A sketch of the economy of man.

Date:
1819
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A sketch of the economy of man. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    OF EXPRESSION BY SIGNS AND BY SOUNDS. Lastly, Signs consist of characters traced upon some surface, as upon sand, stone, wood, paper, and the like. These characters may be repre¬ sentatives of the thing wdiich is to be expressed, or they may bear some analogy or resemblance to it, or they may be arbitrary. Representative Characters are imitations or drawings of the thing which is to be expres¬ sed ; thus, a sketch of a house may be used to express a house. Such were the paintings for¬ merly used by the Mexicans. Analogical Characters are representations of something which bears some resemblance or analogy to, or which has some connexion with, the thing to be expressed; thus, a hand grasping a sceptre is used to denote a king, a dog follow¬ ing a hare denotes hunting,' and so on. Of this class were the Hieroglyphics of the Egyptians. Arbitrary Characters are conventional symbols, agreed upon and admitted by common consent. Such were the Quipos or knotted cords of the
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