HIEROGLYPHICS. 



HIGH COMMISSION COURT. 



which are need in nearly the Mine manner. Similar 

 m were employed, although on more limited Male, in 

 the Assyrian and Babylonian cum-ifonu in.-criptions, and were nut 

 abandoned in cuneiform system* till the time of the Persians, B. c. 525, 

 only yielding way to the invention of the alphabet by the Phoenician*. 

 About 170 hieroglyphic determinative* have been recognised. The 

 discovery of this portion of the hieroglyphical system is due to Cham- 

 poUion, and he interpreted the aetue of these two classes of ideograph* 

 by comparing the symbols with their explanation, when it remained, 

 in ancient claim cml authura, by a careful analysis of the Roeetta inscrip- 

 tion, by a due regard to their position in sentences, and by the analysis 

 of the phonetic groan which preceded them. The discovery of Un- 



tic system, in fact, aided to discover the meaning of the ideo- 

 graphs ami determinatives, and these in their turn shed light on the 

 meaning of the phonetic groups. The 170 determinatives embrace the 

 whole circle of ideas, and are used in the hieratic or cursive writing 

 without ideographs, and accompanied only by their proper phonetic 

 groups. 



The hieroglyphics used to represent sounds, called phonetic*, are 

 fewer in number than the preceding, forming, however, a complete 

 syUabarium of the spoken language. These syllables fall into two 

 nlM Those ending with vowels, 52 in number, represent 18 sounds 

 of the spoken language, and answer the purposes of a pure alphabet. 

 They were sounded either according to the primitive pronunciation of 

 the symbol chosen, or else according to the initial sound of the 

 hieroglyph ; thus a mouth, ru, represented the liquid n or L ; and a 

 hawk, aath'im, the vowel A ; an owl, muuladj, its initial sound X. At 

 the earlier period of the formation of the language some of these 

 phonetics are preceded and followed by one already in common use, 

 baring the same sound : thus, a flying goose has before it a blind or 

 window-mat p, and after it the eagle A, and placed in the centre of the 

 group it is demonstrated or explained to hare the syllabic value of PA. 

 Each of these 54 letters, in fact, have, at the option of the scribe, the 

 final hieroglyphic vowel which completed their syllable written after 

 them, but by degrees this fell into desuetude, and they finally became 

 almost purely alphabetic. To these must be added 57 hieroglyphs 

 used for syllables terminating in consonants. These, like the pre- 

 ceding, have such hieroglyphs of the alphabetic series as represent 

 their initial or final signs indifferently written before or after them, or 

 omitted. For example, a star is used for the syllable SEB or SKV, some- 

 times with the back of a chair, the alphabetic s written before, in, and 

 often with the leg, the alphabetic B or V after it. In some rare 

 instances both the alphabetic hieroglyphs s and B are written before 

 and after it, enclosing as it were the star in the midst. The whole of 

 these hieroglyphic syllables are monosyllabic, and were sounded accord- 

 ing to the primitive name of the object. These phonetic* continued in 

 general use till the age of the 22nd dynasty, or about B.C. 1000, when 

 several ideographs were added by the priests, for alphabetic and syllabic 

 sounds, and this innovation, which went on increasing till A.D. 200, 

 when the number amounted to about 90 additional characters, gives a 

 complex alphabet and syllabarium of nearly 200 hieroglyphics in 

 common use. 



The phonetics formed the great body of the language, all the gram- 

 matical forms, and abstract prefixes and affixes, substantive and 

 auxiliary verbs, being composed of them only. Groups of phonetics 

 precede or replace the ideographs and determinatives, and give the 

 sounds of the ideas intended. They are constantly interchanged 

 among themselves, and these equations of sound are called rarianti. 

 In the long interval of nearly 3000 years, the many papyri containing 

 ifimilar texts give hundreds of words written with different symbols. 



It is now necessary to say something of the nature of the language 

 as shown by the phonetics. The words are principally Coptic, but 

 this language has lost so much of its vocabulary that it is inadequate 

 to explain half the hieroglyphical words, which amount to about 4000. 

 The verbal root in hieroglyphics is unchangeable, the nouns and adjec- 

 tive* being declined by prefixes, as bat, a hawk, pa bat the hawk, en 

 bat, of a hawk, er bat, to a hawk ; the plural has in added as bat-in, 

 hawks. The verb is conjugated by affixes, as maa to see, maa a I see, 

 maa na, I saw, and auxiliaries, as OH a her maa, I was seeing or law. 

 The pronouns are very numerous. The propositions are often vague, 

 and appear in their original composite form, which they have lost in 

 most other languages, thus, her hat " over the heart," is " in the i 

 em-then " in the hall " is " within." The syntax is exceedingly regular, 

 the verb appearing first, then the objective, and finally the instru- 

 mental case. Some verbs are transitive, others neuter, and the 

 genders of nouns are indicated by affixes and prefixes. The distinction 

 between active and passive is but slight. 



With respect to style, the monumental, except where colloquie* are 

 introduced, is elliptic and laconic, and the hieratic style of the' Kitual 

 and religious works partake* of the same characters. Even verse or 

 rhythm has been found; the expressions are flowery with oriental 

 imagery, antithesis and metaphor. The lapidary hieroglyphical inscrip- 

 tion* are almost all religions, historical, nr sepulchral. With theex. 

 of the Kitual, [I'APTRil the books of the Egyptians were written in a 

 cursive or writing hand, of a very distinct clear shape, like our ancient 

 court or law hand, in horizontal lines with headings at the top of the 

 page, and rubrics. This hieratic character, as it is called, employed far 

 fewer symbols then the hieroglyphic, and approached nearer to the 



alphabetic ystem, but still made a copious use of determinatives. It 

 has been traced up as early as the 6th dynasty, and continued till the 

 Jud or 3rd century, A.D. It was also employed for official documents, 

 correspondence, memoranda, and drafu, as the only written language 

 till the commencement of the 26th dynasty, about 800 B.C., when a 

 second written language was introduced, called the epiitolary, ilemotic, 

 or demode, that is, popular, or eitdtorial, that is, native. After the 8th 

 >.it ury B.C., the hieratic wan only used for religiouii purpose*, 

 copies of the Kitual. At its commencement, the demotic was only an 

 abridgment of the hieratic, but it rapidly lost all rewmblan. 

 hieratic forms, abandoned to a great extent, although not entirely, 

 the use of ideographic and determinative signs, and endeavoured to 

 accommodate the written language as nearly as possible to the alpha- 

 betical Phoenician and Greek systems then known to the Egyptians. 

 It continued in use till the 3rd century, when it wax finally superseded 

 l>y the Coptic ; the triumph of Christianity in Kgypt having don* 

 away with the last form in which ti,, v.iin Mij-crstitions of paganism 

 remained enshrined in the writings of the Valentininna, Gnostics, and 

 other heretics. The demotic was extensively used under the Ptolemies 

 and Romans for letters, and other documents, and was first learnt by 

 youth, who, after they had mastered it, according to Clement, pro- 

 ceeded to learn the hieratic and hieroglyphic, then an old and dead 

 writing, the knowledge of which was only to be acquired by a special 

 study. The demotic, although it may appear paradoxical, is thu most 

 difficult of the Egyptian cursive hands to decypher, while the docu- 

 ments written in it have less attraction to the student from the dry 

 nature of their contents. 



Besides the Egyptians, the ancient -Ethiopians also carved hiero- 

 glyphics on their pyramids and public monuments. Thew resemble 

 those used during the later days of the Egyptian monarchy, and 

 expressed the sounds of the Amharic or .Kthiopi.- dialects : they have 

 not yet been interpreted. The elder Deniocritus, lu . 

 it appears, a dissertation on .Ethiopian hieroglyphs. At Nineveh, 

 Koyunjik, and even in the isles of the Greek Archipelago, objects 

 have been found with hieroglyphical inscriptions, not in the Egyptian 

 language, perhaps unmeaning imitations, like the obelisks erected by 

 some of the Roman emperors. 



The term hieroglyphics has also been applied to the writings and 

 paintings of the ancient Mexicans, by which they depicted the various 

 occurrences of life. The Mexican system was more pictorial than the 

 Egyptian, the subjects were actually painted, but certain symbols or 

 hieroglyphs were introduced to aid their explanations. The symbol 

 expressive of the king's name is attached by a cord over the head of 

 the figure of the monarch, that of the.namc of persons, of 

 hills, is expressed in the same manner. After the introduce 

 Christianity some of the symbols were employed phonetically. This 

 symbolical system of pictorial writing prevailed in Central America 

 and Yucatan before their conquest by the Spaniards. 

 . The term hieroglyphics was also used by writers in the liith 

 century to certain emblemata which they invented and illustrate 

 by astrologers and almanac makers to the symbolical pictures, by 

 which they pretended to show the events likely to happen in the 

 course of the year. 



(For the principal works on hieroglyphics, the reader is referred to 

 Young, Account of Ditroveriei fi Hienglyphiral Literature, 8vo. Lund. 

 1820; Champollion, Prtcu du Syitfme Hieroglyphiqe, 8vo., Paris, 

 1824; Orammaire. JBgyptienne, fo., Paris, 1830; Lepsius, Ltttre A. 

 M. Roxllini, 8vo., Rome, 1837 ; Brugsch, Scriptura demolica, 4to., 

 Berlin, 1848 ; Birch, Introduction to the Study <>f the J. 

 12mo., London, 1857.) 



HIGH COMMISSION COURT, a tribunal established by'.' 

 Elizabeth under the authority of a clause in the Supremacy Act ( 1 Eliz. 

 c. 3), which exercised arbitrary power in matters of faith and in 

 ecclesiastical concerns, as the Star Chamber did in civil affairs. The 

 commissioners were forty-four in number, of whom twelve 

 ecclesiastics, and three commissioners constituted a quorum, 

 jurisdiction extended over the whole of the kingdom, and was not con- 

 fined to the clergy, but included all classes. They were directed to 

 visit, reform, redress, order, correct, and amend all errors, heresies, 

 schisms, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities whatsoever, which 

 by any ecclesiastical authority whatever might be lawfully ordered or 

 corrected. The commissioners, or any three of them, judged at their 

 own discretion of any speech or writing which tended to heresy or 

 schism. All appeals from the inferior ecclesiastical courts were carried 

 before the Court of High Commission. The court was empowered to 

 punish incests, adulteries, fornications, and to inquire into matters 

 relating to matrimonial offences. Other ecclesiastical courts had been 

 subject sjnce the Reformation to inhibitions from the supreme courts 

 of law, but this court was exempt. It exercised its powers therefore 

 without control, and was authorised to conduct its proceedings, not 

 only liy the ordinary legal processes, by juries and witnesses, but to 

 use " all other means and ways which they could devise. " This em- 

 powered them to resort to the nok, to tartar*, inquisition, and im- 

 prisonment, and to proceed, not upon information, but at their own 

 discretion upon rumour and suspicion. The court could bring before 

 it a suspected person, and by administering to him .111 oath, compel 

 him v to answer any question, and thereby criminate himself or his 

 friends. Refusal to take this oath was punishable by imprisonment. 



