ma 
is ‘ 
a58 
¢ Shefator,” or * Rambler; while; on 
the contrary, the ftyle of Addifon, or 
Johnfon, in thofe works, would not be 
very weil adapted to the dignity of the hif- 
torian. FEwould, however, advife every 
perfon to guard againit a fervile imitation 
of any author whatever, as; in all proba- 
bility, it would be the means.of giving 
their writings an air of affectation, fo 
deftructive of elegance and grace. 
Let, therefore, thofe perfons who with 
to acquire a command of-ityle, fo as to 
be capable of varying it to any particular 
fubject, perufe with a 
authors in our language; and after hav- 
ing ebferved the characteriftic peculiari- 
“ties of each, let them accuftom themielves 
to frequent compofition ; at the fame time 
reeulating their ftyle according to their 
tafte and judgment. I fhall conclude my 
remarks, by recommending your corref- 
pondent to apply himieif to the ftudy of 
@¢ Blair’s “Lectures on Rhetoric and the 
Belles Lettres,’ where he will find a 
number of very ufeful rules for modelling 
the fiyle and correcting the taite. Indeed, 
it is a work, in my opinion, fo replete 
“with excellent obfervations fer directing 
the judgment in all matteys of erudition, 
that no ftudent in literature fhould be 
without if. PHILOLOGUS. 
London, Sept. t4, 1798. 
ee 
Lo the Editor of the Mouthly Magazine. 
_ SIR, . 
i momentous events now pafiing 
in the political werld, having 
brought EGYPT into a more than ufual 
confideration, I take the liberty of {eiz- 
ing the opportunity to infert a few words 
in your valuable publication, upon the 
-etymology of. the name of that ancient 
country; making my deductions from 
the Cymracg, or primitive uticrance, as 
the Welth call their Jancuages and which 
_ has been my ufual fource of the communi- 
gations addrefled to your notice. 
Witha view of attracting the attention 
of the reader more clofely to the explana- 
tion, which is intended to be laid before 
him, I fhall mention, in the firf place, as 
a very curious circumftance, not gene- 
rally known to the world, that the Welth 
have not borrewed the appellation of 
Ecypt, from the Greek Scriptures, as 
. ail the other nations of chriftendom have 
done; but, on the contrary, they call it 
AIFT, which is an original name, radi- 
cally grounded in their own language, 
‘and by which alone that country is known 
stothem. . ; 
The word AlrT, above alluded to, is 
On Style... Welfh Name of Ecypt. 
ttention the beg 
$ - 
2 mas ee : 
ORF | 
’ ” a +‘ 
formed, agreeably to the eftablifhed rules * 
of the conftruction of the Welth tongue, 
from Atv, the aggregate plural of Av; 
a glide-onward, a flow, or fiream. AFT; 
therefore, implies literally what abounds 
with firearms, that is fubje& to flowings; 
or thé region of floodings. The word 
Av, which is the root of Avon, a river; 
effumes alfo the plural form of Eiqvion ; 
and hence the name of Ervionyz, a diftrict ‘ 
in the neighbourhood of Snowdon, in 
Wales. It is ikewif the rcot of Menaiv; 
a ftrait fepatating Anglefey from Caer- 
narvonthire ; atid the people, who lived 
along the borders of it, were anciently 
called Af-xervier. 
It is neediefs to obferve, that a more 
characteriftic name than Arrr could not 
have been impofed upon that country; 
which was annually inundated by the 
river Nile; but we may confider that, 
whatever appellation was given to it by 
the original inhabitants, it was, very pro= 
bably, like the above, defcriptive of the 
grand phenomenon, with which they were 
periodically vifited ; and alfo that it was 
the fource, from whence ithe name of 
EGYPT, or Aigypt, as the Greek ortho- 
graphy has it, was derived ; and of fimi- 
Jar found. 
The word Airt, owing to the power 
of F being nearly filenced by the ftronger 
found of the T’, immediately following 
it, might be eafily miftaken for Arr, 
even from-a careful enunciation, bya 
ftranger to the language. This obferva- 
tion 1s neceffary, in order the better to 
identify it in AIT, an ancient name of — 
EGYPT, of which fome account may be, 
had by'referring to vol. i. p.426, &c. of 
** Bryant’s Mythology.” 
If it fhould be allowed that Aut is. 
the fame with Air, above referred to, the - 
inference will then neceflarily follow that 
the Welfh muft have preferved their name 
for Egypt from the moft remote period ; 
and along with it alfo fome knowledge 
of the country ;_ or otherwife they would 
not have been enabled to fubftitute AIFT 
for the common Greek appellation, upon 
the intredudtion of chriftianity into Bri- 
tain: and, the latter is fo great a {tranger 
in the Welth language, that I. know of 
only one inftance of its occurring, and 
that is in a poemon the Ten Plagues, by 
Taliefin, a bard of the Gxth century, 
wherein are the foliowing lines : 
¢s Pumed bwyftnon 
Ar hall wibion. 
Egipteion 5 
Rellfid miled, . 
O drwm acled 
Deryzolion.”” 
cr Re 
/ 
