The Temple of Nature; or, the Origin of Society: A Poem, with Philosophical NotesDarwin, Erasmus
Philosophy
The Temple of Nature; or, the Origin of Society: A Poem, with Philosophical Notes
Darwin, Erasmus
Cosmology -- Poetry; Life -- Origin -- Poetry
So the glory, or halo, round the head is a part of the universal
language of the eye, designating a holy person; wings on the shoulders
denote a good angel; and a tail and hoof denote the figure of an evil
demon; to which may be added the cap of liberty and the tiara of
popedom. It is to be wished that many other universal characters could
be introduced into practice, which might either constitute a more
comprehensive language for painters, or for other arts; as those of
ciphers and signs have done for arithmetic and algebra, and crotchets
for music, and the alphabets for articulate sounds; so a zigzag line
made on white paper by a black-lead pencil, which communicates with
the surface of the mercury in the barometer, as the paper itself is
made constantly to move laterally by a clock, and daily to descend
through the space necessary, has ingeniously produced a most accurate
visible account of the rise and fall of the mercury in the barometer
every hour in the year.
Mr. Grey's Memoria Technica was designed as an artificial language to
remember numbers, as of the eras, or dates of history. This was done
by substituting one consonant and one vowel for each figure of the ten
cyphers used in arithmetic, and by composing words of these letters;
which words Mr. Grey makes into hexameter verses, and produces an
audible jargon, which is to be committed to memory, and occasionally
analysed into numbers when required. An ingenious French botanist,
Monsieur Bergeret, has proposed to apply this idea of Mr. Grey to a
botanical nomenclature, by making the name of each plant to consist of
letters, which, when analysed, were to signify the number of the
class, order, genus, and species, with a description also of some
particular part of the plant, which was designed to be both an audible
and visible language.
Bishop Wilkins in his elaborate "Essay towards a Real Character and a
Philosophical Language," has endeavoured to produce, with the greatest
simplicity, and accuracy, and conciseness, an universal language both
to be written and spoken, for the purpose of the communication of all
our ideas with greater exactness and less labour than is done in
common languages, as they are now spoken and written. But we have to
lament that the progress of general science is yet too limited both
for his purpose, and for that even of a nomenclature for botany; and
that the science of grammar, and even the number and manner of the
pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet, are not yet determined
with such accuracy as would be necessary to constitute Bishop
Wilkins's grand design of an universal language, which might
facilitate the acquirement of knowledge, and thus add to the power and
happiness of mankind.
ADDITIONAL NOTE. VII.
OLD AGE AND DEATH.
The age-worn fibres goaded to contract
By repetition palsied, cease to act.
CANTO II. l. 4
I. _Effects of Age._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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