2006-05-16 Notes from An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language by John Wilkins. Title page and preceding facing page: """ English Linguistics 1500-1800 (A Collection of Facsimile Reprints) Selected and Edited by R. C. Alstn No. 119 The Scolar Press Limited Menston, England 1968 """ """ John Wilkins An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language 1668 """ # In the dedictory (all in italics, words like *this* are regular): """ Now if those famous Assemblies [de la Crufca of Italy, and the French Academy] consisting of the great Wits of their *Age* and *Nations*, did judge this Work of *Dictionary-making*, for the polishing of their Language, worthy of their united labour and studies; Certainly then, the Design here proposed, ought not to be thought unworthy of such assistance; it being as much to be preferred before that, as *things* are better than *words*, as *real knowledge* is beyond *elegancy of speech*, as the *general good of mankind*, is beyond that of any *particular Countrey* or *Nation*. """ # (The first two words of each page are repeated in the bottom right-hand corner of the page before. I wonder why?) # THE CONTENTS. The First Part Containing the Prolegomena. CHAPTER, I. I. The Introduction. II. The Original of Languages. III. The First Mother Tongues. IV. Their several Offsprings. Page, 1 CHAP. II. I. Concerning the various Changes and Corruptions, to which all vulgar Languages are obnoxious. II. Particularly concerning the Change of the English Tongue. III. Whether any Language formerly in use, be now wholly lost. IV. Concerning the first rise and occasion of New Languages. pag. 6 CHAP. III. I. The Original of Letters and Writing. II. That all Letters were derived from the Hebrew. III. The use of Letters is ancient, and the Kinds of them less numerous, than of Languages themselves. IV. Of Notes for secrecy or brevity. V. Of a Real Character. VI. Of Alphabets in General. pag. 10 CHAP. IV. I. Of the defects in Common Alphabets, as to the true Order of the Letters, II. Their just Number, III. Determinate Powers, V. Fitting Names, V. Proper Figures. VI. Of the Imperfections belonging to the Words of Languages, as to their Equivocalness, Variety of Synonymous Words, Uncertain Phraseologies, Improper way of Writing. pag. 14 CHAP. V. I. That neither Letters nor Languages, have been regularly established by the Rules of Art. II. The Natural ground or Principle of the several ways of Communication amongst Men. III. The first thing to be provided for, in the establishing of a Philosophical Character or Language, is a just enumeration of all such Things and Notions, to which Names are to be assigned. pag. 19 The Second Part Containing Universal Philosophy. CHAPTER. I. I. The Scheme of Genus's. II. Concerning the more General Notions of Things, The difficulty of Establishing these aright. III. Of Transcendentals General. IV. Of Transcendentals Mixed. V. Of Transcendental Relations of Action. VI. Of the several Notions belongs to Grammar, or Logic. Page, 22 CHAP. II. I. Concerning God. II. Of the several Things and Notions reducible under that Collective Genus of the World. pag. 51 CHAP. III. I. Of Elements and Meteors. II. Of Stones. III. Of Metals. pag. 56 CHAP. IV. I. Of Plants, The difficulty of enumerating and describing these. II. The more general distribution of them. III. Of Herbs considered according to their Leaves. IV. Of Herbs considered according to their Flowers. V. Of Herbs considered according to their Seed Vessels. VI. Of Shrubs. VII. Of Trees. pag. 121 CHAP. V. I. Concerning Animals, The General distribution of them. II. Of Exanguious Animals. III. Of Fishes. IV. Of Birds. V. Of Beasts. VI. A Digression concerning the capacity of Noah's Ark. pag. 168 CHAP. VI. I. Of Parts of Animate Bodies, whether I. Peculiar, or II. General. p. 168 CHAP. VII. I. Concerning the Predicament of Quantitie. I. Of Magnitude. II. Of Space. III. Of Measure. pag. 181 CHAP. VIII. Concerning the Predicament of Quality, and the several Genus's belonging to it. I. Of Natural Power. II. Of Habit. III. Of Manners. IV. Of Sensible Quality. V. Of Disease; with the various differences and species under each of these. pag. 194 CHAP. IX. Of the Predicament of Action; The several Genus's under it. viz. I. Spiritual Action. II. Corporeal Action. III: Motion. IV. Operation. p.225 CHAP. X. Concerning Relation more private, namely I. Oeconomical, or Family Relation; together with the several kinds of things belonging to those in that capacity, either as II. Possessions, or III. Previsions. pag. 249 CHAP. XI. Concerning Relation more Publike, whether I. Civil. II. Judiciary. III. Naval. IV. Military. V. Ecclesiastical. pag. 263 CHAP. XII. I. A General Explication of the design of the fore-going Tables. II. Particular Instances in the six principle Genus's of it. III. Something to be noted concerning Opposites and Synonyma's. IV. An Account of what kind of things ought not to be provided for in such Tables. p289 The Third Part Containing Philosophical Grammar. CHAPTER. I. I. Concerning the several Kinds and Parts of Grammar. II. Of Etymologie, the more general Scheme or Integrals and Particles. III. Of Nouns in General. IV. Of Substantives common, denoting other Things, Actions, or Persons. V. Rules concerning Nouns of Action. VI. Of Substantives Abstracts. VII. Of Adjectives according to the true Philosophical notion of them. VIII. The true notion of a Verb. IX. Of derived Adverbs. X. A general Scheme of the forementioned Derivations. page, 297 CHAP. II. I. Of Particles in General. II. Of the Copula. III. Of Pronouns more generally. IV. More particularly. V. Of Interjections more generally. VI. More particularly. p.304 CHAP. III. I. Of Prepositions in general. II. The particular kinds of them enumerated. III. An Explication of the four last Combinations of them, relating to Place or Time. p. 309 CHAP. IV. I. Of Adverbs in general. II. The particular kinds of them. III. Of Conjunctions. p. 312 CHAP. V. I. Of Articles. II. Of Modes. III. Of Tenses. IV. The most distinct way of expressing the differences of Time. p. 315 CHAP. VI. I. Of Transcendental particles, The end and use of them. II. The usual ways for inlarging the sense of Words in insituted Languages. III. The general Heads of Transcendental Particles. p. 318 CHAP. VII. Instances of the great usefulness of these Transcendental Particles, with directions how they are to be applyed. p. 323 CHAP. VIII. Of the Accidental differences of Words. I. Inflexion. II. Derivation. III. Composition. p. 352 CHAP. IX. On the second part of Grammar called Syntax. p. 354 CHAP. X. Of Orthography. I. Concerning Letters. The Authors who have treated of this Subject. II. A brief Table of all such kinds of Simple found, which can be framed by the mouths of Men. III. A further Explication of this Table, as to the Organs of Speech, and as to the Letters framed by these Organs. p. 357 CHAP. XI. Of Vowels. p. 363 CHAP. XII. Of Consonants. p. 366 CHAP. XIII. Of Compound Vowels, and Consonants. p. 370 CHAP. XIV. I. Of the Accidents of Letters, I. Their Names. II. Their Order. III. Affinities and Oppositions. IV. Their Figures, with a twofold instance of a more regular Character for the Letters, The Later of which may be styled Natural. V. Of Pronounciation. VI. The several Letters dis-used by several Nations. p. 347 The Fourth Part Containing a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language CHAPTER I. The proposal of one kind of Real Character (amongst many other which might be offered) both for all Integrals, whether Genus's, Differences or Species; together with the derivations and Inflexions belonging to them, as likewise for all the several kinds of Particles. page, 385 CHAP. II. An Instance of this Real Character, in the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. p.395 CHAP. III. How this Real Character may be made effable in a distinct Language, and what kind of Letters or Syllables may be conveniently assigned to each Character. p. 414 CAHP. IV. Instance of this Philosophical Language, both in the Lord's Prayer and the Creed: A comparison of the Language here proposed, with fifty others, as to the facility and the Euphonicalness of it. p.421 CHAP. V. Directions for the more easy learning of this Character and Language, with a brief Table containing the Radicals, both Integrals and Particles; together with the Character and the Language, by which each of them are to be expressed. p.439 CHAP. VI. The Appendix containing a Comparison betwixt this Natural Philosophical Grammar and that of other Instituted Languages, particularly the Latin, in respect of the multitude of unncecessary Rules and of Anomalisnis concerning the China Character: The several Attemps and Proposals made by others, towards a new kind of Character and Language. The advantage of respect of facility, which this Philosophical Language hath above the Latin. p.441 # Some interesting pages: p166 has a drawing of the Ark, and 164 lists what animals are in it, and what they eat p442 - the table on p442 details not just the genus's but the species within them, which I do not have time to copy out. I'll write up these: p23 - the genus outline p415 - how the genus's map to letters (the language he offers looks much like Arabic) # p23 All kinds of things and notions, to which names are to be assigned, may be distributed into such as are either more General; namely those Universal notions, whether belonging more properly to Things; called TRANSCENDENTAL GENERAL. I RELATION MIXED. II RELATION OF ACTION. III Words; DISCOURSE. IV Special; denoting either CREATOR. V Creatures; namely such things as were either created or concreated by God, not excluding several of those notions, which are framed by the minds of men, considered either Collectively; WORLD. VI Distributively; according to several kinds of Beings. whether such as do belong to Substance; Inanimate; ELEMENT. VII Animate; considered according to their several Species; whether Vegetative Imperfect; as Minerals, STONE. VIII METAL. IX Perfect; as Plant, HERB consid. accord. to the LEAF. X FLOWER. XI. SEED-VESSEL. XII SHRUB. XIII TREE. XIV Sensitive; EXANGUIOUS. XV Sanguineous; FISH. XVI BIRD. XVII BEAST. XVIII Parts; PECULIAR. XIX GENERAL. XX Accident; Quantity; MAGNITUDE. XXI SPACE. XXII MEASURE. XXIII Quality; whether NATURAL POWER. XXIV HABIT. XXV MANNERS. XXVI SENSIBLE QUALITY. XXVII SICKNESS. XXVIII Action SPIRITUAL. XXIX CORPOREAL. XXX MOTION. XXXI OPERATION. XXXII Relation; whether more Private OECONOMICAL. XXXIII POSSESSIONS. XXXIV PROVISIONS. XXXV Publick JUDICIAL. XXXVII MILITARY. XXXVIII NAVAL. XXXIX ECCLESIASTICAL. XL. # # p415 [where I write 'u' in the Genus names, it's a kind of italic 'u' which is almost an 'a' of the simple loop kind, but just open at the top. Or maybe closer to a lower-case alpha? 0 is a little o with horns.] That which at present seem most convenient to me, is this; Transcend. General Bu Rel. mixed Ba Rel. of Action Be Discourse Bi God Du World Da Element De Stone Di Metal Do Herb consid. accord. to the Leaf Gu Flower Ga Seed-vessel Ge Shrub Gi Tree Go Animals Exanguious Zu Fish Za Bird Ze Beast Zi Parts Peculiar Pu General Pa Quantity Magnitude Pe Space Pi Measure Po Quality Power Nat. Tu Habit Ta Manners Te Quality sensible Ti Disease To Action Spirit Cu Corporeal Ca Motion Ce Operation Ci Relation Oecon. Co Posses. Cy Provis. Su Civil Sa Judicial Se Military Si Naval So Eccles. SY The Differences under each of these Genus's, may be expressed by these Consonants in this order; B, D, G, P, T, C, Z, S, N. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. The Species may be expressed by putting one of the seven Vowels after the Consonant, for the Difference; to which may be added (to make up the number) two of the Dipthongs, according to this order u, a, e, i, o, 0, y, yi, y0. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. For instance, if (De) signifie Element, then (Deb) must signifie the first difference; which (according to the Tables) is Fire: and (Debu) will denote the first Species, which is Flame. (Det) will be the fifth difference under the Genus, which is, Appearing Meteor; (Detu) the first Species, viz. Rainbow; (Deta) the second, viz. Halo. Thus, if (Ti) signifie the Genus of Sensible Quality, then (Tid) must denote the second difference, which comprehends Colours; and (Tida) must signifie the second Species under than difference, viz. Redness: (Tide) the third species, which is Greenness, &c. Thus likewise, if (Be) be put for the Genus of Transcendental Relation of Action, then (Bec) must denote the sixth difference, which is Ition; and (Bec0) will signifie the sixth Species, which is Following. As for those Species under Plants and Animals, which do exceed the number Nine, they may be expressed by adding the Letters L, or R, after the first Consonant, to denote the second or third of such Combinations. Thus, if Gude be Tulip, viz. the third Species in the first Nine, then Glude must signifie Ramson, viz. the third in the second Nine, or the twelfth Species under that Difference. So if Zana be Salmon, viz. the second speceies in the first Nine, them Zlana must signifie Gudgeon, viz. the second in the second Nine; or the eleventh Species under that Difference. #