46 M. Arago on the Egyptian Hierogiyphical Writings. 



my assertion. I remark, then, that, subsequent to the compo- 

 sition of his alphabet, Dr Young himself discovered, within one 

 of the frames upon an Egyptian monument, the name Arsinoe 

 where his celebrated competitor has since deciphered, to the en- 

 tire satisfaction of every one, the word Autocrator ; and, in the 

 same way, Dr Young read Evergete in a group which contained 

 the name Cesar. 



The labours of Champollion, in reference to the discovery of 

 the phonetic value of hieroglyphics, is simple, homogeneous, 

 and apparently does not afford ground for any uncertaint}', 

 Each symbol is the equivalent of a simple vowel or a simple 

 consonant. Its value is not at all arbitrary ; every phonetic 

 hieroglyphic is the image of some physical object, the name of 

 which, in the Egyptian language, commences with a vowel or 

 consonant, which it was the object to represent. 



The alphabet of Champollion, once formed from the pillar of 

 Rosetta and two or three other monuments, serves for the de- 

 ciphering of inscriptions which are wholly different., as, for ex- 

 ample, for the name Cleopatra, upon the obelisk of Philse, long 

 ago removed to England, and where Dr Young, using his own 

 alphabet, could make out nothing. Upon the temples of Kar- 

 nac, Champollion twice read the name of Alexander ; upon 

 the zodiac of Denderah, he read a Roman imperial title; upon 

 the great edifice above which the zodiac was placed, he read the 

 names and surnames of the Emperors Augustus, Tiberius, 

 Claudius, Nero, Domitian, &c. And thus, we may remark in 

 passing, is decided, on the one hand, the stirring and endless 

 discussions concerning the antiquity of these monuments ; and, 

 on the other, it is definitely determined that, under the domi- 

 nion of the Romans, hieroglyphics were still in general use upon 

 the banks of the Nile. 



The alphabet which has already afforded so many unlooked 

 for results, whether applied to the grand obelisks of Karnac, or 

 to other monuments which are also known to be contempora- 

 neous with the Pharaohs, will present us with the names of 

 many of the kings of this ancient race, with the names of their 

 divinities, — we will say more, with substantives, adjectives, and 

 verbs of the Coptic language. Dr Young, then, was deceived, 

 when he supposed the phonetic hieroglyphics to be a modern 



