a history of science-1-第20章

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ult　to　give　it　individual　recognition。　To　set　off　the　mere　labial　beginning　of　the　sound　by　itself；　and　to　recognize　it　as　an　all…essential　element　of　phonation；　was　the　feat　at　which　human　intelligence　so　long　balked。　The　germ　of　great　things　lay　in　that　analysis。　It　was　a　process　of　simplification；　and　all　art　development　is　from　the　complex　to　the　simple。　Unfortunately；　however；　it　did　not　seem　a　simplification；　but　rather　quite　the　reverse。　We　may　well　suppose　that　the　idea　of　wresting　from　the　syllabary　its　secret　of　consonants　and　vowels；　and　giving　to　each　consonantal　sound　a　distinct　sign；　seemed　a　most　cumbersome　and　embarrassing　complication　to　the　ancient　scholarsthat　is　to　say；　after　the　time　arrived　when　any　one　gave　such　an　idea　expression。　We　can　imagine　them　saying：　〃You　will　oblige　us　to　use　four　signs　instead　of　one　to　write　such　an　elementary　syllable　as　'bard；'　for　example。　Out　upon　such　endless　perplexity！〃　Nor　is　such　a　suggestion　purely　gratuitous；　for　it　is　an　historical　fact　that　the　old　syllabary　continued　to　be　used　in　Babylon　hundreds　of　years　after　the　alphabetical　system　had　been　introduced。＇7＇　Custom　is　everything　in　establishing　our　prejudices。　The　Japanese　to…day　rebel　against　the　introduction　of　an　alphabet；　thinking　it　ambiguous。　Yet；　in　the　end；　conservatism　always　yields；　and　so　it　was　with　opposition　to　the　alphabet。　Once　the　idea　of　the　consonant　had　been　firmly　grasped；　the　old　syllabary　was　doomed；　though　generations　of　time　might　be　required　to　complete　the　obsequiesgenerations　of　time　and　the　influence　of　a　new　nation。　We　have　now　to　inquire　how　and　by　whom　this　advance　was　made。

THE　ALPHABET　ACHIEVED　We　cannot　believe　that　any　nation　could　have　vaulted　to　the　final　stage　of　the　simple　alphabetical　writing　without　tracing　the　devious　and　difficult　way　of　the　pictograph　and　the　syllabary。　It　is　possible；　however；　for　a　cultivated　nation　to　build　upon　the　shoulders　of　its　neighbors；　and；　profiting　by　the　experience　of　others；　to　make　sudden　leaps　upward　and　onward。　And　this　is　seemingly　what　happened　in　the　final　development　of　the　art　of　writing。　For　while　the　Babylonians　and　Assyrians　rested　content　with　their　elaborate　syllabary；　a　nation　on　either　side　of　them；　geographically　speaking；　solved　the　problem；　which　they　perhaps　did　not　even　recognize　as　a　problem；　wrested　from　their　syllabary　its　secret　of　consonants　and　vowels；　and　by　adopting　an　arbitrary　sign　for　each　consonantal　sound；　produced　that　most　wonderful　of　human　inventions；　the　alphabet。　The　two　nations　credited　with　this　wonderful　achievement　are　the　Phoenicians　and　the　Persians。　But　it　is　not　usually　conceded　that　the　two　are　entitled　to　anything　like　equal　credit。　The　Persians；　probably　in　the　time　of　Cyrus　the　Great；　used　certain　characters　of　the　Babylonian　script　for　the　construction　of　an　alphabet；　but　at　this　time　the　Phoenician　alphabet　had　undoubtedly　been　in　use　for　some　centuries；　and　it　is　more　than　probable　that　the　Persian　borrowed　his　idea　of　an　alphabet　from　a　Phoenician　source。　And　that；　of　course；　makes　all　the　difference。　Granted　the　idea　of　an　alphabet；　it　requires　no　great　reach　of　constructive　genius　to　supply　a　set　of　alphabetical　characters；　though　even　here；　it　may　be　added　parenthetically；　a　study　of　the　development　of　alphabets　will　show　that　mankind　has　all　along　had　a　characteristic　propensity　to　copy　rather　than　to　invent。　Regarding　the　Persian　alphabet…maker；　then；　as　a　copyist　rather　than　a　true　inventor；　it　remains　to　turn　attention　to　the　Phoenician　source　whence；　as　is　commonly　believed；　the　original　alphabet　which　became　〃the　mother　of　all　existing　alphabets〃　came　into　being。　It　must　be　admitted　at　the　outset　that　evidence　for　the　Phoenician　origin　of　this　alphabet　is　traditional　rather　than　demonstrative。　The　Phoenicians　were　the　great　traders　of　antiquity；　undoubtedly　they　were　largely　responsible　for　the　transmission　of　the　alphabet　from　one　part　of　the　world　to　another；　once　it　had　been　invented。　Too　much　credit　cannot　be　given　them　for　this；　and　as　the　world　always　honors　him　who　makes　an　idea　fertile　rather　than　the　originator　of　the　idea；　there　can　be　little　injustice　in　continuing　to　speak　of　the　Phoenicians　as　the　inventors　of　the　alphabet。　But　the　actual　facts　of　the　case　will　probably　never　be　known。　For　aught　we　know；　it　may　have　been　some　dreamy…eyed　Israelite；　some　Babylonian　philosopher；　some　Egyptian　mystic；　perhaps　even　some　obscure　Cretan；　who　gave　to　the　hard…headed　Phoenician　trader　this　conception　of　a　dismembered　syllable　with　its　all…essential；　elemental；　wonder…working　consonant。　But　it　is　futile　now　to　attempt　even　to　surmise　on　such　unfathomable　details　as　these。　Suffice　it　that　the　analysis　was　made；　that　one　sign　and　no　more　was　adopted　for　each　consonantal　sound　of　the　Semitic　tongue；　and　that　the　entire　cumbersome　mechanism　of　the　Egyptian　and　Babylonian　writing　systems　was　rendered　obsolescent。　These　systems　did　not　yield　at　once；　to　be　sure；　all　human　experience　would　have　been　set　at　naught　had　they　done　so。　They　held　their　own；　and　much　more　than　held　their　own；　for　many　centuries。　After　the　Phoenicians　as　a　nation　had　ceased　to　have　importance；　after　their　original　script　had　been　endlessly　modified　by　many　alien　nations；　after　the　original　alphabet　had　made　the　conquest　of　all　civilized　Europe　and　of　far　outlying　portions　of　the　Orientthe　Egyptian　and　Babylonian　scribes　continued　to　indite　their　missives　in　the　same　old　pictographs　and　syllables。　The　inventive　thinker　must　have　been　struck　with　amazement　when；　after　making　the　fullest　analysis　of　speech…sounds　of　which　he　was　capable；　he　found　himself　supplied　with　only　a　score　or　so　of　symbols。　Yet　as　regards　the　consonantal　sounds　he　had　exhausted　the　resources　of　the　Semitic　tongue。　As　to　vowels；　he　scarcely　considered　them　at　all。　It　seemed　to　him　sufficient　to　use　one　symbol　for　each　consonantal　sound。　This　reduced　the　hitherto　complex　mechanism　of　writing　to　so　simple　a　system　that　the　inventor　must　have　regarded　it　with　sheer　delight。　On　the　other　hand；　the　conservative　scholar　doubtless　thought　it　distinctly　ambiguous。　In　truth；　it　must　be　admitted　that　the　system　was　imperfect。　It　was　a　vast　improvement　on　the　old　syllabary；　but　it　had　its　drawbacks。　Perhaps　it　had　been　made　a　bit　too　simple；　certainly　it　should　have　had　symbols　for　the　vowel　sounds　as　well　as　for　the　consonants。　Nevertheless；　the　vowel…lacking　alphabet　seems　to　have　taken　the　popular　fancy；　and　to　this　day　Semitic　people　have　never　supplied　its　deficiencies　save　with　certain　dots　and　points。　Peoples　using　the　Aryan　speech　soon　saw　the　defect；　and　the　Greeks　supplied　symbols　for　several　new　sounds　at　a　very　early　day。＇8＇　But　there　the　matter　rested；　and　the　alphabet　has　remained　imperfect。　For　the　purposes　of　the　English　language　there　should　certainly　have　been　added　a　dozen　or　more　new　characters。　It　is　clear；　for　example；　that；　in　the　interest　of　explicitness；　we　should　have　a　separate　symbol　for　the　vowel　sound　in　each　of　the　following　syllables：　bar；　bay；　bann；　ball；　to　cite　a　single　illustration。　There　is；　to　be　sure；　a　seemingly　valid　reason　for　not　extending　our　alphabet；　in　the　fact　that　in　multiplying　syllables　it　would　be　difficult　to　select　characters　at　once　easy　to　make　and　unambiguous。　Moreover；　the　conservatives　might　point　out；　with　telling　effect；　that　the　present　alphabet　has　proved　admirably　effective　for　about　three　thousand　years。　Yet　the　fact　that　our　dictionaries　supply　diacritical　marks　for　some　thirty　vowels　sounds　to　indicate　the　pronunciation　of　the　words　of　our　every…day　speech；　shows　how　we　let　memory　and　guessing　do　the　work　that　might　reasonably　be　demanded　of　a　really　complete　alphabet。　But；　whatever　its　defects；　the　existing　alphabet　is　a　marvellous　piece　of　mechanism；　the　result　of　thousands　of　years　of　intellectual　effort。　It　is；　perhaps　without　exception；　the　most　stupendous　invention　of　the　human　intellect　within　historical　timesan　achievement　taking　rank　with　such　great　prehistoric　discoveries　as　the　use　of　articulate　speech；　the　making　of　a　fire；　and　the　invention　of　stone　implements；　of　the　wheel　and　axle；　and　of　picture…writing。　It　made　possible　for　the　first　time　that　education　of　the　ma