Obfervations in Egypt. 591 



to have been tranfcribed from thence into the Works of Tlato 

 and Tythagoras. 



Their fvmbohcal Learning alone, either as it was conveyed, N««.o/;^f 

 in Sculpture, upon their Obelisks &c. or in Colours, upon the Hicrogiy- 

 Walls of their Crypt^e', Mummy-Chefts, Boxes for t\\^YCfiau-d h,to 

 facred Animals &c. appears not to have been known m Greece, 

 though, among the Antiquities of Hetruria % we meet with 

 fome faint Imitations of it; enough perhaps to prove, either 

 that this Nation was originally related to Egypt, or ih-AtTpha- 

 goras, or fome of his School, introduced it among them. 

 However, though none of the Grtecian Travellers, have tran- 

 llated into their own Country the Figures and Symbols them- 

 felves ; yet 'Diodorus in particular, in Conjunft ion with Tor- 

 fhyry, Clemefis Alexandriniis, and other Authors, hath obliged 

 us with the Defcription and Interpretation of the moft remark- 

 able of them. But ftill, as a proper and faithful Kev is want- t^^^^ D-jpcuity 

 ing to the whole Science, the Purport and Defign of any nngle/^fw. 

 Specimen of it, muft, of Courfe, remain a Secret, or be, at 

 leaft, exceedingly dubious, uncertain, and obfcure. 



Now, from what is prefumed to be already known of x.\\\smatBrav- 

 fymbolical Learning, it is fuppofed, that the Egyptians chiQ^YY,!g''LrTre'- 

 committed to it, fuch Things as regarded the Being and Attri-J^^i'^ mi-" 

 butes of their Gods ' ; the Sacrifices and Adorations that were''"^' 

 to be offered to them ; the Concatenation of the different 

 Claflfes of Beings ; the Doctrine of the Elements, and of the 

 good and bad Dcemons, that were imagined to influence and 

 direft them. Thefe again were reprefented by fuch particular 

 Animals \ Plants, Inftruments &c. as they fuppofed, or had 



I Several of thcfe Crj/>f£, painted with fymbolical Figures, are fecn near the Pyramids. 



Cbrjftppus's Antrum Mithr£ feems to have been of the fame Kind. T« jtix^a tS omiWu -mt^ra- 



rroDuhon fitaxTi y.o(rfj.itt.tva iC) -m t Swv, if fMonat tcahxai, cLyihuara ■sSy/safisva. 2 Vid. Tabb. Dempji, 



HetruriA Regalis. 19, 2.6. 35:. 39-47. 63. 66.77- 78. 88. * Symbgllcmn appelio, cum quid 



colitiir, non quia creditur Dcus, fed quia Dcum (ignificac. ** Quomodo Sol cultus in igne 



Vejidli, Hercules in Statua &c. G. 7- Vojf. de Idolol. l.l. cap. y. 3 Hierogljpbica /Egjptiorum 



fapientia, teftantibus omnibus veterum fcriptorum monumentis, nihil aliud erat, quam 



fcientia de Deo, divinifque virtutibiis, fcientia ordinis univerfi, fcientia intelligcntiarum 



mundi prxfidum, quam Pythagoras Si Plato, noiznts Plutarcho, ex Alenurij colamnh i.e. ex 



obelil'cis didicerunt. Kirch. JEd. J^gypt. Tom. 3. p. 567. /Egyptii per nomina Deorum uni- 



verfam rerum naturam, juxtaTheologiam naturalem intelligebant. Macrob. Sat. l.i.cap.20. 



4 According to an old Obfervation, the great Principle upon which the Symbolic Method 



of Philofophizing was grounded, was this, 7a al^-mr voutSv fu/x^'fj^tna. lamLlichus gives us 



a fuller Realon of this Way of Writing. Aiyv'jntoi -^ t^ fijtv n TmvTvf, t^ -^ J^jxitsf^av tuy ^tov 



fUfJiifJ^oiy i) o-vm r fw^Kay ;^ tiTnixix^ujxfxhav 1^ ti^favaj vo'xawv eiKsva; mks ^Ig. m(/.Q'al.ay ixfajfitjiy, uf^rif t^ 



J pjffts T>i{ io^nviy tiJiri t«5 dpavtit \()yv{ S'la. niA'dhav, T^iiev ma,, aTmvpnlii^aTo' i Ji leiiy ^tm J)>(uvfyia.j iriy 



aM^nay ray fi/aiv, iia. t«v ipewfpt!'/ sJxoyiw)' liiz-vy^i.'Xv.To. t.iS'ttjii wr y^i^ayln Tmntt 7« xftiVloca o/jjud^H ray 



Fffffx aaually 



