Now, though I conceive this Character is not effable properly as a literal Character by any of their present Languages: And though possibly it might be at first a real Character, that is each of them compounded of such Strokes or Marks as by their Figures, Positions and Numbers in the square, denoted the several Philosophical Ingredients, that made up the Notion of the whole Character, as the Book _Ye-Kim_ seems to shew by giving Rules as I conceive for the Order and Significancy of places in the Square, _&c._ Yet I think it not difficult to make it a Literal, or at least a Syllabical Character, and legible into a Language somewhat after the manner of the Universal Character I mentioned before. And tho' this would not be the primitive Language for which it was made, yet for the present uses of it (the chiefest of which is the assisting and refreshing the Memory, and helping the Imagination by proper Sounds) it might be as good: Wherein the single Characters might be Monosyllables and the compounded Dissyllables, Trissyllables, _&c._ According to the Numbers and Order of simple Characters in the square of the Compounded. And I am apt to think that the present pronunciation of Languages, as of _Hebrew_, _Syriack_, _Arabick_, _Greek_ and _Latin_, or any other Language that has been so long Written, may be as much differing from what it was 2000 Years since, as an Arbitrary one now invented, and grounded on the Letters, might possibly be. And such an arbitrary Pronunciation if generally agreed upon might serve _as well_ for a help to learn the signification of Words, or _Word Combinations_ of Characters, as if we now knew the exact primitive Pronunciations, as critically as the _Masorethæ_ are said to have done that of the _Hebrew_; and possibly also a _much better_, for that by such a one a great many irregularities and difficulties of Pronunciation (which are to be found in all Languages now spoken) might be omitted, and the whole made exactly regular and easie, as might be shewn in the _Hebrew_ and _Greek_, and especially in the _Arabick_, whose difficulties are sufficiently manifested by _Alphabetum Arabicum_, Printed at _Rome_ 1592. Now as by such a Language the Character might be made effable without Musical Tones or difficult Aspirations, so had we Dictionaries of the signification of the Characters, we might as soon learn the _Chinese_ Characters, as we can _Latin_, or any other Language to be learn'd by Book, and not by speaking. IMPRIMATUR, _John Hoskyns_ Vice P. R. S. _July_ 17_th._, 1686. [Illustration: _The Roman Abacus out of Marcus Velserus_ _The Chinese Abacus from the Chinese Dictionary containing nine places or degrees_ 一二三四五六七八九