Ossian Collection > Thoughts on the origin and descent of the Gael

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difference between the Pelasgian, the Etruscan,
and the most ancient Greek letters. The Etrus-
can, the Oscan, and the Samnite alphabets, are
derived from that of the Pelasgi; tliey differ from
each other more in name than in form.
The Peiasgic alphabet, which prevailed in
Greece before the age of Deucalion, consisted of
sixteen letters. The Tyrrhenian alphabet, first
brought into Italy, preceded the reign of that
prince; it consisted of thirteen letters only.*
If the Tyrrhenians were a Peiasgic people,
then the first alphabet brought into Italy, which
had consisted of thirteen letters, were also Peias-
gic; that is, a Peiasgic alphabet was introduced
into Italy about 2000 years before the Christian
era. But how far back may be dated the intro-
duction or knowledge of an alphabet in Greece,
it is difficult to form even any probable conjec-
ture. It may be admitted, however, as a rational
conclusion, that those strangers who had first
introduced with their language the knowledge
of alphabetic written characters, were a people
far advanced in the practice of the useful arts of
life, and were accustomed to the observance of
systematic rules of civil polity. The political
situation of the more ancient inhabitants of the
country of Greece, their usages, manners, and
customs, their state of advancement in the know-
* Vide Mr Astle's most ingenious and learned work upon
the Origin and Progress of Writing.
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