Note 1369 — BOOK VII.835 MAN, HIS BIRTH, HIS ORGANIZATION, AND THE INVENTION OF THE ARTS. (continued 2)

The account of the original introduction of the alphabet into Greece, here given, is the one generally adopted in his time. Most readers will be aware, that the actual invention of letters, the share which the Egyptians and the Phœnicians had in it, the identification of Cadmus, and still more of Mercury, with any of the heroes or legislators of antiquity, of whom we have any correct historical data, and the connection which the Greek alphabet had with those of other nations, are among the most curious questions of literary discussion, and are still far from being resolved with any degree of certainty.—B.