The Alphabet, an Account of the Origin and Development of Letters

by Isaac Taylor

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1883 edition. ... Ashtar, as is indicated by the priest who precedes him bearing the sacrificial knife, and by the hands of the offerer clasped over the forehead of the victim,1 whose crescent horns are depicted so as to represent the symbol of the goddess. Lastly, he is seen on horseback, unarmed, evidently on a progress of state, as his attendant accompanies him on foot. The inscription is from right to left, the words being divided by vertical lines. It reads :-- D-inrat | Dinted 112011 "m "The effigy and monument of Sa'adavam of Mazmar."" § 4. THE ETHIOPIC ALPHABET. The earliest forms of the language and alphabet of Abyssinia and Southern Arabia are exhibited in the Sabean and Himyaritic inscriptions just discussed. From the south of Arabia, where these inscriptions have been found, the Joktanite Semites crossed over Ionian workmanship of the ante-Achaemenian period, and can hardly be later than the 6th or 7th century B.C. The Sabean legend is now believed to be of later execution than the seal, but it exhibits primitive forms of three letters, alf, kaf, and rees. The inscription was published by Sir H. Rawlinson in the J. R. A. S., N. S., vol. i., p. 234. A large number of Himyaritic inscriptions have been published in the Z. D. M. G.; by Halevy in his Etudes Sab'eennes, and by Prideaux in Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch. 'See Leviticus iv., 4. • See the Plate by Euting, and the description by D. H. Miiller, in the Z. D. M. G., vol. xxx., p. 115. into Abyssinia. They called themselves Ghe'ez, "the emigrants," and their language Lisana Ghe'ez, "the speech of the emigrants." In the 4th century they were converted to Christianity and subjected to Greek influences. The alphabet of the early Christian period, which is still used by the Abyssinians for...

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2013

About the author

Isaac Taylor was an English philosophical and historical writer, artist, and inventor.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.