Di Renzo Reading: forgotten scribe
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL336/2008/01/31/
"...Tiro ""compressed and simplified"" Roman copyhand, capitonlonis rustica, into an ""abstract"" symbol system." (Di Renzo pg. 7)
This was part of an ongoing investigation into the greatness of Cicero's famed scribe. Apparently, Cicero's scribe Tiro, was not only responsible for the documentation of Cicero's life, he also develop a shorthand system of writing, which at that time, was more like a series of codes rather than a new system of writing (He also was Cicero's right-hand man in his ascension into power) . This passage helps one appreciate the genius beyond the modern alphabet, and the devotion it took on behalf on Tiro in order to complete such a system. This essay reveals the importance of the writing even in an Oral dominated culture.
The modern alphabet is something truly remarkable. Imagine having to write in Greek. I was also impressed by Tiro's development of shorthand writing. As the oral culture began to fade we see not only as social shift into the distance, but also a linguistic one as well.