HIEROGLYPHICS. 



53 



.ig, aiiaptfd to maote or mysterious objects. 

 first i. < hieroglyphic writing, 



record th< >* law*, and civil 



The 

 , waa to 

 ot the com- 



munity ; not, * Bishop ' :i justly observes, to 



conceal knowledge, but in tact to preserve and com- 

 municate it But afterward; hierogU phic* came to be 

 employed for a very different use. From the very na- 

 ture of such a mode ct riling, it i* easy to ee how 

 conveniently, in the band* of a set of men aiming at 

 pre-eminence by the reputation of superior wisdom, it 

 might be uaeci, either to conceal their knowledge, or 

 veil their ignorance from the people. Enigmatic fi- 

 gure*, explained only to the initiated, were admirably 

 an end ; and where the situation and cir- 

 cumstance rople permitted this mode of con- 



cealment, we mif Fit expect to find it introduced and 

 carried on. The exu-r.t. however, to which it could 

 be carried, must be determined by the character or by 

 the peculiar institutions of a people. Where iuperio- 

 rity in knowledge in any claM of the cufiununity was 

 small, and the separation of prrfmiani not very rigid, 

 the opportunities of concealing knowledge would be 

 few, and the use of enigmatic figures less frequent ; 

 but where distinction* were strongly marked, particu- 

 larly where a separate claw of men were act apart to 

 the conducting of religious rites and caaiaa !*> then. 

 if no counteracting 



it is not difficult to discover 

 priest 

 they did not 



vould 



ti these principles 



in the situation and character of the 

 hood, the circumstance* which, 

 indeed produce the invention of 

 ly occasioned a more extensive use 

 vailed elsewhere. The Egyptian t 

 rate class of men. closely united' among llMnmli'a*. 

 unct from the people, at a time when 

 the only mode of writing in Egypt was by pictures 

 or symbolic signs. Their ratin ined with 



the object* about 



gave them the mean* and inclination of carrying their 

 ic^.ur. h. - n.:,, ..' -t ...t tin'., in-! ., .- t!..a tl.i- ri^t .,1 



uf these research* < 

 > the most gmlasiaiii and 

 capru 'ol*, conveying a secret 



did the same csjinurtunuies occur. Amaay 

 muiiitio the separation of tlw fi.tTereiit classes wat 

 neither wide nor permanent, and even where they ware, 

 yet a* soon a* Alphabetic or e>rn charaeur writing 

 was urtroducnl. the oar of symbolic writing would be 

 in a great mea*ure Mipenetlrd. Hienylyplars I rum 

 that period, cultivsted only for sacred parpusas by the 

 prie.tt from the love of mystery and concealment, 

 nld toon lose their meaning, and in tiaaa become 

 unintelligible to all but the priest* *n1 their 



h appear* to have been the hutury of hiern. 

 gUphic writing. The nature of it ha* been 1- 



-, --, The symbols made use of in it were 



formed by assemblages of various objects, plant*, ani- 

 mals, part* of the humsn body, heavenly object., ter- 

 .1 sppearancts; all these combined in group*, 



Wt .h U-.ng i:r.t [r,.U!n; put t. .,!,, r ujx.n f.,n, .,-,1 

 resemblances, coukl hardly be deciphered, after the se- 

 cret of their ctaapoailion was lost. .Vane learned men 

 Hippoaad tiiat the Egyptian hieroglyphic* con- 

 probably they 



'- > employ pain* in deciphering 

 them, would only be a waste of labour. 

 H ieroglyphic* abound on the ancient monuments of 







but hi* explanation* are fanciful, and 

 In the seco 



, I! 



Ulaaja] :.:. ... i...-,. -. h, i mem I u-.k ! M..I-'- 

 faucon's A*ipmitt is given a general account of hie- 

 rngly phies, illustrated with accurate engraving*. Hy fsr 

 the most ingenious and philosophical account, both of 



the history and nature of hieragly phies, is given by 

 urtonm the 4th book of in. DsW* LtfmlH*. The 

 Huhop has not. however, bean careful to ditthigaiah 

 between emblems in general, and hieroglyphics prayer- 

 ly soealle. l> (U.K.. ... h . I , ,,*U lately 



published, maintain*, bat by no mean* upon certain 

 ground., that the hieroglyphic characters were toe let- 

 ter* of an ancient alphabet, and the mure o 

 form* probably a acne* of monogram*. ()) 

 Hli.htX.IIAMM mn.H^Ao^.i 



, a arriirr.) an order of priest* among the an- 



ittedthr. 



To them waa committed the CMC of 



I. l.:~ " I -^ .? - _f l: ,| i. ,. 



t .1 :..< M -t \ i tin -. me < \|Mxit m 01 religious oocoines, 

 and the supenntendanoe of the Egyptian learning in 



a* kind of prophet* ; 



and to establish their reputation for t hi*, they made use 

 of their knowledge of the heavenly bodies, or meteoric 

 phenoasena, to impose upon the people. They were 

 always near the person of the king, to whom they were 

 next in dignity, and were exempted from all civil em- 

 |H..\iiiUitv \\ hen I'gvpt IH-C.TIIII- a Human pro\in< e 



tell into total neglect. ()) 



IIIKROMANCY, the art of divining futurity from 

 obserriog the sacrifices when in the act of being over- 

 ed up. Sac DIVIKATIOD and SACKIFICK. (t) 



Egypt; the great obeli^k brougLt from I \cypt to HietogU- 

 Rorae, i* full of such figures ; and on almost all the 

 obelisks now existing they are met with. Many in- ( 



k Table, a large black table, long pre- 

 served at Rome, and at the sacking of that city, in 



found by a poor tradesman, and atterwar. 

 moved to Mautua, where it disappeared at the capture 

 of the place. It had been previously engraved, and a 

 plate of it is given in Montfaucon's Anliyuttiet. Many 

 Egyptian hieroglyphic* were also engraved on gem, 

 and small figure*, which are still to be met with in ca- 

 binet*. Hieroglyphics, properly so called, seem to be 

 almost peculiar to Egyptian antiquities : the uncouth 

 and distorted figures of sortie of the Hindoo gods, have 

 been conjectured to constitute significant emblems, 

 somewhat of the nature of hieroglyphics ; but it ap- 

 pears to have been in Egypt alone that they were exten- 

 sively employed ; a circumstance that may easily be ac- 

 counted for upon the principle* already explained. 



Jehn Manham suppose* hieroglyphics to have 

 been the origin of the worship of animal* ; the figure 

 and the thing (ignified, being a* he aappoea*, *o con- 

 nected, that both began to be held equally sacred. 

 This i* by no means improbable, though no direct 

 proof of it is to be had. It *eem* certain, however, 

 that hieroglyphics were often engraved on gams, a* 

 a kind of magical spell; these gam* were termed 

 ABBAXAS; they were exhibited by certain corrupted 

 Christians, natives of Egypt, who had mixed a great 

 deal of Paganism with their Christianity : many of 

 them are (till to be met with in the cabinet* of the cu- 

 rious. These abraxas were superseded among the su- 

 perstitious orientals by taliaman* 



The aabject of hieragryphic* ha* been frequent !\ 

 treated of. Among the ancients, Hom Apollo or 

 tferapvtf*, wrote a treatise expressly on the subject. 

 In modern time*, one of toe moat laborious writer* on 

 was the learned Jesuit Kmciica. Hi< 

 a great collection of curi- 



