01' THE ORIGIN OF CHEMISTRY. 21 



inventions. Have we not, then, found Her. 

 uies II. ? The great variety of names that occur 

 in 'the hiftory of Egypt, have rendered it ex- 

 tremely confufcd ; as every king received a new 

 iirname as foon as he was initiated in the myite. 

 rics of his religion. 



Scfoftris is decorated with the name of Mer- 

 cury, on account of his wifdom, by Cicero; and 

 by fomc is imagined to be the fame with Cad- 

 mus, who, having received letters from the He- 

 brews, was the firil who communicated them to 

 the Egyptians, Greeks, and Phoenicians. If it 

 ;s really To, then, as C, W. Beyer with great ftu- 

 died arguments endeavours to dcmonftrate, it 

 will be calily underftood, that the letters invent- 

 ed by the firft Hermes were fymbols of 'things 

 only, and that the fccond Hermes fccms to have 

 been the author qf thcfe figns of founds, which 

 arc at this rime properly denominated letters. 



That it may appear in what manner thcfe fe- 

 vcrally ogrec, if will be right to attend to the 

 following circumilanccs. According to him, 

 the deluge was 2289 years before the birth of 

 Chrift; the arrival of Cham in Egypt, and be- 

 ginning of the reign of the gods, 2188 years; 

 the coining of Abraham, 1922 years; the 

 death of Cham, end of the government of the 

 gods, and Mcncs king, 1857 years. Scfoflris 

 987 years; andSiphoa, 889 years*. 



B 3 However 



* Baumgartcn, I. c. Syncillni Jia^ prcfcrvcd the arrange- 

 picnt of Eratofthcncs. 



