112 DR. il. ANGUS SMITH ON THE 



we must learn^ I suppose, whether a Semitic people took 

 the word to Egypt and gave it that Hamitic cast which 

 Prof. Theodores remarks. It seems, however, to be allowed 

 by later writers that some at least of the Egyptians came at 

 an early period from Asia^ although they seem to have been 

 much mixed during their time of power. 



The connexion of the Egyptian with the Semitic lan- 

 guages has been long believed ; and Brugsch-Bey is very 

 strong in his belief against its African origin. He says 

 (vol. i. p. 3): — ''The Egyptian language, which has been 

 preserved on the monuments of the oldest time, as well as in 

 the late Christian manuscripts of the Copts (the successors 

 of the Pharoahs) , shows in no way any trace of a derivation 

 and descent fron the African families of speech. On the 

 contrary, the primitive roots and the essential elements of 

 the Egyptian grammar point to such an intimate connexion 

 with the Indo-Germanic and Semitic languages, that it is 

 almost impossible to mistake the close relations which for- 

 merly prevailed between the Egyptians and the races called 

 Indo-Germanic and Semitic.^^ 



In Upper Egypt_, as we find from the same author, there 

 was a city called Tini, now entirely out of existence, but 

 once giving the title of Princes of Tini to the highest 

 functionaries of the blood royal. From this place the first 

 of all Egyptian kings was descended, namely Mena or 

 Menes. In the time of the Romans it was known only 

 from its dyers in purple. This town is mentioned here 

 because of its arts ; but it serves my argument chiefly 

 because we find almost opposite to it, in the district of 

 Chem, the town of Chemmis mentioned in Herodotus. 

 This town had as chief deity Chem or Khim, who was the 

 representative of the heat of the sun and the transmuter of 

 death into life as we may say, as well as the producer of 

 the fruits of the earth. This name was translated by the 



