\4 



TFIE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Janvarv, 



ami the othor in (ireek. The lemniHi liave read, that Ihev record (lie 

 scrvici's whii-h PlnhMuy V. li.iil rendered tu hi^ [•unntry, and that tlicy 

 were engraved by (lie nrder of (lie prie.tthdoil assenihlCd at i\leinpiiis, 

 tcir (he ]iiir|i(ise (if inveslinr; him wilh the ri'gal piiwer';. Till the clis- 

 rovciy of this sdmi-, whieh was fmiiul liy (lie Knnich in digging (lie 

 fomnhuion of Fui( St. Julian a( Uose(tii, iio(nitlistandiiig the lahonvs 

 of Kireher and other*, (he iimumeralile inseriplioiis and (he monsd-nsi- 

 (ies which are found engraved or p-,uii(ed on every reli(( of Egvpdaii 

 aiitiipii(y remained matler of doiib( and wonder, anil were veiled in 

 (he darkness of eoiijecfure. The arrival of this s(one was (herefore 

 hailed wilh erpial joy by (he learned, as would (he reeoverv of the 

 key of an unpiukahle Hraniali by its unhappy loser. Upon the en- 

 graving of this block a wondrous system has been raised, wdiich, if i( 

 is |)erfecled, is destined (o enlighten ns in "all (he wisdom of the 

 lOgyptians," and lay open (o (he inquiring mind of the l')th ceiitnrv all 

 (lie knowh'dge uliieli is thonght to be contained in (hose inscriptions, 

 (he amoiiiU of which, taken Colleclively, would till 10,UOIJ volumes. 

 .Some sliort account of the deciphering syslem pursued mav no(, in 

 connexion with (lie whole of (he Egyptian monuments, be uuaccept- 

 nble. 



The first author who meudons the writings of (he Kgv))tians says, 

 they had two kinds of characters, one called sacred, and the other 

 popular; but he does not say that (hey had any allini(y with 

 each other. Diodorus Siculiis mentions the sauie, with (lie addition 

 that (he first were peculiar (o the iiricsts, and (he odier was taught (o 

 all. Concise as (his is, it is all the inforinalion (hese authors give. 

 The next is the celebrated passage in (he works of Clemens Alexan- 

 drinus, in which (he diirerent kinds of writing are given wi(h con- 

 siderable precision. He says (here were three kinds — (he Epis(olo- 

 graphic, the Hieratic or sacred, and (hinlly, the most complete of all, 

 (he Hieroglyphic, which he (ells us is expressed by means of the Hrs( 

 or iiiKial element of words, (hat is, by reference (o (he inidal sounds 

 of words uhiidi deiiole (hese objec(s in (bespoken language of the 

 country. I'pon this scanty foundation the most extraordinary theories 

 have been built ; (he six folios of Kircher, according (o his interpreta- 

 tion of (he hieroglypiiical inscriplioiis, which succeeded equalU' 

 Wlielher he began a( the beginning, (he middle, or a( (he end of (he 

 text, arc found to be tilled with (he cabalistic science and slrange fan- 

 cies of a refined system ofDaemonism. The Abbe FInclie has disco- 

 vennl that they are all astronomical, or expressive of (he doctrines 

 connected with the science of asth)noiny, and the division of time in 

 (he calendar ; and the author of a work entitled * L' Etude dcs Hiiro- 

 gij/p/iiques, publislied at Paris in Is 12, found in the inscription on the 

 temple at Dendera a translation of (he lOlKh Psalm of Daviil, a foreign 

 language, which most likidy the inhabitants of the country never un- 

 derstood. Count Palin has persuaded himself that the hymns of 

 David are but Hebrew translations of (he consecra(ed rolls of Egypfian 

 pa|iyrus. All these fantastic reveries have, however, given way to (he 

 system of Dr. Young, the invention of which has been dispu(p.d by M. 

 Chainpolliim ; he followed the idea of Warburton, (llal (he hieroglyphic 

 or sacred ch.iracter, was not so called because peculiarly appropriated 

 (o sacred subjects, but that they constituted a written language appli- 

 cable to all the ])urposes of life, that (hey were not used to represeii( 

 things or ideas, lm( (hat (hey represen(ed sounds or words, (ha( thev 

 were al|dlabetical, and (hat they exhibited things (U- olijec(s, (he coin- 

 mott names of which in the sjioken language began with (he sounds i( 

 was wisheil to express. To make (his more intclligibli" we give the 

 lollowiMg example : — If (here was no other manner of wriling (ban by 

 pictunN, or symbols, and (he spoken language of England (lie same as 

 it now is, and it was required to write the name of James, this name 

 being a mere sound could not lie intimated (o any one by a picture or 

 symbol ; but if it was nnderslood (ha( the key of this name was to be 

 obtained by reference to a scries of picdires of familiar objec(s, the 

 names of which in the spoken language begun with the sounds which 

 were successively to be expressed, and which when taken togedier in 

 (hat order mnde up (he name, (bus, for the soiinil now ex|iressed by 

 (he letter J (he figure of a jug or jar was si'( down, for an A an ape or 

 an accnn, for an .Vl a man or a mouse, and for an S a spear or a sjiur; 

 the name of James wimld (hen by a sort of symbolic acrostic be inti- 

 ma(t>d (o all who read the figures in the spoken language. This is (lie 

 basis of (he principle of l_)r. Young, Do Lacy, and Cbampollion, and 

 (he literati have proceeded upon this to decipher the Egyptian biero- 

 glyphios. To what extent they have succeeded yet remains a ma((er 

 of doubt ; but in consequence (lie visitor to the Museum, when passing 

 on from viewing (he dilapiila(ed remains of Egyptian scnl])ture in (In' 

 lower saloon, regretdug his ignorance of the strange writing and 

 figures on all <if tbem eiigrayeil, is agreeably surprised when he enters 

 tlic gallery above to recover his mistake; here li(> finds all is known 

 and decipheve<l ; he reads these are the remains ofPefaakims siir- 

 lll*nedO«kliouoiwn(ie, Aviditor of the Royal palace; that the next is j 



Panamoun, iiriest of Animon ; that a lady lying near is latsbabem, 

 ilaugh(er of Pe(kons, portet of Ainoun, and born of lamaak, lady of 

 the house; he is sfartled at the immorilKy; (hat another is I'ena- 

 inaiim, an incense-bearer, son of Ohnolie, son of Hor and id' Ijaenrow, 

 daughter ofSaklous; and he supposes that want of space has alone 

 prevented a full account of (heir lives and acdoiis, easily to be read on 

 (heir insi'riptions, from being given in the synopsis ; liiit lie will find 

 on inquiry tha( serious objecdons may bo raisecf even to (he valiilKy 

 of (he names adached, much more to any particular account of (heir 

 oflices or actions. 



All (he modern expounders of hieroglyphics hare raised the struc- 

 ture of (heir expositions on (he (rilingual inscripdon seen on (his 

 Rose((a s(one, tuid jirincipally depend upon it. Dr. Young, (he most 

 celebrated of them all, did not begin his researches till after its dis- 

 covery ; he knew nothing of it, but from (he French accoun(, and it is 

 upon that accounl alone (lia( the genuineness of the inscripdon de- 

 pends ; it is true that some other s(ones with tri|)lica(e inscrijidons 

 have been found, but (hat would be (he necessary consequence of (he 

 first being made ; (he size and nadire of all of them evidently show 

 lha( they were not in ancient times kept concealed, and if (hey are so 

 ancient and genuine as we are to believe, why did not the Roman 

 writers go at once to these inscriptions scattered about the country (o 

 interpret that which they all regret was lost ? It may be said that it 

 would be almost impossible to have forged the inscriptions on (his 

 stone, it would only have made (he last or (ireek one, and when we 

 look at the manufacture of ancienf E{ruscan vases and cameos in S(af- 

 fordshire, the (ricks of the Parian marbles, (he manuscripts of Shaks- 

 peare, (he copies of Raphael, and read (he as(ounding tale (hat Pro- 

 fessor Hou((on, of the Aledico Hotanical Socie(y, produced a bulbous 

 root found in the cranium of a nuiminy, in a situation in which it iiad 

 probably lain 2,dO'.) years, (hat it germinated when exposed to the at- 

 mosphere, though w hen discovered in a state of perfect dryness, and 

 on being placed in the ground it grew wi(h readiness and vigour, and 

 also know (hat mummies are inanufac(ured every day, and consider 

 (he authority on which it rests, (he impossibility of this monument not 

 being genuine is very diHiculf (o believe, hi Pompeii ardcles are 

 Constantly buried to he found when wanted, and it has always been 

 observed that the higher the rank of the visitor to those remains the 

 more successful is he in his antiquarian sealch. There may be 101) 

 Rosetta stones discovered, but the inore that are found the more difli- 

 ciilt it is to account for the ignorance of Clemens and others on the 

 subject. The plan both of ChampoUion and Young, of making many 

 phonetic signs for one letter, will make them speak whatever (he ex- 

 positor desires, and proves that arbilraiy figures which are not hiero- 

 glyphics may lie made to give any meaning he may ])lease. If this 

 inscription on the Uosetta stone is genuine, why did not Clemriis, 

 who livc'd at Alexandria, go to it (o remove his ignorance, which the 

 ]iassage in his work on the subject proves, and why did not .Strabo 

 also? They both could have read (he Greek, which the best Scodis 

 can now hardly understand. But wliat more dearly proves tha( (he 

 meaning of (he hieroglyphics was unknown in (he Roman times, is the 

 fact, that one of the hrst emperors otrered a reward for the decipher- 

 ing of those on an obelisk he brought to Rome. The ignorance of 

 Diodorus, strabo, and Clemens is a pre{ty good proof that the inscrip- 

 tions found on the trilingual stones are modern f.dirications, else why 

 are so few found, and none on the temples and statues (hemselves? 

 Whether the Fremdi scavaiis were the inventors and fabricators is 

 cerlainly diflicuU to determine, but (ha( is far more likely (ban that 

 the authors we have mentioned, and the Roman emperors, should have 

 been ignorant whedier hieroglyphics were in use in their (ime or not. 

 Neidier Sdabo nor Diodorus says tha( (he hieroglyphics were known 

 in (heir day; yc( if diey had" been, why have not (hose authcu-s 

 quoted (hem in (heir histories of the Egyptian mythology? It is 

 more than probable that (hese inscriptions were never intended to be 

 read bu( by (hose wllo had (he tradition of their meanings, and that 

 the priests having been massacred in the Persian conrpiesl by Cam- 

 byses, that (radidon was lost. The same W'ould have been the case 

 with the tradidonary learning of (he Maxicans had not the Spaniards 

 preserved it. Ijoth Dr. Young and Clmnipollion have found by (heir 

 process (he names of Roman emiierors on the same monument with 

 (hose of (he Pharaohs and Ptoloiuies, in situations where they could 

 not have been erased. How can the)- account (or this ? If the names 

 of Ptolemy and Cleopa(r;\, and (he Romans, are to be found on the 

 buildings and obelisks wriden in hieroglyphics, of course they could 

 not have been lost in (lie time of Strabo aiid Clemens, yet any one who 

 at(eii(ively considers the passage in his work, and that passagi' is the 

 foundation of all modern explicatiwi, must come to (he conclusion that 

 the obscurity in which he has enwrapi)ed it was purposely done to 

 conceal his ignorance of that whidi he pretended to descriVie. 



To the plan of Pr, Young and other learmnl expositor? of jeading 



