CHARACTERS, numeral, used to express numbers, are either letters or figures. The Arabic character, called also the common one, because it is used almost throughout Europe in all sorts of calcu lations, consists of these ten digits, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0.
The Roman numeral characters con sist of seven majuscule letters of the Roman alphabet, viz. I, V, X, L, C, D, M. The I denotes one, V five, X ten, L fifty, C a hundred, D five hundred, and M. a thousand.
Mei repeated twice makes two, II; thrice, three, III ; four is expressed thus, IV. as I before V or X takes an unit from the number expressed by these letters. To express six, an I istdded to a V, VI ; for seven, two, VII; and for eight, three, VIII; nine is expressed by an I before X, thus, IX.
The same remark may be made of the X before L or C, except that the di minution is by tens ; thus XL denotes forty, XC ninety, and LX sixty. The C before D or M diminishes each by a hundred.
The number five hundred is sometimes expressed by an I before a C invert ed, thus ID ; and instead of M, which signifies a thousand, an I is sometimes used between two C's the one direct, and the other inverted, thus CID. The addition of C and p before or after, raises CID by tens, thus CCIyj expresses ten thousand, CCCIDDD a hundred thou sand. The Romans also expressed any number of thousands by a line drawn over any numeral less than a thousand ; thus, V denotes five thousand, LX sixty thousand ; so likewise ICI is one million, MM is two millions, &c.
1 The Greeks had three ways of express ing numbers: first, every letter, according to its place in the alphabet, denoted a number, from a, one, to (,), twenty-four. 2. The alphabet was divided into eight units, 00 one, /3 two, y three, &c. into eight tens, i ten, e twenty, A thirty, &c. and eight hundreds, e one hundred, 0- two hundred, T three hundred, &c. 3. stood for one, 11 (zrev7i) five, A (haa) ten, ir 1(74400 a hundred, x a thousand, rr (fre.vgia) ten thousand ; and when the letter n inclosed any of these except r, it showed the inclosed letter to be five times its value ; as I A i fifty, Int five hun.
dred, 1X1 five thousand, (MI fifty thou sand.
The Hebrew numerals consisted of their alphabet divided into nine units ; thus, ti one, 2 two, kc.: nine tens ; thus, ten, 2 twenty, &c.; nine hundreds; thus, p one hundred, -; two hundred, &c.: and five hundred, t= six hundred, 1 seven hundred, eight hundred, pnine hundred. They expressed thousands by the word rliw, with the other numerals prefixed to signify the number of thousands : thus, two thousand, three thousand.