148 
source. It would no doubt be absurd to sup- 
pose the migration of Egyptian colonies v/here- 
ever pyramidical monum^ents and symbolical 
paintings are found ; but how can we avoid be- 
ing struck with the traces of resemblance offered 
by the vast pictures of manners, of arts, of lan- 
guage, and traditions, which exist at present 
among nations at the most remote distance from 
each other ? Why should we hesitate to point 
out, wherever they occur, the analogies of con- 
struction in languages, of style in monuments, 
and of fictions in cosmogonies, although we may 
be unable to decide what were the secret causes 
of these resemblances, while no historical fact 
carries us back to the epocha of the communica- 
tions, which existed between the inhabitants of 
different climates ? 
In fixing our attention on the graphical means 
which the natives employed to express their 
ideas, we find real hieroglyphics, sometimes 
curiologic, sometimes tropical, such as those, 
the use of which appears to have passed from 
Ethiopia into Egypt ; symbolic characters com- 
posed of numerous keys, destined to speak 
rather to the eyes than the ear, and expressing 
whole words, like the Chinese ; or syllabical 
characters, like those of the Mantchou Tartars, 
in which the vowels are combined in one figure 
with the consonants, but which may also 
be restored into simple letters ; finally, real 
