d the Chinese
have apparently passed through all stages of the picture-writing, the
use of the pictograph and of the ideograph. In fact, the Chinese
language is but an extension of these three methods of expression. The
objects were originally designated by a rude drawing, and then, to
modify the meaning, different characters were attached to the picture.
Thus a monosyllabic {128} language was built up, and the root word had
many meanings by the modification of its form and sometimes by the
change of its position. The hieroglyphic writings of the Egyptians,
Moabites, Persians, and Assyrians went through these methods of
language development, as their records show to this day.

_Phonetic Writing Was a Step in Advance of the Ideograph_.--The
difference between the phonetic writing and the picture-writing rests
in the fact that the symbol representing the object is expressive of an
idea or a complete thought, while in phonetic writing the symbol
represents a sound which combined with other sounds expresses an idea
called a word and complete thoughts through combination of words. The
discovery and use of a phonetic alphabet represent the key to modern
civilization. The invention of writing elevated man from a state of
barbarism to a state of civilization. About the tenth century before
Christ the Phoenicians, Hebrews, and other allied Semitic races began
to use the alphabet. Each letter was named from a word beginning with
it. The Greeks learned the alphabet from the Phoenicians, and the
Greeks, in turn, passed it to the Romans. The alphabet continually
changed from time to time. The old Phoenician was weak in vowel
sounds, but the defect was remedied in the Greek and Roman alphabets
and in the alphabets of the Teutonic nations. Fully equipped with
written and spoken speech, the nations of the world were prepared for
the interchange of thought and ideas and for the preservation of
knowledge in an accurate manner. History could be recorded, laws
written and preserved, and the beginnings of science elaborated.

_The Use of Manuscripts and Books Made Permanent Records_.--At first
all records were made by pen, pencil, or stylus, and manuscripts were
represented on papyrus paper or parchment, and could only be duplicated
by copying. In Alexandria before the Christian era one could buy a
copy of the manuscript of a great author, but it was at a high price.
It finally became customary for monks, in their secluded ret