A play by Alexis from the 4th century BC mentions an abacus and pebbles for accounting, and both Diogenes and Polybius use the abacus as a metaphor for human behavior, stating "that men that sometimes stood for more and sometimes for less" like the pebbles on an abacus.
ɐ plˈeɪ baɪ ɐlˈɛksɪs fɹʌmðə fˈoːɹθ sˈɛntʃɚɹi bˌiːsˈiː mˈɛnʃənz ɐn ˈæbækəs ænd pˈɛbəlz fɔːɹ ɐkˈaʊntɪŋ, ænd bˈoʊθ dɪˈoʊdʒiːnz ænd pɑːlˈɪbɪəs jˈuːs ðɪ ˈæbækəs æz ɐ mˈɛɾəfˌɔːɹ fɔːɹ hjˈuːmən bᵻhˈeɪvjɚ, stˈeɪɾɪŋ "ðæt mˈɛn ðæt sˈʌmtaɪmz stˈʊd fɔːɹ mˈoːɹ ænd sˈʌmtaɪmz fɔːɹ lˈɛs" lˈaɪk ðə pˈɛbəlz ˌɔn ɐn ˈæbækəs.