an autobiography-第103章

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ed　the　British　Museum。　It　was　the　most　instructive　and　interesting　of　all　the　public　institutions　which　I　had　yet　seen。　　I　eagerly　seized　every　opportunity　I　could　spare　to　spend　as　many　hours　as　possible　in　wandering　through　its　extensive　galleries；　especially　those　which　contained　the　Assyrian；　Egyptian；　and　Greek　antiquities。　　By　careful　and　repeated　examination　of　the　objects　arranged　in　them；　I　acquired　many　ideas　that　afforded　me　subjects　for　thought　and　reflection。

Amongst　these　objects；　I　was　specially　impressed　and　interested　with　the　so…called　〃Arrow…head〃　or　〃Cuneiform　Inscriptions〃　in　the　Assyrian　Department。　　These　remarkable　inscriptions　were　on　large　tablets　of　burnt　clay。　　They　formed　the　chief　portion　of　the　then　comparatively　limited　collection　of　Assyrian　antiquities　in　the　British　Museum。

＇Image＇　Fig　1。

I　was　particularly　impressed　with　the　precision　and　simple　beauty　of　these　cuneiform　inscriptions；especially　with　the　strikingly　distinctive　nature　of　what　I　may　term　the　fundamental　or　elementary　wedge…like　form；　of　which　the　vast　variety　of　letters　or　words　of　these　inscriptions　were　composed。　　The　triangular　or　three…sided　indentation　will　be　observed　in　the　above　engraving　（Fig。　1）。　　This　elementary　form；　placed　in　various　positions　with　respect　to　each　other；　appeared　to　be　capable　of　yielding　an　infinite　variety　of　letters　and　words；　as　seen　in　Fig。　2。

＇Image＇　Fig　2。

I　may　here　mention　that　I　entered　upon　this　interesting　subject　with　no　pretensions　as　a　linguist；　nor　with　any　idea　of　investigating　the　meaning　of　these　remarkable　inscriptions；　but　only　as　a　Mechanic；　to　ascertain　the　manner　in　which　the　striking　characters　were　produced；　so　as　to　convey　words　and　ideas　through　their　variety　of　combinations。　I　soon　perceived　that　the　simple　but　distinctive　characters　shown　in　the　above　representations　were　essentially　connected　with　the　employment　of　plastic　clay；　this　being　the　material　most　suitable　for　their　impression；　by　means　of　a　three…sided　instrument　or　stylus。　The　angular　extremity　of　this　instrument；　when　depressed　into　the　surface　of　a　tablet　of　plastic　clay　in　different　positions　and　directions；　would　leave　these　cuneiform　impressions　in　all　their　beautifully　distinct　and　characteristic　forms。　　And　thus；　after　the　tablets　had　been　subjected　to　fire　and　made　into　hard　brick；　the　impressions　have　come　down　to　us；　after　the　lapse　of　thousands　of　years；　as　fresh　and　distinct　as　if　they　had　been　produced　but　yesterday！

I　was　so　fortunate　as　to　have　my　conjectures　confirmed　with　respect　to　the　exact　form　of　the　instrument　by　which　these　remarkable　characters　are　produced；　observing；　in　what　appeared　to　be　a　hastily…formed　inscription　on　the　edge　of　a　large　brick；　that　the　inscriber　had　apparently　used　rather　more　pressure　on　his　stylus　than　was　requisite。　In　consequence　of　which；　the　end　of　it　had　been　so　deeply　depressed　into　the　soft　clay　as　to　leave　an　exact　counterpart　of　its　size　and　form。　　I　secured　a　cast　of　this　over…deep　impression　of　the　stylus；　from　which　Fig。　3　is　taken；　after　a　photograph。

＇Image＇　　Fig　3。

In　order　further　to　illustrate　the　simple　mode　of　producing　inscriptions　on　tablets　of　clay；　I　give　in　Fig。　4　a　tablet　inscription　produced　by　means　of　the　stylus　which　is　seen　laid　over　the　tablet。

＇Image＇　　Fig　4。

The　next　illustration　（Fig。5）　is　intended　to　convey　an　idea　of　the　manner　in　which　the　stylus　was　held　and　applied　to　the　surface　of　the　clay　when　a　cuneiform　inscription　was　being　produced。　　The　upper；　flat；　or　third　side　of　the　stylus　enabled　the　inscriber　to　keep　it　in　correct　relative　position　in　respect　to　the　tablet；　yielding　at　the　same　time　a　convenient　flat　surface　upon　which　to　rest　the　end　of　his　finger　when　indenting　the　angular　end　into　the　clay。

＇Image＇　　Fig　5。

Refer　back　to　Fig。　2；　and　it　will　be　found　that　any　variety　in　the　size　of　the　cuneiform　inscriptions　may　be　produced　by　the　same　stylus；　by　simply　depressing　the　angular　end　of　it　to　a　greater　or　less　depth　into　the　surface　of　the　clay。　　In　many　of　the　most　elaborate　inscriptions；　a　certain　lob…sidedness　of　the　cuneiform　character　may　be　observed。　　This　is　due　to　the　inscriber　having　held　his　stylus　somewhat　askew；　as　we　do　a　pen　in　ordinary　writing。　　Referring　to　my　remark　that　the　distinctive　shape　of　the　cuneiform　character　was　essentially　due　to　the　use　of　plastic　clay　as　the　most　suitable　material　for　its　production；　I　think　it　highly　probable　that　the　origin　of　these　inscriptions　took　its　rise　not　only　from　the　facility　with　which　the　characters　could　be　indented　on　the　material；　but　from　the　abundance　of　plastic　mud　which　forms　the　natural　soil　of　the　lands　adjoining　the　great　Assyrian　rivers。　　This　when　made　into　bricks；　became　the　chief　building　material　of　the　energetic　people　of　Babylon　and　the　other　great　cities　of　the　Tigris　and　Euphrates　valleys。　　The　laborious　work　of　brickmaking　was　generally　assigned　to　captives　as　taskwork；　and　it　appears　to　me　highly　probable　that　〃the　tale〃　of　the　brickmaker　or　his　taskmaster　might　be　most　readily　marked　by　simply　indenting　the　side　of　the　soft　tale　brick　with　the　corner　angle　of　a　dry　one；　and　that　thus　the　strikingly　peculiar　character　of　the　cuneiform　character　was　produced　（see　Fig。　6）。

＇Image＇　Fig　6。

In　course　of　time　the　elementary　form　was　expanded　into　this　most　beautifully　simple　mode　of　communicating　ideas　through　the　agency　of　conventional　signs　or　letters；　being　also　especially　suited　for　making　historical　or　other　records　on　tablets　of　moist　clay；　which；　when　〃fired〃；　became　absolutely　indestructible；　so　far　as　time　is　concerned。

This　is　abundantly　proved　by　those　marvellously　perfect　burnt　clay　tablets；　covered　with　exquisitely　minute　and　perfect　inscriptions；　which；　after　having　remained　hid　in　mounds　of　rubbish　for　thousands　of　years；　among　the　ruins　of　the　Assyrian　cities；　are　brought　to　light　as　fresh　and　perfect　as　on　the　day　on　which　they　were　executed。　These　tablets　now　excite　the　wonder　and　admiration　of　all　who　are　able　to　appreciate　the　beauty　of　the　inscriptions；　as　well　as　of　those　who　are　speculatively　curious　as　to　the　origin　of　written　language。　This　attempt　to　explain　the　probable　origin　of　the　cuneiform　character　may　to　some　appear　fanciful。　　But　whether　or　not；　it　is　certain　that　this　simple　and　impressive　character　can　be　readily　produced　by　the　primitive　means　which　I　have　ventured　to　suggest。　　I　give　a　cuneiform　inscription　（Fig。　7）；　which　I　have　produced　by　simply　employing　the　corner　angle　of　an　ordinary　brick　as　the　stylus　for　indenting　the　inscription　on　the　tablet　of　soft　clay。　　This　might　have　been　extended　to　any　length；　in　longer　as　well　as　minuter　impressions。

＇Image＇　　Fig　7。

As　soon　as　the　capability　of　the　cuneiform　impression　was　adopted　as　the　Assyrian　character；　it　was　in　due　time　employed　for　inscriptions　on　stone　or　other　materials；　such　as　marble　or　alabaster。　　The　chisel　was　then　substituted　for　the　stylus；　but　the　characters　remained　in　a　great　measure　the　same。　　In　some　cases　a　slight　modification　was　observable；　being　naturally　due　to　the　change　of　material　and　the　method　of　carving　it；　but　in　most　respects　the　departure　from　the　clay　prototype　is　very　slight；　and　the　original　is　adhered　to　with　remarkable　integrity。

When　examining　some　early　Greek　inscriptions　in　marble；　in　the　British　Museum；　in　the　year　1837；　I　was　much　interested　to　observe　the　appearance　of　a　cuneiform　element　in　the　limbs　of　several　Greek　letters；　especially　in　the　terminals；　as　illustrated　in　Fig。　8；　each　limb　of　the　letter　being　in　itself　a　perfect　cuneiform；　and　as　such　the　terminal　of　each　limb　is　at　right　angles　to　the　axis；　and　not　as　now　（in　our　modern　capital　letters）　parallel　to　the　line　of　inscription。

＇Image＇　　Fig　8。

This　apparent　presence　of　the　cuneiform　element　in　these　early　Greek　inscriptions　suggests　some　very　interesting　historic　causes　which　led　to　their　introduction；　and　so　passed　from　the　Greek　into　the　Roman；　and　eventually　into　the　capital　letters　of　our　own　alphabet。　　To　give　one　instance；though　many　might　be　cited；take　the　capital　letter　T；　and　it　will　be　found　that　it　went　from　the　Cuneiform　into　the　Greek；　then　into　the　Roman；　and　lastly　into