3i8 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book III. 



CHAP. IV. 



^be Egyptians mujl have had the ufe of a Language of Art before 

 they could have invented fo many Arts and Sciences^ as it is proved 

 they did invent. — "This Language they inufl have invented them- 

 f elves ^ or got from fome other country; — no other country but Egypt, 

 where it could have been invented. — The Phoenicians could not have 

 been the inventors of a Language of /Irt, for reafons -which are 

 giz'en. — The quefion is, Whether Ofirls carried to India the Lan- 

 guage of Egypt, as well as its other arts ? — If the language of In- 

 dia were a barbarous language, it could not be fuppofcd to have 

 come from Egypt. — But the Shanfcrit, the original la/iguage of In- 

 dia, a language of the greatejl art. — This proved by the tefimony of 

 Sir William Jones, and of Brafey Halhed: — // excels in the three 

 great arts of language, Derivation, Compofition, and Flexion, and 

 particularly in the lafl. — In the pronunciation it has both Melody 

 and Rhythm; — aud its Poetry is formed by foort and long fyllables: 

 — A fpecimen of that Poetry given by Brafey Halhed. — In that 

 fpecimen, the words are of great length, and full of vowels. — Their 

 alphabet co?jfJts of 50 letters. — The long and fhort vowels marked 

 by different characters. — The author learned more of the Shanfcrit 

 language from Mr Wilkins than he has learned any other way. — 

 Mr Wilkins has proved by faB, what the Author thought could be 

 only proved by argument, that the Shanfcrit was the Egyptian lan- 

 guage imported into India by Ofiris. — This proved by comparing the 

 Greek with the Shanfcrit. — General reflcBions on the tranfmijfion 

 of languages from one country to another, and the changes thereby 

 made in the languages. — And, firft, as to the pronunciation. — 



That 



