ix. 4) that 'A living dog is better than a
dead lion,' I therefore maintain that the English is superior to the
Hebrew." The dispute was referred to an Oxford authority for decision,
and a certain learned doctor decided it by--

2. "Notricon." This consists in forming a decisive sentence composed of
words whose initial letters are in a given word; for instance,
_Hebrew_:--"_H_ugo's _e_xcels _B_aruch's _r_easoning _e_very _w_ay."
_English_:--"_E_nglish _n_o _g_ood _l_anguage, _i_s _s_carcely
_h_armonious;" but _Hebrew_:--"_H_oly, _e_legant, _b_rilliant,
_r_esonant, _e_liciting _w_onder!" This is a fair specimen of how to get
at the secret sense of a word by the rule of "Notricon," and now we will
proceed to explain--

3. "Temurah." This means permutation, or a change of the letters of the
alphabet after a regularly adopted system. We know only five such
permuted alphabets, but there may be more. The technical names of these
five alphabets are: "Atbash," "Atbach," "Albam," "Aiakbechar," and
"Tashrak." We will try to explain the first permuted alphabet only, as a
mere specimen, for the general reader is not quite prepared to
comprehend the rest, and a hint for the scholar is sufficient.

Here let the reader observe that as the letters of the English alphabet
are more numerous and differently designated and arranged than those of
the Hebrew, the "Atbash" of the Hebrew must necessarily become "Azby" in
English. If now we write on one line and in regular order the first half
of the alphabet, and the other half on the second line, but in reversed
order, thus:--

a b c d e f g h i j k l m
z y x w v u t s r q p o n

we get thirteen couples of letters which exchange one with the other,
viz, _a_ and _z_, _b_ and _y_, _c_ and _x_, etc. These letters, when
exchanged, give rise to a permuted alphabet, and this permuted alphabet
takes its technical name from the first two couples of letters, _a_ and
_z_, _b_ and _y_, or "Azby." Now if we wish to write, "Meddle not with
them that are given to change," you have to change the letters of the
couples and the following will be the result: "Nvwwov mlg drgs gsvn gszg
ziv trem gl xszmtv." This is a specimen of the mysterious Temurah, and
the "Azby" is the key to it. The other four permuted alphabets are of a
similar nature and character, and are so highly esteemed among the sages
and bards of Israel, that they often use them in their literary and
poetical compositions. The Machzorim