CHAP. XIII. THE HOURS OF DAY AND NIGHT. 69 



sarcophagi, where the deceased is represented 

 either praying or making an offering to each in 

 succession, beginning with the 1st and terminating 

 with the 12th hour, both of day and night. From 

 not finding them in any temple, I suppose that 

 their introduction impUes a review of the hourly 

 occupations of the individual during his life, and 

 that these Deities or Genii were principally con- 

 nected with the final ordeal of the dead. 



The name in the hieroglyphics is Hey, or H^-'«■, 

 followed by the female sign, which agrees well with 

 the Coptic H^-T or o'jfno'c, the former having the 

 masculine, the latter the feminine article (niri^.T, 

 and -f onr rtcc) j and it is remarkable that in the same 

 language the word signifying *' present time" is 

 rtcy, which cannot fail to call to mind the vuv of 

 the Greeks, the German nun, and our own now. 



The first of those here introduced is the Sth 

 hour of dai/, — No. 2. the 12th hour, No. 4. the 10th 

 hour, and No. 3. the 10th hour of night ; which 

 last is written phonetically egorh, the Coptic 

 eXcwp^*, " night." Macrobiust supposes that 

 Apollo, being called Horns by the Egyptians, 

 " gave his name to the 24 hours of day and night, 

 as to the 4 seasons, during which he completes 

 his annual course ; " and the same is stated by Dio- 

 dorus t to be the opinion of some of the Greeks. 



* The Coptic letter jL genga is a hard g, and not dj ; and from 

 this the Cairenes have probably derived their hard pronunciation of the 

 Arabic -^ gim, or g, which, in Arabia and other places, is always soft. 

 It is, however, supposed that it was originally hard in Arabic, like the 

 Hebrew gimel. 



f Macrob. Saturn, lib. i. c. 2G. J Diodor, i. 26. 



F 3 



