Vol. XXIII. No. ic] 



POPULAE SniETq"OE ITEWS. 



147 



northern or Joktanian Arabs. "The language, 

 physical tvpe, and moral characteristics of these 

 were well known ; they all belonged, evidently, to a 

 single family — the family known to the ethnologists 

 as the Semitic. Again, the manners and customs, 

 especially the religious customs of the Assyrians, 

 connected them plainly with the Syrians and 

 Pha'nicians, with whose practices they were closely 

 allied." 



Further, it was observed that the modern Chal- 

 deans of Kurdistan, who regard themselves as 

 descendants of the ancient inh.ibitants of the neigh- 

 boring Assyrians, still speak a Semitic dialect. 

 The elder Niebuhr was the first to report this fact, 

 but it was generally disbelieved until Ainsworth 

 confirmed the statement. Thus three distinct and 

 convergent lines of testimony pointed to the 

 conclusion that the ancient Assyrians belonged 

 to tlie Semitic family, and were more or less 

 closely connected with the Syrians, the (latter) 

 liabylonians, the Phienicians, the Israelites, and 

 the Arabs of the northern portion of the peninsula. 



Niebuhr went so far as to identify the Assyrians 

 with the Syrians; but here he fell into a mistake. 

 The Aramieans were probably as distinct from the 

 Assyrians as any other Semitic race. Niebuhr was 

 misled by the Greek fancy that the name "Assyrian" 

 and "Syrian" were really identical. (See Jlerod, vii, 

 63.) But these names had, in truth, an entirely 

 distinct origin. Syria (more properly hyria) was 

 the name given by the Greeks to the country Isui-, 

 or lyre. Assyria was the corresponding term to 

 Assur, the native as well as the Hebrew name of 

 the tract upon the middle Tigris. 



Recent linguistic discoveries have entirely con- 

 firmed the conclusions thus arrived at. We now 

 possess, in the engraved slabs, the clay tablets, the 

 cylinders, and the bricks exhumed from the ruins of 

 the great Assyrian cities, copious documentary 

 evidence oi the character of the Assyrian language, 

 and of the ethnic character of the race. It appears 

 to be doubted by none who have examined the evi- 

 dence, that the language of these records is Semitic. 

 However imperfect the acquaintance which our best 

 oriental arch;eologists have as yet obtained with 

 this ancient and difficult form of speech, its connec- 

 tion with the Syriac, the late Babylonian, the 

 Hebrew, and the Arabic, does not seem to admit 

 any doubt. 



Another curious confirmation of the ordinary 

 belief is to be found in the physical characteristics 

 of the people, as revealed to us by the ancient 

 sculpturers. Few persons in any way familiar with 

 the works of art can have failed to remark a striking 

 resemblance to the Jewish physiognomy which is 

 presented by the sculptured effigies of the Assyrians. 

 The forehead straight, but not high ; the full brow, 

 the eye large, almond-shaped ; the aquiline nose, a 

 little coarse at the end and unduly depressed; the 

 strong, firm mouth, with lips somewhat over-thick; 

 the well-formed chin, best seen in the representation 

 of eunuchs ; the abundant hair and the ample beard, 

 both colored as black ; — all these recall the chief 

 peculiarities of the Jew, more especially as he 

 appears in southern countries. They are less like 

 the traits of the Arab, though to them also they 

 bear a considerable resemblance. We find that the 

 following description of the Bedouin, by Chateau- 

 briand, — "The oval head, the high and arched fore- 

 head, the aquiline nose, the great eyes, and almond- 

 like shaped, the plain and singularly mild regard," 

 — would serve in many respects equally well for a 

 description of the physiognomy of the Assyrians, as 

 they appear upon the monuments. 



The traits, in fact, are, for the most part, common 

 to the Semitic race generally, and not distinctive of 

 any particular subdivision of it. They are seen now 



alike in the Arab, the Jew, and the Chaldean of 

 Kurdistan, while anciently they not only character- 

 ized the Assyrians, but probably belonged also to 

 the Phicnicians, the Syrians, and other minor 

 Semitic races. It is evident, even from the man- 

 nered and conventional sculptures of Egypt, that tb.e 

 physiognomy was regarded as characteristic of the 

 western Asiatic races. Three captives on the mon- 

 uments of Amenophis III., represented as belonging 

 to the Patana (people of Bashan), the Assur (Assy- 

 rians), and the Karukamishi (people of Carche- 

 mish), present to us the same style of face, only 

 slightly modified by Egyptian ideas. 



Hence, there is no people of antiquity which had 

 with the Hebrews so many points of affinity as the 

 oriental Semitics; consequently there is none whose 

 history is more useful to study, for the clear intelli- 

 gence of the history of the people of God, as also 

 that of the people of Sennacherib and of Nebuchad- 

 nezzar. Also the discoveries of Assyriology are for 

 the Bible exegesis an invaluable treasure, and 

 Christians should be penetrated with the deepest 

 gratitude for the learned arch:eologists, who 

 consecrated their labors and vigils to the exca- 

 vations of Hillah and Birs-Nimrod, of Koyundyik 

 and of Khorsabad, or to the tedious deciphering of 

 this odd writing, which looks like nail-heads, and of 

 which for centuries passed in the eyes of the orien- 

 tals as the fantastic work of genii, — an impenetrable 

 arcanum. 



It is interesting to know the history of the deci- 

 phering of the hieroglyphics and the cuneiform 

 texts, as also the patient, laborious, and intelligent 

 work e.xpended on excavations in Egypt, Chaldea, 

 and Assyria by modern archaeologists. Indeed, 

 they resolved, to employ the language of Porphyre, 

 "to shake the heavens to bring to light the myste- 

 ries of Isis, to unveil what is the most secret in 

 Abydos, and to stop the march of Bari — the sacred 

 boat." 



It was the great campaign of General Bonaparte 

 in Egypt, 1798-1800, which gave the first impulse to 

 Egyptian studies. The most distinguished mem- 

 bers of the French Institute accompanied him in his 

 expedition, to study on the spot the land of the 

 Pharaohs, their ancient monuments — now in ruins 

 — and the numerous wrecks of a former civilization. 

 The work which they executed was considerable, 

 considering the state of affairs. They studied, 

 under all its phases, the ancient and modern Egypt, 

 and, in time, the result of their labors was given to 

 the people, under the patronage of the French gov- 

 ernment. {Description de r Egypie, Paris, 9 vols., 

 in fol., 1809, and the two years following.) 



However, the most interesting and instructive 

 inscriptions which the Pharoahs have left us, which 

 alone could clear up and explain much of Egyptian 

 history, had always remained a stubborn mystery. 

 But it was reserved for a Frenchman, Jean Fr. 

 Champollion, to study these illegible enigmas, and 

 reveal to us the secrets of this mysterious writing, 

 which is represented in four distinct graphic sys- 

 tems, — hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic, and Coptic, — 

 embracing thirty-one dynasties, from Menes to 

 Nectanbo II. (about 350 B. C), the last king of 

 thirtieth dynasty, who was succeeded by a Persian 

 a period of about 3,555 years. 



'<-|-2y-t-3Z=;i 



3 "4- y— '-=c 



ALGEBRAIC PUZZLES. 



[solution.] 



TnK difficulty with these equations is that they 

 involve a hitherto unnoticed law. If in a set of 

 three or more equations of the first degree, the 

 coefficients of the unknown quantities taken in the 

 same order in each equation, form an arithmetrical 

 equation, the equations are, of necessity, indetermi- 

 nate. Thus 



give 



In like manner 



2X+)- 



2X-|-y= 



li-l-c 



4 

 a-)-3i-' 



(■) 

 (3) 



X— 2y— 5z=p 

 X — z =q 



y-|-.iz=s 



I — 2 jrives — 2y — 4z^p — ti , 



3 is y-f2z=s 



which, of course, are indeterminate. Written in 

 full, the three equations become : 



X— 2y— 5z=p 



x-|-oy— z=q 



ox-|- y-j-2Z=s 



in which the coefficients in each form an arithmet- 

 rical progression. 



By a little artifice the aritmetrical progression 

 may be so completely disguised as to defy detection, 

 and yet produce its effect. Let 



z 

 X, — 2y, iiiui — 



5 

 be three unknown quantities. Then I make my 

 equations. 



z 



X-I-3 ( -2y)-Fs— =« 

 S 



z 



sx-l-4 (— 2y)-l-3— =i> 

 s 



3 2 z 



2X-I — (— Jy)H =c 



2 25 



These, simplified, give 



X — 6y-f-z^a 



5x-Sy-(-3-=b 

 5 



2x— jyH 

 Working these out we get 



■ 5y-z=- 



9 



b— 5a 



sy— 3= 



22 



and can get no further. If only the derivative set 

 had been given, there would have been nothing to 

 suggest indetermination. Disguise the arithmetri- 

 cal progression in every possible way, the result is 

 the same. Four, five, or any number of equations 

 obey the same law. To prove this in all its gener- 

 alities, take three general equations, thus : 



(1) :ix+(a-t-<l)y-t-(a-|-2d)z=A 



(2) abx-|-Cab-(-nd)y+(ab-|-2nd)z=B 



(3) acx-j-(ac-f-nid)y-|-(ac-|-2md)z=C 



in which a, b, c, d, m equal any given numbers. 



From (1) and (2) abx-|-(ab4-bd)y-|-(aI>-|-2bd)z=Ab 



' abx-|-(ab-|-nd)y-|-(al>-|-2nd)z=H 



(4) (bd— iid)y-t-2(bd— nd)z=Ab— B 

 From (1) and (3) acx-|-(ac4-cd)y-|- ac-|-2cd z=Ac 

 i acx-{-iac-j-indjy-|- ac-|-2md> z^C 



(cd — ind)y-{-(3cd — 2nid)z^=Ac — C 



Ab— B 



y-|-2Z^ ^V, a known quantity. 



bd — nd 



Ac— C 

 y-f2z= =P, do. 



<|s) 



From (4) 



From (5) 



cd — md 



Hence, the left-hand members being identical, the 



equations are indeterminate. The same method will 



apply to four equations, to five, and so on ; hence to 



any number. Q^ E. D. 



C. B. Warrino. 



Military Instituth, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Aug. 



8, 1889. 



«♦«. 



An Interestino Find, in the shape of a boulder 



of jade, was recently made in Sitka. 



