ANTIQUITIES. 
formation on the subject, says, the cele- 
brated column ascribed to Pompey, orna- 
mented a space opposite to the temple of 
Serapis, in which was a great public li- 
brary. Besides the ancient remains already 
noticed, we may mention the colossal 
sphynx ; Cleopatra’s needle ; the marble 
sarcophagus reputed to be Alexander’s 
tomb ; and the triple inscription from Ro- 
setta, in the hieroglyphic, the vernacular 
Egyptian, and the Greek characters. The 
writers on Egyptian antiquities are very 
numerous. Among the ancients may be 
noted Herodotus, Pausanias, Strabo, Di- 
odorus Siculus, and Plutarch. Herodotus, 
Thales, and Pythagoras, were initiated into 
all the mysteries of the Egyptian priests. 
The mythology of the country is fully ex- 
plained in Joblon ski’s “ Pantheon Egyptia- 
cum.” On the Egypt of modern times we 
have the works of Pocoek, Niebuhr, Son- 
nini, and Denon, which may be consulted 
with advantage. Greaves and Nordon have 
written on the pyramids, and the mummies 
are described by the celebrated Kircher. 
The illustration of the antiquities of In- 
dia is more difficult, but discoveries are 
still making in that vast extent of country. 
To that great patriot, philosopher, and le- 
gislator, Sir William Jones, we are greatly 
indebted for much valuable information on 
this subject. Mr. Halhed, indeed, in 1 776 , 
gave the first specimen which appeared of 
the early wisdom of the Indians, and their 
extensive skill in jurisprudence. In the 
year 1785, the Bhagvat Geeta was edited 
by Mr. Wilkins. The theological and meta- 
physical doctrines of this work were repre- 
sented to be of the profoundest kind, and 
it was said to contain all the grand myste- 
ries of the Hindoo religion, and laid claim 
to the antiquity of 4,000 years. Other 
works of high reputation have succeeded, 
among these are the “ Indian Antiquities,” 
by Maurice, which have, in a great mea- 
sure, cleared the ground for the student, 
and given him a sort of clue for farther in- 
vestigations. By his labours, the ancient 
geographical divisions of India, according 
to the classical writers of Greece and Rome, 
and of Hindostan, according to the Hindoos 
themselves, are reconciled ; the analogies of 
the Brahmanic with other systems of theo- 
logy considered ; and the grand code of civil 
laws, the original form of government, and 
the literature of Hindostan, are compared 
with the laws, government, and literature 
of Persia, Egypt, and Greece. From Sir 
William Jones’s paper* published in the se- 
veral volumes of the “ Asiatic Researches,’’ 
much solid information on Indian antiquities 
may be had in a short compass. By that great 
man, whose loss cannot be sufficiently la- 
mented, a society was formed for inquiring 
into the history, antiquities, arts, sciences, 
and literature of Asia. Having founded the 
institution, he gave it celebrity by his ovvn 
admirable discourses ; of these the first was 
on the orthography of Asiatic words in Ro- 
man letters, a want of attention to which 
had occasioned much confusion in history 
and geography. Not contented with point- 
ing out radical defects, lie proposed a sys- 
tem, which was useful to the learned, and 
essential to the progress of the student. 
His other dissertations, to which the reader 
may be referred, were all in a greater or 
less degree, connected with the antiquities 
of India. By India is meant the whole ex- 
tent of country in which the primitive reli- 
gion and language of the Hindoos prevail 
at this day, and in which the Na-gari letters 
are still used with more or less deviation 
from their original form. Its inhabitants 
have no resemblance either, in their figure or 
manners to any of the nations contiguous 
to them. Their sources of wealth are still 
abundant. In their manufactures of cotton 
they surpass the other nations of the world ; 
and though now degenerate and abased, 
there remains enough to show, that in some 
early age they were well-versed in arts and 
arms, happy in government, wise in legis- 
lation, and eminent in various branches of 
knowledge. 
In this place we may briefly notice the 
Sanscrit language, which, whatever may be 
its antiquity, is of a very singular struc- 
ture ; more perfect than the Greek, more 
copious than the Latin, and more refined 
than either, yet bearing to both a stronger 
affinity, both in the roots of verbs, and in 
the forms of grammar, than could possibly 
have been produced by accident. Of their 
philosophy it has been observed, that in the 
more retired scenes, in groves, and in se- 
minaries of learning, we may perceive the 
Brahmans and the Sarmanas of Clemens 
disputing in the forms of logic, or discours- 
ing on the vanity of human enjoyments, on 
the immortality of the soul, her emanation 
from the eternal mind, her debasement, wan- 
derings, and final union with her source. 
The ancient monuments of Hindostan are 
very numerous, and of various descriptions, 
exclusive of the tombs and other edifices of 
the Mahometan conquerors. Some of the 
most remarkable are excavated temples, 
