WRITING. 
marks conjoined. They also used the sym- 
bolical hieroglyphic to denote a conqueror: 
they placed a target, with darts between 
the characters, for the king, and the cities 
which he had subdued. Their marks for 
months and other portions of time, for the 
air, the earth, &c. were symbolical; and 
their cyphers are arbitrary characters : they 
painted as many small circles as there were 
units to 20, which had its proper mark ; by 
the successive addition of these marks they 
denoted numbers to 20 times 20, or 400, 
which again had its proper mark; then, by 
the successive addition of these, they de- 
noted as far as 20 times 400, or 8000, which 
had a new character. Whatever their ad- 
vances, however, annals so conveyed must 
have been very imperfect ; and accordingly 
they look great pains to instruct the young 
to supply the deficiencies, and to remove 
the ambiguities, by \ means of traditionary 
explanations. See Robertson’s “ Ameiica,” 
vol. iii. p. 173 — 180 ; fron) whom, and Cla- 
vigeio, this account is derived. 
Picture-writing and its contraction, which 
is denominated the simple hieroglyphic, 
must he very inadequate for the purposes 
of communication. The figurative hiero- 
glyphic would soon be adopted ; for oral 
language must have made some progress, 
before the use of permanent visible commu- 
nication would be found necessary, and, 
consequently, must have given metapiiori- 
cal meanings to the names of sensible ob- 
jects. We here speak of hieroglyphics as 
intended for the purposes of communicating, 
not of concealing- knowledge. It was long 
thought that the latter was the first and 
only purpose. Warbnrton has proved tliat 
tins was not their first use, but that which 
was made of them in a later period, parti- 
cularly when the invention of letters had 
rendered the former purpose unnecessary. 
The simple hieroglyphic was, where the 
delineation of part of the object or action 
represented the whole. Thus the ancient 
Egyptians painted a man’s two feet in water 
to denote a fuller ; smoke ascending, to de- 
note fire ; two hands, one holding a buck- 
ler, the other a bow, to denote a battle. — 
The figurative hieroglyphic was of two 
kinds; one, where the insirument, real or 
supposed, was used to denote the performer, 
or the thing performed ; the other, where 
one object was used to represent another, 
which' liad some real or supposed resem- 
blance to it. Egyptian examples of the 
first kind are, an eye and a sceptre, to 
signify a king; a sword, a bloody tyrant; 
the mouth, to denote speech or voice; the 
sun and moon, as a symbol for succession 
of time ; an eye placed in an eminent posi- 
tion, for tlie omniscience of God. Examples 
of the' second are, a dog’s head (as among 
the Cliinese, a dog’s voice), to denote sor- 
row ; dew falling from heaven, to denote 
science. To these may be added, as a 
mixed example, the inscription on the tem- 
ple of Minerva at Sais ; where are found, 
engraved on the vestibule, the figures of an 
infant, an old man, a hawk and ‘a fish, and 
a river horse : the hawk and fish were the 
symbol for hatred, and the river liorse for 
impudence; so that the literal translation 
would be “ young and old hate impudence,” 
or, still more literally, “ old man, infant 
hatred, impudence.” Tlie Scythian King 
sent to Daritgs a mouse, a frog, a bird, a 
dart, and a plough: if be had sent their 
delineations, it would have formed a similar 
specimen of the hieroglipliic. 
Hieroglypliics would frequently be found- 
ed on the figures to whicli use had given 
currency in oral language. The procedure 
of the mind is the same in both ; and they 
would mutually influence each other. With 
respect to the simple hieroglyphic, as that 
was a mere contraction of the full delinea- 
tion in picture-writing, the only similarity 
we must expect to find in language is the 
contraction of words. Both were intended 
for the purpose of facilitating communica- 
tion, by increasing its rapidity. 
The first nse of hieroglyphics was, to 
preserve the memory of events and institu- 
tions; such symbols, therefore, would first 
be adopted as were of obvious inteipreta- 
tion ; viz. those which were founded on 
prevailing opinions ; as, the hyena, for a 
man bearing his distiesses with fortitude, 
and rising superior to them, because the 
skin of that animal was supposed to render 
the wearer dauntless and invulnerable ; on 
those founded on oral hmgnage, which 
would be intelligible when the analogies 
which gave rise to them were forgotten. 
By degrees they were emjiloyed for the 
more refined purposes of philosophy ; and 
the analogies on which they were founded, 
would require an acquaintance with the 
sciences from which they were deduced. 
Still nothing'w'as done for concealment: at 
last superstition appropriated their use ; and 
after the invention of letters, tliey were 
employed to keep the mysteries of the 
priesthood from the ej'es of the profane 
vulgar. Tfieir symbols were now formed 
of far fetched resemblances : a cat was used 
