Throughout the seventh and early eighteenth centuries, there were frequent attempts made to develop a universal language. Such efforts, which were by no means limited to a single country had three majors goals. There was a need for an auxiliary language, such as latin had been, to assist in exchange of various kinds: scientific, political and commercial. There was a need for a " universal character" that would provide a simplified, strict set of symbols capable of expressing actual and possible knowledge and above all, it was felt a truly universal language would itself be an instrument of discovery and proof of truth.