of our hitherto limited knowledge of language, lie far beyond the reach of human penetration.

The English word eleven must have first been el ii, or, which is the same, el u, or el v; and when el ii or el u went together, and made elu or elv, it took an before it thus, an elv, and then an fell behind, and elevan, or eleven as it is now written, was formed. Hence, in some language with which I am not acquainted, eli may name ten, since by the addition of I it means "eleven." Thus ten in English makes, when analysed, it ev, or, which is equally correct, it iv, meaning, "the head life," that is, “the Divinity;" or it may be analysed thus, it-in, and this means, "the head one," which is still the same as "the Divinity." A knowledge

of Beta will also lead us to discover that ten

means three and seven. Ten in French (dix) is, when analysed, dio; and were it written dis it would be still dio, and this is another name for the Divinity; and though I may not yet show how dis makes otherwise ten, I can do so for dix, by begging the reader to observe that when the X is thus made (ɔc), we have, in the two parts of which it is composed, an O, as we may plainly see by placing each part opposite the other, thus, co, and allowing them to meet. Hence, when we analyse dio itself, we have id io, or id 10, which literally means, "the ten." But if we take each half of the X when made thus (X), we shall still have a name for the Divinity, since it will give us V V (life life, or all life), as we may perceive by placing these two

characters thus, X, since when allowed to meet they make X. Then dix means id X (the X), or id VV (the VV, or the five five). Ten in Greek and Latin is also a name for the Divinity, or double life, as we may thus see: dexa makes, in the analysis, id-e-ka (it is k), and K, we may perceive, is also composed of V and V, when we allow them to meet thus, Y, since these by their juncture give K. But Λ

though K has this meaning, we shall see hereafter that this letter was not in the beginning made by the addition of one V to another. We may also remark that dexa, when analysed thus, id-e-ik-oi, will mean, "it is the double round one," that is, "the great high one," "the one of double life," "of life past and to come ;" which meaning applies also to the Divinity. Decem (the Latin word for ten) makes, when analysed, id ek M, (it the M, but, more correctly, the great or double M); or it may be analysed thus, id is M (it is M). Hence in decem allusion is made to the capital M, since it is, we may perceive, also composed of double V, arranged thus, AA, and allowed to meet; or allusion may be made to the small m, (in Greek made thus, μ,) which is the same as a u, and consequently as a v; so that, allowing ek, in the analysis id ek m, to indicate what is double, these three words will mean, "it the double m (μ),” that is, μ and μ, which are equal to V and V, or five and five.

Even the word alone may in some languages mean

ten, since it is also equal to the name of the sun (o-il-one), just as solus is. The same may be said of the French word loin, which is for el-oin, or al-oin, and is equal to "life life," or "the great one." El is here the same as elle in French (she), as we shall see in the explanation to be given of the Greek A (lambda), and consequently it is like the V, a letter implying double or great existence. I cannot say how the learned explain ELOHIM, one of the names of God in Hebrew, but it literally means, "the great one double life," and is to be thus analysed, el-oiii-v. Here ii-v is equal to uv or vv, that is, "life, life," "double life," or "eternal life." Hence Eloi, which I find explained by my God, literally means, "the great one," or rather, "great God;" but when we recollect that el is another name for life, eloi may "life life."

also mean,

Axça can be also analysed so as to mean all in a; and Alpha, so as to mean all in the a, both of which meanings imply that all the letters in the alphabet are to be found in A. As it would be necessary, in order to see how far such an account of Alpha is correct, to explain all the other letters of the alphabet, I can here say no more of it than to beg the reader to keep it in mind during the following inquiry.

This short account of Alpha, on which volumes might be written full of the most interesting discoveries, will, I trust, for the present suffice. The prevailing temptation connected with this inquiry, that of reading in words the history of man's

thoughts while the world was yet in its infancy, has led me, as usual, far beyond the limits within which I had hoped to keep; and this will oblige me to pass over more hastily than should be done, several of the other characters of the Greek alphabet.

I have till now forgotten to account for the small Roman a, made thus, a. The Greek a is, we have just seen, composed of i before the i. thus, oi.

and o; the o being put thus, Oi, and allowed to join with it Now the sole difference between the manner of forming a and a is in the placing of the o, since if we put it on the other side of i, thus io, and allow both letters to meet thus, e, we shall have a, as the reader will discover by turning up the book in his hand, and looking at the bottom of the words instead of the top, just as children, before they know their letters, often do. Hence both characters (a and a) are composed of precisely the same materials, an i and an o; and though the art employed to conceal their formation—that is, if divine cunning (in order to confound men's words), and not accident, is here to be considered- does not appear very deep, yet long ages have proved that it was sufficient for baffling all penetration.

I have now to account for the second letter of the Greek alphabet, and endeavour to derive some instruction from its hidden meaning.

Bτα, when analysed, ought to stand thus, ib-nt-ea. Here ib is for be; nt is the well-known pronoun or verb to be or to go (for it is all three), of which we have already spoken when considering

other pronouns ; and ea is also belonging to the same class. Now as every pronoun, as well as the verb to be and to go, implies "existence," it follows that the three words, be-it-ea imply "existence, existence, existence." At first sight this appears impossible, as such language offers no meaning; yet if we examine the three words, it is you, or it is that, we shall find that they also imply "existence, existence, existence." Then if we do understand it is that, and do not understand be it ea, this arises from one or more of the latter words not being now used as it formerly was. We have already remarked that the word it was anciently employed as we do now employ is. Then let us profit by this knowledge, and put this is in the place of it in the three words, be it ea, and we shall have be is ea; which three words clearly imply that the word be is the same as the word ea; that is, the thing named be is named also ea, which is, in other words, to say, that ea is for "existence." Thus be and ea being in apposition to each other, and is not different from either of them, and as the three words make but one, it follows that they altogether imply "existence." Thus if we could comprise in one, the three words, it is you, or it is that, such a compound word would also mean "existence." Hence be-it-ea or Byra is another word for "being." As the three words of which Beta is composed are thus three names for the one thing, it follows that not only each one of them is equal to either of the other two when separately considered, but that it