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A linear system of delayed differential equations with multiple delays x ̇ (t) = − ∑ i = 1 s c i (t) A i (t) x (t − τ i (t)) , t ∈ [ t 0 , ∞) , is considered where x is an n -dimensional column vector, t 0 ∈ R , s is a fixed integer, delays τ i are positive and bounded, entries of n by n matrices A i as well as functions c i are nonnegative, and the sums of columns of the matrix A i (t) are identical and equal to a function α i (t). It is proved that, on [ t 0 , ∞) , the system has a solution with positive coordinates if and only if the scalar equation y ̇ (t) = − ∑ i = 1 s c i (t) α i (t) y (t − τ i (t)) , t ∈ [ t 0 , ∞) , has a positive solution. Some asymptotic properties of solutions related to both equations are also discussed. Illustrative examples are considered and some open problems formulated. • System of delayed differential equations. • Scalar delayed differential equations. • Multiple delays. • Novel positivity criterion. • Topological principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]