He described his language as a sort of arithmetic of letters by which every single thing in the universe could be given a unique name that, through a simple computation, showed you its exact and true definition. What’s more, every word meant something read both backwards and forwards – or in any permutation of the letters. He published two works on this language, Ekskubalauron or “Gold out of dung” in 1651 and Logopandecteision or “Introduction to the universal language” in 1652...He claimed to have completed a full description of his language, but the manuscript pages had been destroyed when they were appropriated for “posterior uses” by the opposing army after he was taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester. Seven pages from the preface, however, were rescued out from under a pile of dead men in the muddy street (thus, "gold out of dung").
