161 



papyri, and the swathings of mummies, but also 

 on the obelisks, that we find traces of this mixed 

 kind, which joins painting with hieroglyphical 

 writing-. The lower part and the point of 

 Egyptian obelisks present in general a group of 

 two figures, which are in a state of action with 

 respect to each other, and which ought not to be 

 confounded with the isolated characters of sym- 

 bolical wiiting. 



When we compare the Mexican paintings 

 with the hieroglyphics, that decorated the tem- 

 ples, the obelisks, and perhaps even the pyramids 

 of Egypt ; and reflect on the progressive steps, 

 which the human mind appears to have follow- 

 ed in the invention of graphic means fitted to ex- 

 press ideas ; we see, that the nations of America 

 were very distant from that perfection which the 

 Egyptians had obtained. The Aztecks were 

 indeed but little acquainted with simple hiero- 

 glyphics ; they could represent the elements, and 

 the relations of time and of place ; but it is only 

 by a great number of these characters, suscepti- 

 ble of being employed separately, that the paint- 

 ing of ideas becomes easy, and approximates to 

 writing. We find among the Aztecks the germes 

 of phonetic characters : they know how to write 

 names, by uniting certain signs which are asso- 

 ciated with sounds : this contrivance might have 

 led them to the beautiful discoveiy of giving an 

 alphabetic form to their simple hieroglyphics ; 



VOL. XIII, m 



