Rev. Edward Hincks on the true Date of the Rosetta Stone. 75 



mer beinw always named before the latter was, or being removed by the new king. The idea 

 that Epiphanes, or those who acted for him in of these offices being annual ones appears to have 

 his minority, had a particular regard for the me- first occurred to M. ChampoUion Figeac ; but it 

 mory of his grandmother. is not necessary to suppose them to be so, in or- 



der to explain the observed facts ; and the con- 

 trary supposition seems on every account prefer- 

 able. 



I come now to state my reasons for maintaining, that the Rosetta Stone re- 

 cords a decree which was made in March, 197 B. C. The date of the decree is 

 given according to the Greek and Egyptian computations, so far as respects the 

 month and day. It was the 4th of Xanthicus, being the 18th of Mechlr. Now 

 I am going to show that these dates could not possibly coincide in the year 196 

 B, C. ; but that they could and did coincide in the preceding year. 



It has been proved by Archbishop Ussher, that the Macedonian year was a 

 solar one, similar to that which was introduced at Rome by Julius Cassar. As, 

 however, some may doubt whether this solar year was in use at so early a period 

 as the date of the Rosetta Stone, and as it is generally believed that the Mace- 

 donians had also a lunar year ; it will be necessary to show in the first place, that 

 the 18th Mechir, that is, the 27th March, in the year 196 B. C, could not be 

 the 4th of a lunar month. To do this, I need only quote M. Letronne's own 

 words : " This year the full moon fell on the 29th March, or the 6th Xanthicus. 

 The first of this month was then about the ninth day of the moon's age ; whence 

 it would follow that the calendar to which it belonged was not lunar, unless this 

 month was this year an intercalary one (a moins que ce mois ne fut embolimique 

 cette annee)." The learned Frenchman has not explained how this removes the 

 difficulty ; though it is evident that he supposed it to do so. It is not very ob- 

 vious how in any lunar calendar, whether the month was intercalary or not, the 

 full moon could occur on the sixth day. In the preceding year the full moon 

 fell on the 9th April ; so that if the 27th March had been the fourth of a lunar 

 month, the full moon would be on the 17th day of it. This is so much less 

 astray from the correct time than in the year 196, that if it were certain that the 

 Macedonian year were lunar, I think there could be no hesitation in fixing on 

 the year 197 B. C, as that in which the fourth of a lunar month would coincide 

 with the 18th Mechir. I am, however, decidedly of opinion, that the Macedo- 



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