THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 421 



Others are for giving to letters a divine original: they 

 fay they were taught to Abraham by God himfelf ; but 

 this is no where vouched ; though it cannot be denied, that 

 it appears from fcripture there were two forts of characters 

 known to Mofes, when God fpoke to him on Mount Sinai. 

 The firft two tables, we are told, were wrote by the finger of 

 God, in what character is not faid, but Mofes received them 

 to read to the people, fo he furely underftood them. But, 

 when he had broken thefe two tables, and had another meet- 

 ing with God on the mount on the fubject of the law, God 

 directs him fpecially not to write in the Egyptian character 

 or hieroglyphics, but in the current hand ufed by the Ethi- 

 opian merchants, like the letters upon a fignet ; that is, he 

 mould not write in hieroglyphics by a pifture, reprefenting 

 the things for that the law forbids ; and the bad confequences 

 of this were evident; but he mould write the law in the 

 current hand, by characters reprefenting founds, (though 

 nothing elfe in heaven or on earth,) or by the letters that 

 the Ifhmaelites, Cufhites, and India trading nations had long 

 ufed in bufmefs for figning their invoices, engagements,. &c. 

 and this was the meaning of being like the letters of a fignet. 



Hence, it is very clear, God did not invent letters, nor 

 did Mofes, who underftood both characters before the pro- 

 mulgation of the law upon Mount Sinai, having learned 

 them in Egypt, and during his long ftay among the Cu- 

 fhites, and Shepherds in Arabia Petrea. Hence it lhould 

 appear alfo, that the facred character of the Egyptian 

 was confidered as profane, and forbid to the Hebrews, 

 and that the common Ethiopic was the Hebrew facred 

 character, in which the copy of the law was firft wrote. 

 The text is very clear and explicit : " And the ftones mall 



« be 



