my very best to have them transmitted throughout the country. But look what will happen when you and I have gone and when the present generation of adults have gone. How can our great-grand-children-sweet kiddies - who are basking in the evening sun, know your thought, know your inventions. My thoughts move forward. How is this wonderful thought of yours to be transmitted to our great-great-great-grandchildren-great-to-the- power-of-infinity grand children. Surely in the year 1941 both of us will have our descendants. How are they to be benefitted by your thoughts." Ts'ai Lun was so fond of his emperor that he could not see him in distress. So he said to the emperor "Your Majesty need not suffer so much. Please give me leave for for six months. I shall retire into solitude. When I come back I am sure I can bring to you some means by which all our thoughts can be transmitted to our grandchildren of 1941 and beyond."
After the end of six months Ts'ai Lun brought what we now call a piece of crude paper with some dark figures on it. He said "I have invented writing. By this writing thought can be transmitted through time. "I want you to think for a moment and realize what a wonderful invention this invention of writing is. Now you understand what is meant by transmitting thought through time. But for your secretary knowing to write how could the thought which Mr. Fossil created in this very room some months ago have been transmitted to me to-day. But for this invention of writing and your secretary reading the minutes perhaps I would not have had a theme to talk to you about to-night. I am aware that some of you might wish that your school life would have been far happier if Ts'ai Lun had not invented writing; for then you would not have had so many books to read; nor will your ensuing examination prolong for so many days in which you will be asked to write pages after pages. I wonder whether I have been right in singing the glory of Ts'ai Lun in the examination month. I don't know how many of you in your present examination terror will be prepared to accord a vote of thanks to Ts'ai Lun and how many a vote of censure.
This new invention which enabled the humans to transmit thought through time was of use also in transmitting it through space unmutilated and un-transformed by the messengers.
As soon as the invention of speech solved a problem the absence of writing created another problem and led to thousands of years of turmoil before writing could be invented. So also soon after writing gave satisfaction new problems arose. The
