which divide the octave into equal parts, and the numerous enharmonic passages which do not exist in modern music, ex- cept in the composer's imagination and as a com- plicated science, or on the staff" and as unfathom- able riddles,* whilst the practice differs essentially from all. But with our allegorical characters, * The word enharmonic^ taken from the Greek music, in which it had a meaning, as we have explained pp. 162, 163, is applied in modern music to express theoretically the na- ture of the distance existing between a note raised by a MUSICOGRAPHY. '203 we have a distinct sign for every distinct form of the same chord; and, in enharmonic passages, v^e have but one way of writing the same intervals, leaving to the practical musician to give its pro- per character to every note, as far as his own in- strument will allow him to do. In writing isolated notes, some expedition sharp, and another note placed a second major above it, low- ered by a flat: as, for instance, between C sharp and D flat. For this purpose the learned harmonist divides the dis- tance formed by the major second into five parts called commas, of which he gives two to each altered interval, leaving the distance of a comma between the two : as C C {sharp) D {flat) D. This is the science. o J ? 5 5? In the practice, the musician who commands a perfect instrument, such as a pliable voice or a violin, observes also a difference, but in no way similar to the above one. True, he divides the distance into five similar commas : but, observing that C sharp, as leading note to D, must be nearer to the latter than to C natural, in order to show its tendency to ascend ; whilst D flat, as sub-domitiani of the fundamental A flat, must be nearer to C than to D natural, in order to show its tendency to descend, he gives three commas to each altered interval ; as C !> {flat) C {sharp) D. This is the practice. Oil > 5 ■> Consequently the difference between the note written in the staff" and the sound given by the perfect instrument is one comma, whilst the distance between the two altered intervals is progressive in the first instance, and retrograde in the second. This is the riddle. 204 SHORT-HAND OF may be gained by substituting for the musi- cographic characters short commas placed in the same positions; but the fundamental, as well as those notes which might suffer occasional altera- tions, either in their sounds or duration, must al- ways be written in full. Ex. No. 8. We have transcribed in short-hand, fig. 9, the waltz given in Plate VIII., in order to show the extreme conciseness of our short-hand. We do not pretend to substitute our work for a treatise of harmony; however, to those who might think an extract of that science sufficient for their purpose, we offer the following short remarks. Properties of Musical Sounds. Every musical sound is naturally accompanied with its own self-produced perfect chord. This har- mony, being formed of the twelfth and seventeenth above the fundamental sound, is particularly distin- guishable when the said fundamental is played low enough on the scale to leave a certain body to the upper sounds ; as, for instance, when we strike any one of the bass notes on the piano; in which case, the twelfth and seventeenth produced by the vibrations of the single string can be plainly heard. Consequently, every two sounds struck together J^J^TB IX SHOUT HAND OP l\^ ; ( /f /•///// y//fc te »Jsl33 ^ -■^ Huns. J) /f//onic ^ JTamio/f 7c ^ aa s^nA -Q. ^ ti^- T ^ .^^. IrUrrrrrtA' Major Z. MrruTT^''. Jvu Tt7^. JiPCcLmp /^ /• nclt^ i fll), -.i.- fa- \-7' / r?. T" /?• «;?• />V. "^f^r Terfcrf ("Trorclf T/vree7ft 7/te ?r(y^/or .jcG.7.e T/i.r^f i/( fke mzrwr ,rf)al<^ 7 f^'^-ZhrT/i t J^Jh 07-7/i \ / ^'''fo^7?V -d — «=r ^ £l -»— t MUSIC O GR APHT . .^''S Teri^ecl cAardy. jr?6 DiSCOT'fLf, nit/t 7t.a.I^oTevt ^yz^ier-vaZ.f . * ^ 4 f %_ Op ^^ E^;, f *^- «• '•^ 7 ;^ *-<i v- J' -6>- -G- "W e^ -^ 4. ^ K /J ^ ^'i^ z i'6 f3 ^ ■1^ ^ 3^ 7 5 Discords mfJ? a/rfred mlerral^. i ^^[]A- ^f^^^gpi ^ 'XL ^r 6 ML 6 I TT ^ ■^6 Z ^6 i==S: #^ fat *. #r# haitix # # # -t^ ts: ICL -e~ £X ir ir. zz \ /ff 7^ -7^ "TST" 7Z ::;t 12^ ^ ^ /j~ ^^ ^ ^ ^^ /^ v,^ ^ ^ ^ ^K^ .JST.^S /16dr-ev(^gie>7t^- in, t&olai^d ^W-if-y -^=S- ^^ :tI^l S ?=e: ^ f^f^ \ t:fT^ '• \hi\rXA . I'M +t^H ii.. ■ii- ?r Xl- »ii^ r^rrr i^iiriiM^ .i1|T;»s?" TfT : ^ ' U'^b '-I' ^-Hh: i> > t < « < '^ r :^_f2il7ir- -4^ ri^ +- MUSrCOGRAPHY. 205 being productive each of its relative tvv'elfth and seventeenth, will be consonant in proportion to the number of those relative sounds they will have in common with each other. If the tw^o sounds be completely dissonant, their opposition to each other will be felt through every subdivi- sion of their harmonies ; but if consonant, they will blend and mix together in such a manner, as to preserve only those relative harmonies which are common to both, in order to become as it w^ere one sound, as c, g* There is only one third note that can be added to these two without changing their effect, and that is the third major of the fundamental, form- ing with them the complement of a triad of sounds, of which the two upper ones are the exact repe- tition of the self-produced harmony of the first or base note, as c, e, g. To this chord, of which the proportions are * An experiment related by Tartini, and which is not per- haps very generally known, places the principles of harmony in a very strong light. It is as follows : place two hautboys, in perfect harmony together, at a few paces distance from each other; then, advancing exactly in the middle between them, cause them to play in a full sonorous manner various chords, and you will hear, besides the sounds of the two instruments, a third one perfectly distinct, and which will be more or less powerful in proportion to the more or less harmony that may exist between the two sounds. 206 SHORT-HAND OF given to us in the innate harmony of every sin- gle musical sound, we can add nothing; hence it is called the perfect chord. If we add a fourth note, (forcibly a dissonant one,) its immediate effect will be to unbind the other three, and isolate every one of them from the others. This unsettled state cannot be en- dured; the ear must rest again on the perfect chord, and this is what is called the resolution of the dissonance : every dissonance must be resolved upon the perfect chord. Besides this rule, there is another equally im- portant ; viz. that every discord must be prepared, that is to say, the dissonant note must be heard as a consonant in a different chord, immediately before it is played as a discord, unless it be the dominant seventh or the diminished fifth, (which is the same chord still, minus the dominant,) these two being generally introduced without prepara- tion, probably because they lead so forcibly to the tonic, and mediant of the scale, that the ear is immediately impressed, through their sounds, with the anticipation of the perfect chord, on which they must ultimately be resolved. With regard to the modulations and progres- sions of harmony, they are entirely governed by the imagination and taste of the composer. Nu- merous and intricate are the rules given on this MUSICOGRAPHY. 207 subject ; but none of them can supply in the musi- cian the want of the two requisites above men- tioned : and the young beginner who would com- pose a harmony presenting various consecutive fifths or octaves, thereby jumping as it were from one key into another without shade or prepara- tion, could never expect to find in any didactic work, the knowledge of an art for which his organs were not sufficiently prepared. To such a one we would say, study the compositions of our best authors ; * learn from them the various effects of the different chords, considered in themselves as * It is obvious, that all the possible combinations of sounds the science of harmony can give, do not amount to more than twenty-tw^o, as exemplified p. 200. These twen- ty-two combinations could be still reduced to eight; viz. two perfect chords and six discords, according to the admitted principle that all chords remain the same, whatever sound be taken as first note, provided the other notes follow without being altered in their successions or relative dis- tances, as c, e, g ; e, g, c ; andy, c, e; which are considered by harmonists as one and the same ; viz. the major perfect chord. However, as it would be a great error to conclude from this, that the choice of the form of a chord is indifferent in harmony, and since each one has its individual character and distinct expression, we would advise our readers not to attempt too much at first ; but, preserving the twenty -two figures we have given, to transcribe by their means some of the composition he admires most. By consecrating a few hours every day to this pleasing occupation, he will have learned 208 MUSICOGRAPHY. well as in their relation to the fundamental of the tune; study to disti' uish, through their various modulations, the different harmonies produced by the various forms given to the same chords ; in a word, learn from those great composers to feel as well as to read or write the numerous and varie- gated combinations of musical sounds ; for their immortal works form the real, the only treatise to teach the divine science. more in a month than he would otherwise have done by poring for years over dry treatises full of complicated rules, and con- tradicted by numerous exceptions oftentimes still more unin- telligible ; at the same time that he will have acquired the practice of our musical short-hand, and collected for his own private use, and in a very small compass, many valuable works, which are sometimes difficult to be procured at any price. THE END. 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