CHARACTERS. 
estimable people. They are de- 
scended from the ancient Egyp- 
tians; and the Turks, upon this ac- 
count, call them, in derision, the 
posterity of Pharaoh. But their 
uncouth figure, their stupidity, ig- 
nerance, and wretchedness, do little 
credit to the sovereigns of ancient 
Egypt. 
They have lived for 2000 years 
under the dominion of different fo- 
reign conquerors, and, have experi~- 
enced many vicissitudes of fortune. 
They have lost their manners, their 
language, their religion, and almost 
their existence. They are reduced 
toa small number, in comparison 
of the Arabs, who have poured like 
a flood over this country. Of the 
dimioution of the numbers of the 
Copts, some idea may be formed 
from the reduction of the number 
of their bishops: they were se- 
venty in number at the period of 
the Arabian conquest ; but they are 
new only twelve, and most of these 
settled in Upper Egypt, to which 
the ancient inhabitants seem to 
have retired from the centre of the 
conquest. 
The Egyptians have been always 
distinguished as a melancholy, con- 
ceited, and superstitious race. Their 
posterity maintain, with the same 
obstinacy, the opinions which they 
_ were compelled by the Greeks to 
adopt. The Copts have an insur- 
mountable aversion to the Romish 
church. Their patriarch is at the 
same time head of the Abyssinian 
church, whither he sends a bishop 
to govern the clergy. 
__~ It would be a matter of singular 
importance to recover the know- 
ledge of the ancient Coptic, the Ri- 
san Pharaoun, or language of Pha- 
taoh. In Egypt we see, even on 
the mummies, alphabetical inscrip- 
ou 
371 
tions, which are very different from 
the hieroglyphics, and, if decypher- 
ed, might throw light upon the an- ' 
cient history of Egypt, and help to 
an explanation of the hieroglyphics. 
But this language of the ancient 
Egyptians seems to be entirely lost, 
The Ptolemies were at pains to 
substitute the Greek, instead of the 
ancient language of their new sub-) 
jects. The Greek Emperors of 
Constantinople forbade the use of 
the Coptic in conversation, under 
pain of death; and obliged the 
Egyptians to adopt the Greek, in- 
stead of the Pharaonic’ alphabet. 
Hence the modern Coptic, in which 
these people have their version of 
the holy scriptures, is a mixture of 
Greek and old Egyptian. The 
sultans of Egypt effaced the remains 
of this language, thus corrupted, by 
forbidding it to be spoken, under 
the same penalty, and introducing, 
in its room, the Arabic, which is 
the present language of the Copts. 
The liturgy is still read in the mo- 
dern Coptic; but the people un- 
derstand it not, till explained from 
an old Arabic translation, which is 
written beside the text. Even the 
priests understand not the language 
of their scriptures, and can scarce 
read the characters. 
Mr. Forskal became acquainted 
with a Copt, named Ibrahim En- 
nasch, a man of learning and po- 
lished, manners, whose employment 
was in copying the books of the li- 
turgy ; by which he earned at the 
rate of half-a-crown in three days. 
My fiiend saw, in the hands of this 
Egyptian, a dictionary of a great 
many genuine old Coptic words, 
with their explanations in Arabic. 
He was also informed by Ibrahim 
Ennasch, that there still are, in se- 
veral convents in Upper Egypt, a 
Aa2 good 
