In the vast writings of Gottfried Leibniz can be found many elements relating to a possible universal language, specifically a constructed language, a concept that gradually came to replace that of a rationalized Latin as the natural basis for a projected universal language. Leibniz conceived of a "characteristica universalis" (also see "mathesis universalis"), an "algebra" capable of expressing all conceptual thought. This algebra would include rules for symbolic manipulation, what he called a "calculus ratiocinator". His goal was to put reasoning on a firmer basis by reducing much of it to a matter of calculation that many could grasp. The "characteristica" would build on an alphabet of human thought.