1802. ] 
pean languages, derived from the fame 
fource, I have never been able to fucceed 
myfelf, though I have made many efforts 
for this purpofe. The keys of the He- 
brew, Chaldean, and generally of the Celtic, 
appear to be derived from fources very dif- 
ferent ; or, at lealt, there is fuch an inter- 
mixture of other fymbols with thofe 
whichdefignate the Greek, that no folution 
of the latter can be fuccefsfully applied to 
any of them: while the Gothic, Sclavo- . 
nian, and moft of the fouthern European 
alphabets, which. are obvioufly either 
Greek or Roman. derivations, not only 
retain the general character of the Greek 
elements, but as uniformly their names ; 
excepting that, by way of abbreviation, 
they are, for the moft part, curtailed of 
all but the firft Greek fyllable, It is cu- 
rious to obferve, that in the Celtic alpha- 
bets, and particularly the Welfh and Inih, 
the pyramidal figure.appears to prevail, as 
though the fun, or his reprefentative fire, 
had been regarded amongft thefe nations 
as the chief deity in the mythic hierarchy: 
a faét-which hiftory will perhaps very fuf- 
ficiently eftablifh. The fame obfervation 
may be made with regard to the alphabet 
of Thibet; while thofe of Perfla, Ara- 
bia, and particularly of the Birman Em- 
pire, are almoft entirely crefcent, com: 
bined occafionally with ophite characters, 
as though invented by fages who were 
. chiefly attached to arkite idolatry. ‘Inthe 
Birman alphabet, this indeed is peculiarly 
con{picuous; for feveral of the charaéters 
are perfect phafes of the moon, who, as I 
have before obferved, is a mere arkite 
fymbol herfelf, reprefented as the appears 
in different periods of her menftrual revo- 
lution ; the external and internal outline 
being equally preferved. There isa bean- 
tifal copy of this alphabet appended to 
oe Symes’s very entertaining ** Ac- 
count of an Embafly to the Kingdom of 
Ava.” 
The length of this letter precludes me 
from profecuting an inquiry-clofely con- 
netted with the antecedent obfervations : 
I mean, whether the different orders of ar- 
chiteéture may not have originated from 
the fame fource as, the characters of the 
Greek alphabet ? Whether a fuperior at- 
tachment to the fyftem of folar or fire- 
worfhip may not have produced the order 
of Gothie architeéture, both in Europe 
and Afia; an order, whofe very effente is 
that of the pyramid; and which, in its 
{pires, its arches, its roofs, in- every part 
of its defign, is perpetually producing a 
pointed fummit from an expanded bafe ? 
And whether, in thofe countries in whith 
MontTuLty Macy No. 21, 
/ 
+ 
Mr. Good on the Origin of the Greek Alphabet} 
493 
little or nothing of this order is to Be 
traced ; where the obelifk, column, and cir- 
cular arch are predominant, the idolatry of 
the fun or fire have not been nearly or al- 
together relinguithed fer that of the fer- 
pent and the ark, feparately or conjointly; 
the former, in Oriental mythology, being 
the avowed protector of the latter? | 
cannot at prefent purfue thefe inquiries as 
they feem to deferve. But, as it is highly 
uncertain when I fhall be able to refume 
this fpeculation, which I believe to be al- 
together novel, I cannot avoid adding, 
that fo far as I have been able to make a 
curfory inveftigation into the architec. 
ture of different nations, it appears to 
be confiftent with fa&. The Goths or 
Cuths, (Gute) were certainly of Scy- 
thian (Scuthian) defcent, and impore- 
ed the pyrean idolatry with them into the 
whole of the north of Europe: the r€ligion 
of the Druids was of the lame defcription: 
and the general charaéter of the pyramid 
not only exifts wherever the Goths or Celts 
have had a footing, but fo deeply did it 
eftablifh, in the general mind; a tafte for 
this {pecies of architecture, that the pyra- 
mid was {till faffered to prevail in all their 
religious edifices after their converfion to 
Chitiante Among the Oriental na- 
tions, this 1s not lefs obvious than in Eu- 
rope: the Perfians, Hindus, Thibetians, 
Chinefe, have uniformly evinced a greater 
veneration for fire than for any other elements 
and their religious edifices are all of the 
Gothic or pyramidal order. The great. 
temple at Pegue is of this precife deferip- 
tion ; and the image of Boodth, whofe wor- 
fhip extends over the larger part of India, 
is generally ornamented with a conic or 
pyramidal cap. If we turn to Mexico and 
Peru, where the fun is adored not only as 
the fuprerme, but almoft’as the only, object 
of religious worfhip, we meet with nothing 
but pyramidal or Gothic architefture in 
the ccnitruétion of the public temples. 
That-of the fun and moon at Mexico is 
here peculiarly intitled to notice, and an 
elegant engraving of it may be feen in 
-vol: iti. of Mr. Maurice’s Indian Anti- 
quitiés. Such, however, was not the chief 
or general devotion of Greece: the fun 
unduubtedly was worfhipped by this ido- 
latrous people as an individual deity in 
their facred hierarchy 5 but he never rofe 
higher than to a middle rank in the feale; 
and while the principles of arkite adora- 
tion were recognifed by the deification of 
every ocean, river, and ftreamler, the folar 
reprefentation of fire appears to have been 
almoft forgotten, or, at moft, was but little 
reforted to. In this country then the order 
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