The following noteworthy passage is taken from Humphreys' work "On the Origin and Progress of the Art of Writing:" "Nearly all the principal methods of ancient writing may be divided into square capitals, rounded capitals, and cursive letters; the square capitals being termed simply capitals, the rounded capitals uncials, and the small letters, or such as had changed their form during the creation of a running hand, minuscule. Capitals are, strictly speaking, such letters as retain the earliest settled form of an alphabet; being generally of such angular shapes as could conveniently be carved on wood or stone, or engraved in metal, to be stamped on coins. The earliest Latin MSS. known are written entirely in capitals like inscriptions in metal or marble. * * * * * The uncial letters, as they are termed, appear to have arisen as writing on papyrus or vellum became common, when many of the straight lines of the capitals, in that kind of writing, gradually acquired a curved form, to facilitate their more rapid execution. However this may be, from the sixth to the eighth, or even 10th century, these uncials or partly rounded capitals prevail. "The modern minuscule, differing from the ancient cursive character, appears to have arisen in the following manner: During the 6th and 7th centuries, a kind of transition style prevailed in Italy and some other parts of Europe, the letters composing which have been termed semi-uncials, which, in a further transition, became more like those of the old Roman cursive. This manner, when definitely formed, became what is now termed the minuscule manner; it began to prevail over uncials in a certain class of MSS. about the 8th century, and towards the 10th its general use was, with few exceptions, established. It is said to have been occasionally used as early as the 5th century; but I am unable to cite an authentic existing monument. The Psalter of Alfred the Great, written in the 9th century, is in a small Roman cursive hand, which has induced Casley to consider it the work of some Italian ecclesiastic." The learned who have made a life study of the history of the most ancient manuscripts, mention them specifically in great number and of different countries, which would seem to indicate that the art of handwriting had made great strides in the very olden times; many nations had adopted it, and B. C. 650 "it had spread itself over the (then known) greater part of the civilized world." We can well believe this to be true in reading about the ancient libraries, notwithstanding that some rulers had sought to prohibit its exercise. Plato, who lived B. C. 350, expresses his views of the importance of writing in his imaginary colloquy between Thamus, king of Egypt, and Thoth, the god of the liberal arts of the Egyptians; he acquaints us: