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ESSAY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM 
 
 OF 
 
 M. CHAMPOLLION, Jun. 
 
 AND on the 
 
 ADVANTAGES WHICH IT OFFERS TO SACRED CRITICISM. 
 
 BY J. G. H. GREPPO, 
 
 Vicar General of Belley. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 
 
 BY ISAAC STUART, 
 
 WITH 
 
 tMotes auîr Eilustratious. 
 
 Posuit Dominus in Ægypto signa sua. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PERKINS & MARVIN, 114, WASHINGTON STREET. 
 
 1830 . 
 
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS to wit : 
 
 District Clerk's Office. 
 
 Be it remembered, that on the thirteenth day of September, A. D. 
 1830, in the fifty fifth year of the Independence of the United States of 
 America, Perkins & Martin, of the said District, have deposited in 
 this Office the Title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, 
 in the words following, to wit : — 
 
 “ Essay on the Hieroglyphic System of M. Champollion, Jun. and on the 
 Advantages which it offers to Sacred Criticism. By J. G. H. Greppo, 
 Vicar General of Belley. Translated from the French by Isaac Stuart, 
 with Notes and Illustrations. Posuit Dominus in Ægypto signa sua.” 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled 
 u An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, 
 charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the 
 times therein mentioned and also to an Act entitled “ An Act supplemen- 
 tary to an Act entitled An Act for the encouragement of learning, by 
 securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors 
 of such copies during the times therein mentioned; and extending the 
 benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and etching historical 
 and other prints.” 
 
 TNO W DAVTS ? Clerk of the District 
 JAG. W. DAVIfe, J 0 f Massachusetts. 
 
 T. R. Marvin Printer. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The interest which the Christian public is now 
 taking in the subject of Egyptian Hieroglyphics, 
 renders it desirable that some work should appear, 
 which may impart the information necessary to 
 gratify literary and religious curiosity. Egypt was the 
 mother of the arts, sciences, letters, and learning, in 
 the ancient western world. Its history, at a very re- 
 mote period, stands connected with that of the people 
 of God. The philosopher as well as the Christian, 
 then, cannot help feeling a deep interest, in having the 
 dust of ages which has covered the monuments and 
 the glory of Egypt, swept away ; and in seeing her 
 rising from her obscurity and ruins, with renovated 
 splendor. 
 
 The great problem of Hieroglyphics is at last sol- 
 ved ; and the veil has been lifted up which hid from 
 past ages the mysteries that lay concealed under them. 
 We now know, that they were usually employed 
 as mere alphabetic letters ; that when thus read, they 
 give us regular composition in the Coptic or old Egyp- 
 tian language ; and that, as the Coptic is understood 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 by a considerable number of scholars in Europe, we 
 are in a fair way of knowing all which the Egyptian 
 phonetic or alphabetic Hieroglyphics on the monu- 
 ments, were designed to teach. 
 
 We now know also, that Hieroglyphics were often 
 employed as symbols , i. e. as the signs of ideas ; and 
 these symbols are to a great extent already known, 
 and progress in the knowledge of 'them is gradual and 
 constant. 
 
 It is also ascertained, that there are Hieroglyphics, 
 or rather, groups of them, which have a mystical 
 meaning ; such as they have generally been supposed 
 to convey. 
 
 The interests of religion are deeply concerned in 
 these investigations. The people of God sojourned 
 for several centuries in Egypt ; and during a part of 
 the time, when many of the monuments and edifices 
 now standing were actually erected. There can be 
 but little doubt, that a part of their cruel bondage con- 
 sisted in laboring to erect some of these, or to prepare 
 materials for them. The overthrow of a distinguished 
 Egyptian king, was connected with the departure of 
 the Hebrews from the land of Egypt. Are there any 
 notices of them, or of their oppressors, on the monu- 
 ments of this country, or among the numerous manu- 
 scripts which are every day discovered amidst the 
 tombs and ruins ? Is there any confirmation of the 
 Scripture accounts, derived from these accidental 
 and hitherto inaccessible sources of knowledge ? — 
 Questions of great interest to the Christian, who rev- 
 erences the Scriptures ; and even to the mere lovers of 
 ancient history. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 On these questions some light is thrown in the fol- 
 lowing sheets. It is the special object of M. Greppo, 
 the writer, to direct his attention to this particular 
 point. I cannot help thinking, that what he has done 
 will be grateful and acceptable to the public in this 
 country. 
 
 The translation of the work was made by my son, 
 whose name stands on the title page. I have inspect- 
 ed the whole, and compared it with the original. 
 Here and there I have suggested some slight verbal 
 alterations. In all other respects the work is as it 
 came from the hands of the translator. 
 
 In regard to the Notes ; such as are my own, are 
 included in brackets, and have the initials of my name 
 added at the close. For the rest, the translator is re- 
 sponsible. 
 
 My hope and earnest desire is, that the w r ork may 
 not only gratify a laudable curiosity in the public mind, 
 but that it may contribute to render still more firm the 
 belief of Christians in the truth and faithfulness of the 
 sacred writers. 
 
 I only add, that the work of Spineto, and Jablon- 
 ski’s Pantheon Ægyjotiacum, have been used in pre- 
 paring the notes ; and nearly every thing material has 
 been taken from Spineto, in which he differs from 
 M. Greppo, or has gone beyond him in descanting on 
 particular topics. The work of Spineto is too large 
 and expensive for republication here ; and its design 
 not directly a religious one. On this account I have 
 thought the work of M. Greppo preferable ; and he 
 has evidently studied his subject as extensively as 
 
 Spineto, although he is less bold in advancing some 
 * 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 theories. I have seen no critiques on either book ; 
 nor do I wish to see them for my own satisfaction, 
 as I have read them both. 
 
 That I have seen occasion to differ from M. Greppo, 
 in respect to some of his positions which have relation 
 to Hebrew philology and criticism , I trust he will not 
 put to the score of hyper-criticism or the love of 
 finding fault. Whenever I have differed, I have 
 felt bound to give the reasons for it ; and of these, 
 the reader who is competent must be left to judge. 
 M. Greppo and myself have, I trust, one and the same 
 object in view ; and this is, to get at the truth. If in 
 our single, or by our joint endeavors, the reader is fur- 
 nished with any means of obtaining this result, we 
 shall both be abundantly rewarded for our labor. 
 
 MOSES STUART. 
 
 Andover , Theol. Sem. ) 
 
 September , 1830 . \ 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 Preface, . 
 
 Page. 
 . iii 
 
 Advertisement, 
 Introduction, . 
 
 PART I- 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM OF CHAM POLLION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 STATE OF THE STUDY OF HIEROGLYPHICS DOWN TO THE 
 
 PRESENT TIME. 
 
 Knowledge of hieroglyphics among the Egyptians. Among the 
 Greeks and Romans. Labors of the moderns upon hieroglyphics. 
 Discovery of the polyglott monument at Rosetta 6 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS. 
 
 Labors of Champollion. Foreign names upon the Egyptian monu- 
 ments. Royal cartouches, name of Ptolemy. Obelisk of Philoe, 
 name of Cleopatra. Phonetic alphabet 18 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON THE NATURE OF EGYPTIAN WRITINGS. 
 
 Three kinds of writing among the ancient Egyptians. Two orders 
 of signs in the hieroglyphic writing. Division of the ideographic 
 signs 26 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ^ EPITOME OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Forms and number of signs. Delineation of signs. Disposition of 
 signs. Figurative characters. Symbolical characters. Phonetic 
 characters. Simultaneous employment of three orders of signs. 
 Egyptian or foreign names upon the monuments. Grammatical 
 forms. Certainty of Champollion’s system 
 
 35 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Vil I 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BRIEF VIEW OF THE RESULTS OF THE DISCOVERY OF 
 HIEROGLYPHICS. 
 
 Historical and chronological results. Results in relation to Egyptian 
 
 mythology. Results relative to the history of art in Egypt. . . 52 
 
 PART II. 
 
 APPLICATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM TO THE SACRED 
 WRITINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Relations of the Hebrews with the Egyptians. Connection of their 
 histories. Analogy in the manners of both nations. Utility of 
 the reading of hieroglyphics, in respect to sacred history which re- 
 lates to Egypt 66 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Relations between the Egyptian writings and those of the Hebrews. 
 Analogies between the style of the sacred writings and that of 
 certain hieroglyphic legends. Egyptian names preserved in the 
 Bible 72 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 Name of Pharaoh given to the kings of Egypt. Utility of the labors 
 of Champollion Figeac. Pharaohs cotemporary with Abraham, — 
 with Joseph. Pharaoh the oppressor of the Hebrews. Pharaoh 
 the enemy of Moses 82 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DIFFICULTY RELATIVE TO THE LAST PHARAOH OF EXODUS. 
 
 Did this Pharaoh perish in the Red Sea ? Silence of the historical 
 books on this subject. Examination of passages in the song of 
 the Israelites and in the Psalms. Some evidence in favor of the 
 opinion that this prince did not share in the calamity of his army. 100 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 OTHER PHARAOHS OF SCRIPTURE. 
 
 Pharaoh cotemporary with David. Pharaoh father-in-law of king 
 
 Solomon. Pharaohs mentioned in various texts of the prophets. 112 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE KINGS OF EGYPT DISTINGUISHED BY PROPER NAMES 
 IN SCRIPTURE. 
 
 Shishak. Zerah the Ethiopian. So. Tirhakah. Necho. Hophra. 116 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF MANETHO. 
 
 Of Manetho and his tablet of the kings of Egypt. Of the confidence 
 which he deserves. Is his chronology opposed to that of the Bible ? 
 Probable chronological limits of the Egyptian monuments. . . . 133 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Egyptian name of the city of Heliopolis. City of Rameses. Land of 
 Rameses. Advantages to sacred learning from researches in the 
 country of Goshen. City of Taphnis. City called in the He- 
 brew text No Ammon , etc 143 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ANSWER TO CERTAIN DIFFICULTIES OF INFIDELS. 
 
 Could Moses write the Pentateuch in the desert ? Magnificence of 
 the tabernacle and of other objects consecrated to the worship 
 of the true God. Silence of the sacred historians in relation to 
 Sesostris 162 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EGYPTIAN ZODIACS. 
 
 Discovery of the zodiacs of Dendera and of Esne. Objections against 
 biblical chronology. Arrival in France of the planisphere of Den- 
 dera. Contradictory systems about this monument. The date of 
 this and of other zodiacs ascertained by Champollion. Object of 
 zodiacal representations among the ancients 177 
 
 ■APPENDIX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Brief description of Anaglyphs 191 
 
 B. 
 
 Chronological periods in Egyptian History 192 
 
 c. 
 
 Inscription at Rosetta 193 
 
 D. 
 
 Hieroglyphic method of writing the name Ptolemy . 196 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 E. 
 
 Hieroglyphic method of writing the names Cleopatra and Cæsar. . 196 
 
 F. 
 
 Distinction between the different kinds of Hieroglyphics 199 
 
 G. 
 
 Various alphabets of the Egyptians. Comparison of Egyptian and 
 
 Chinese characters 206 
 
 H. 
 
 N umber of Hieroglyphics 209 
 
 I. 
 
 Mexican Hieroglyphics 210 
 
 J. 
 
 Specimens of Horapollo 215 
 
 K. 
 
 Choice of forms in Hieroglyphic Writing 220 
 
 L. 
 
 Grammatical Forms 223 
 
 M. 
 
 Brief notices of Egyptian Mythology 225 
 
 N. 
 
 Brief sketches of the Arts and Architecture of Egypt 242 
 
 O. 
 
 Similarity of Egyptian and Hebrew Writing and Language. . . . 267 
 
 P. 
 
 Numeration by Hieroglyphics 270 
 
 Q. 
 
 Doubts as to the escape of Pharaoh from the catastrophe at the 
 
 Red Sea 271 
 
 R. 
 
 Chronology of the Septuagint and Samaritan copies of the Old 
 
 Testament 274 
 
 S. 
 
 Location of Rameses 275 
 
 T. 
 
 Situation of Goshen 276 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 This Essay is the result of the leisure moments, which 
 have been furnished me by the zeal and personal activity of 
 the venerable and distinguished prelate to whom I am bound 
 by virtue of my office, and still more by the ties of strong af- 
 fection. 
 
 Attached, from my childhood, to the study of history and 
 of the monuments of antiquity, the duties of my station have 
 never compelled me wholly to abandon pursuits so attractive ; 
 but I have felt that my character imposed upon me, in some 
 manner, an obligation to connect them with that divine reli- 
 gion, which itself extending back to the infancy of the world, 
 is supported by the most ancient historical traditions. I 
 could not remain ignorant of the important labors of Cham- 
 pollion, and from the first, I have followed all his publications 
 with the most lively interest. The application of his system 
 to determining the age of the famous zodiac of Dendera , 
 which was then attracting universal attention, gave me the 
 first idea of the advantages which such a discovery might 
 furnish in the interpretation and defence of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures. This idea became more fully developed when I read 
 his Précis , and I then began, according to my custom, to 
 write down the observations which are found at the com- 
 mencement of this work, and afterwards I concluded that it 
 might be useful to increase and publish them. 
 
 Some circumstances, of no consequence to the reader, have 
 delayed the publication of this work. I know that I have 
 lost the advantage of that public interest which springs from 
 the novelty of a subject, and which is so powerful in its influ- 
 ence upon many persons. But perhaps my work has gained 
 intrinsically by this delay, it having been reviewed and im- 
 proved by each new discovery which has come to my know- 
 ledge, and by many facts of antiquity which have been 
 recalled to my remembrance. However this may be, I shall 
 still be consoled for any errors which affect myself, if I can 
 
Xll 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 hope that the cause of religion may be aided by a work which 
 I present to the public in an unpretending and unambitious 
 way, and with no interest in its pecuniary results. In one 
 sense, moreover, this work is not my own ; it belongs entirely 
 to the learned men whom I have followed ; and I am con- 
 scious that no other merit belongs to me, than that of making 
 a few natural applications of the subject, and, what is of far 
 less merit, of making a simple digest. 
 
 It is useless for me to mention all that I owe to Champol- 
 lion,* who has furnished me materials for nearly the whole of 
 my work. His name, and that of his learned brother, will be 
 found upon most of its pages. They would have been still 
 oftener alluded to, had I named them each time I have bor- 
 rowed from them. The labors of M. Letronne upon the in- 
 scriptions, the zodiacs, and the text of Clement of Alexandria, 
 have been of great assistance to me. I have drawn from them 
 as from a common and public source. Lastly, I owe much to 
 the interesting little work of M. L. A. C. Coquerel, entitled 
 Lettre à M. Ch. Coquerel sur le Système Hiéroglyphique de 
 M. Champollion, considéré dans ses rapports avec V Écriture 
 Sainte. Amsterdam, 1825, in 8vo. 48 pp. He has furnished 
 me, among other things, with all that I have said upon the 
 subject of Sesostris, and I acknowledge, that without his 
 assistance, this important difficulty would have wholly escaped 
 me. The announcement of this publication led me to sus- 
 pend my own, until I could receive it from Holland. I then 
 read it with the greatest satisfaction. Perhaps I ought not to 
 have ventured to treat upon the same subject ; but this pro- 
 duction has been much less known in France than it deserves 
 to be. Besides, my plan was more extensive than the 
 limits of a single letter like that could embrace ; and I have 
 not thought it a rash step, to enter the lists after him for the 
 defence of the sacred Scriptures, that so all Christian societies 
 may learn properly to venerate them as the sacred deposits of 
 the word of God. 
 
 * The name of the younger Champollion will be designated throughout this 
 work by the name Champollion simply, and that of his brother by the addition of 
 Figeac. — Ta. 
 
ESSAY, &c. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Among the numerous discoveries of all kinds which 
 are daily adding splendor to our age, there is one of a pe- 
 culiar order, and well adapted, both by its nature and by 
 the results which it promises, to excite the highest degree 
 of interest among all men who have any curiosity about 
 historical and literary knowledge, and to fix upon its in- 
 genious author the attention of all the learned European 
 world. We refer to the discovery of hieroglyphics ; one 
 of those greater events which, so to speak, is to resuscitate 
 ancient Egypt that has been covered with the dust of ages, 
 and to renew, in our own time, the ages of the Pharaohs 
 and of the Ptolemies. 
 
 Among all the people of antiquity, none appear more 
 worthy of study than the Egyptians ; not even excepting 
 the Greeks, brilliant as they were ; nor the Romans, the 
 conquerors of the world. The little that we know of the 
 ancient history of Egypt, is still sufficient to excite our 
 liveliest interest, and to give us elevated conceptions of 
 a people, who impressed upon all their institutions the 
 marks of that profound wisdom by which they were char- 
 acterized, and to which the sacred writers have themselves 
 1 
 
2 
 
 done honor.* Their temples, their pyramids, their obe- 
 lisks, their colossal statues, their magnificent cemeteries, 
 their paintings whose colors and freshness time seems to 
 have respected, all their monuments, in a word from the 
 amulet to the most gigantic edifices, from the dwellings of 
 the gods or kings down to the most common object em- 
 ployed in the domestic occupations of the poor, all serve 
 strongly to impress our imaginations with their grandeur, 
 or to astonish us with the fineness and delicacy of their 
 details. In fine, all that we know of the Egyptians leads 
 us to the opinion, that they were a nation great, strong, 
 and very much advanced in civilization, while other re- 
 markable nations of antiquity were but barbarian hordes ; 
 everything inspires us with a profound admiration of them ; 
 everything leads us to desire a better knowledge of their 
 history, their usages, and manners. 
 
 But obstacles, which were regarded until our day as 
 insurmountable, have opposed the natural desire of more 
 completely knowing this people so illustrious and renown- 
 ed for wisdom. No historian of ancient Egypt has come 
 down to us ; and Grecian authors, many of whom wrote 
 much about Egypt, have left frequent gaps in their histo- 
 ries, and excited our curiosity to know the events which 
 are not related. Sometimes these historians were stran- 
 gers to the people whom they wished to portray, and a 
 failure to verify the truth of their descriptions, has render- 
 ed them suspected. It w T as believed that the monuments 
 which cover the Egyptian soil, presented many precious 
 pages of a history far more complete and certain. Unfor- 
 tunately these monuments, so interesting in many other 
 respects, remained, in relation to their inscriptions, unde- 
 ciphered enigmas, whose mysterious characters baffled the 
 
 *And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 
 Acts vii. 22. 
 
3 
 
 attempts of science to unriddle them, and were only objects 
 of useless regret. 
 
 Now, these ancient and irrefutable witnesses have ceased 
 to be mute. The patience and sagacity of a modern inves- 
 tigator have succeeded in making them speak, and they 
 seem ready to disclose all those interesting facts of which 
 they have been for so long a time the depositaries. A new 
 and abundant mine opens upon us from amidst the mag- 
 nificent ruins of the Pharaohs’ splendor ; and the Egyp- 
 tian archaeology, so little advanced even down to our day, 
 may hope henceforth to explore, with a success to which 
 it had not before even dared to pretend, the temples, the 
 palaces, and the hypogeums* of Memphis and of Thebes. 
 
 There is no person who cannot comprehend, on the first 
 view, the manner in which this unexpected discovery of 
 meaning in the Egyptian writings, affects a large circle of 
 human knowledge. It will affect the arts, which were far 
 advanced in ancient Egypt ; it will affect the sciences, for 
 these were known and some were carried to a great extent ; 
 literature itself will be enriched with new treasures, but 
 especially the different branches of historical study will 
 receive positive and numerous accessions from the new 
 discoveries in Egypt. It is less easy to determine, on first 
 observation, all that will be interesting in relation to 
 revealed religion. Yet this religion, built upon facts, and 
 proved by facts, will claim its share in the results of this 
 discovery. It ought to draw from thence new acquisitions 
 for the interpretation of the sacred Books, new arms to 
 defend them against the attacks of adversaries, and new 
 vouchers to be added to a multitude of others, that the 
 reverence of Christians for the sacred deposits of revela- 
 tion, and their faith in them, may be still more confirmed. 
 
 * Buildings, or parts of buildings, under ground ; from the Greek 
 'vnôya lov. — Tr. 
 
4 
 
 This thought brings to view the great object of our work. 
 It will be developed and established, by presenting the 
 special results which sacred criticism derives from Egyp- 
 tian writings, and from numerous facts which it has led 
 us to observe. 
 
 But, as the title announces, this Essay naturally divides 
 itself into two distinct parts, although they have a connec- 
 tion. In the first part, which will consist of a sort of intro- 
 duction, we shall trace briefly the observations and the 
 process which led to a discovery so long vainly sought for ; 
 and then explain certain principles of the hieroglyphic 
 system which it has established. We intend to proceed 
 in this way, in imitation of the learned man who guides 
 us, successively employing the analytic method which 
 discloses the facts, and then the synthetic method, which 
 arranges the materials and puts them together in a sy&* 
 tematic manner. Such an explanation becomes necessary, 
 in order that we may be intelligible to our readers ; since 
 Egyptian writings, and especially hieroglyphics , form 
 the basis of those facts which we shall study in their rela- 
 tion to the holy Books. The brief but exact notions 
 which they exhibit, will be sufficient for those men of let- 
 ters who cannot remain strangers to the progress of human 
 knowledge, but who, not devoting themselves with particu- 
 larity to the study of antiquity, have not leisure to go to 
 sources which are more profound, and much more difficult 
 of access.* 
 
 The second part will be devoted to making those colla- 
 tions, which form the special aim of our work. Some of 
 
 * We would recommend here to those of our readers who have not 
 specially studied this subject, a very excellent article in No. 22, of 
 the Revue Britannique , entitled Interpretation des Hiéroglyphes. 
 Another translation has appeared in print, but that to which we refer, 
 although it abridges the English text in some parts, has the advan- 
 tage of notes which correct the errors of the author (Mr. Brown), 
 
5 
 
 the numerous facts, which the study of Egyptian monu- 
 ments with the aid of the hieroglyphic system has devel- 
 oped, will be applied to the Holy Scriptures in some of 
 those portions which relate to Eg|pt, and they will shed 
 much light upon these passages of* the sacred annals. We 
 shall endeavor to accomplish this work with all the pre- 
 cision and simplicity possible in researches which are 
 necessarily scientific, but which are of high interest on 
 account of their tendency ; and it is on this account only, 
 that we present them w r ith such confidence. 
 
 A religion whose origin is from above, is without doubt 
 safe from the vain attacks of a few blinded men ; and, 
 while it has been defended for so many centuries by the 
 most powerful minds that have shed a lustre upon the 
 sciences and upon literature, it scarcely needs our weak 
 defence. Yet it is consoling to a Christian, to witness 
 the amazing progress of human knowledge. The mind is 
 ever attaining to new truths, and is confirming the remark 
 so often quoted from a celebrated English Chancellor, a 
 remark which applies as well to revealed as to natural 
 religion, of which Christianity is but the development ; 
 Lev es gustus in philosophia mover e fortasse ad atheismum , 
 sed pleniores haustus ad religionem reducer e ;* i. e. superfi- 
 cial knowledge in philosophy may perhaps lead to atheism, 
 but a f undamental knowledge will lead to religion. 
 
 * Bacon, de Augmentis Scientiarum, Lib. I. 
 
 1 * 
 
PART I, 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM OF 
 CHAMPOLLION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 STATE OF THE STUDY OF HIEROGLYPHICS DOWN TO THE 
 PRESENT TIME. 
 
 Knowledge of hieroglyphics among the Egyptians. Among the Greeks 
 and Romans. Labors of the moderns upon hieroglyphics. Discovery 
 of the polyglott monument at Rosetta. 
 
 Before we give an account of the discovery of hiero- 
 glyphics, and explain the system, it appears necessary to 
 cast a few glances backward, to consider the knowledge 
 which the ancients had upon this subject, and the re- 
 searches which have been made by moderns to obtain an 
 acquaintance with it. This examination we design to 
 pursue in the present chapter. 
 
 1. It has been said, and has been repeated, and the 
 opinion has been accredited, that the hieroglyphic writing 
 was a mysterious science, the secret of which was known 
 only to the priests of Egypt, and by them was solicitously 
 and religiously concealed from the curiosity of the profane 
 multitude. This opinion, deprived at last of all support, 
 is now abandoned, and the fact is universally known that 
 this writing, though called sacred, in itself veiled no mys- 
 tery, and that it must have been understood by every well- 
 educated Egyptian. This is no new truth. It may be 
 
7 
 
 learned from the writings of Clement of Alexandria, who 
 has formally announced it in a remarkable passage of his 
 Stromata , (Lib. v. tom. ii. p. 657) ; and who is the 
 only ancient author from whom we derive any exact 
 notions concerning Egyptian writing.* Upon these 
 notions we shall hereafter remark. It would, indeed, 
 have been absurd, to cover with inscriptions, as the Egyp- 
 tians did, not only their public edifices, but their monu- 
 ments of every kind, and even their simple household uten- 
 sils, if these inscriptions were designed to be unintelligible to 
 all except those who were included in the sacerdotal order. 
 However, there is reason to believe, from the testimony 
 of antiquity, that a peculiar system of writing did in fact 
 exist, with which only the priests and those initiated into 
 their mysteries were acquainted ; and perhaps it is found 
 in those allegorical bas-reliefs , which, after Clement of 
 * Alexandria, are called anaglyphs ; f a kind of monuments 
 which, from the nature of the objects traced upon them, 
 cannot be deciphered. But farther ; the constituent prin- 
 ciples of the hieroglyphic method were not, in ancient 
 times, very difficult to be understood, most of its signs being 
 very simple, and those which were not so being few in 
 number ; and this remark furnishes another proof, that a 
 knowledge of it, at this epoch, was very generally diffused 
 among all individuals who received a decent education, to 
 whatever caste they might belong. [See Appendix A.] 
 
 *It is singular, that a father of the church should have preserved 
 the only exact documents relating to the system of Egyptian hiero- 
 glyphics. This is not, however, the only obligation of such a kind 
 which profane erudition owes to ecclesiastical literature. It owes 
 much besides this, to Clement of Alexandria, to the ancient apolo- 
 gists, to Eusebius, and especially to the admirable work of Augustine, 
 De civitate Dei. 
 
 t See the Précis du Système hiéroglyphique, by Champollion, pp. 
 348 and 426 ; we refer always to the second edition. 
 
8 
 
 But at a much later period, Egypt, having become Chris- 
 tian, gradually relinquished its ancient methods of writing, 
 which were too strongly united with its ancient worship 
 ever to survive it. She adopted the Grecian alphabet, still 
 preserving, with some modifications, a few national charac- 
 ters which were indispensable in order conveniently to 
 designate certain sounds or inflections of the voice. In 
 this way the Coptic language was formed, that precious 
 relic of the old Egyptian tongue, from which it appears to 
 differ only in the characters of its alphabet, and in the 
 frequent adoption of Greek expressions, particularly those 
 which relate to religious ideas and to the mysteries of 
 Christianity. The identity of these two languages, already 
 observed by many learned men, has been demonstrated by 
 Qnatremère,* and admits of no doubt. The natural con- 
 sequences of this change in the graphic signs, of course 
 ensued. The ancient writings, now become useless, w r ere 
 in practice wholly neglected ; consequently, all those con- 
 sistent and well digested principles which use had sanc- 
 tioned, were lost sight of ; and at length the signs themselves 
 became totally unintelligible. We may well be astonished 
 that the celebrated School of Alexandria should have been, 
 at this period, absolutely silent about this part of ancient 
 usages. It is certain that they have left us no notice of 
 the subject. Perhaps it was owing to their exclusive occu- 
 
 * The work of Quatremère is entitled, Recherches ciitiques et his- 
 toriques sur la Langue et la Littérature de V Égypte. Paris, 1808. 8vo. 
 
 One can see in what wa}' the study of the Coptic has become impor- 
 tant to Egyptian archaeology. In this language, now dead and totally 
 unknown in the country where it was spoken, there are, besides a 
 version of the Bible, only a few hagiographal [i. e. sacred] writings 
 and liturgie [i. e. relating to the Liturgy] works. But, although the 
 language has doubtless lost many old Egyptian words, it still acquaints 
 us with a considerable number of Egyptian texts. To this subject wo 
 shall hereafter refer. 
 
9 
 
 pation with other sciences, that they neglected this so in- 
 teresting, and in some respects national, study ; perhaps 
 they may have labored upon it,* and their works have 
 been lost to us by the fatal destruction of the immense 
 library, where so many other documents of history were 
 consumed, f [See App. B.] 
 
 2. In regard to the Greeks and Romans, it is more 
 difficult to determine how far they understood writings 
 which were so very diverse from those of other nations. 
 Well attested facts lead us to believe, that they remained 
 always ignorant of the meaning of hieroglyphics. We say 
 hieroglyphics ; for it appears evident that the Greeks, 
 under the domination of the Lagidae, J were acquainted 
 with the demotic [i. e. popular] writing of the Egyptians, 
 because official translators lived among them, who trans- 
 lated various acts or contracts from the Egyptian writing 
 into the Greek, and vice versa. Champollion Figeac has 
 discovered them in the antigraphs [i. e. copies] described 
 upon certain papyri. One law cited in a papyrus , declares 
 contracts between certain persons to be of no authority 
 
 * Cheremon, an Egyptian, wrote a book on this subject ; but it is 
 not preserved. See Essai historique sur V École <T Alexandria, by 
 Mr. Matter, tom. ii. p. 221. 
 
 f When our attention is fixed upon ancient Egypt, it is then espe- 
 cially that we have reason to deplore the disastrous conflagration of 
 the library of the Ptolemies, which was more destructive to history 
 than to any other science. When we recollect that the burning of 
 thi3 royal collection of human knowledge, heated for six months the 
 baths of Alexandria, we have some idea of the boundless riches it 
 must have possessed ; and if we cannot be consoled even for the loss 
 of some poems, orations, and treatises on geometry, how deep must 
 be our regret for the irreparable injury which history has suffered, 
 through the fanaticism of the savage Omar ! 
 
 JThe surname of the Macedonian kings of Egypt. It was trans- 
 mitted from Ptolemy the son of Lagus, who succeeded Alexander and 
 was the first of the Macedonian kings, to all of his descendants on 
 the Egyptian throne till the reign of Cleopatra, Antony’s mistress. — Tr. 
 
10 
 
 in courts of justice, unless a copy of them existed in the 
 original Egyptian, the antigraph or Greek copy not being 
 sufficient for their verification. It is certain, however, 
 that the usual silence of Greek and Latin historians on 
 this important subject, the looseness of the notions which 
 they have transmitted to us respecting it, and the inaccu- 
 racy of the few details into which they have gone, strongly 
 prove that they were unacquainted with it. Ought we to 
 attribute their ignorance to negligence, to levity, or to the 
 difficulty of obtaining information from the learned castes ? 
 Shall we not rather attribute it to an affected disdain of 
 the language and usages of a people, who were reputed 
 barbarous? Though we cannot decide these questions, 
 their ignorance must still surprise us, and may perhaps 
 justly be considered as without excuse. But waving this 
 consideration, historians inform us that the priests of Egypt 
 explained to travellers, who admired their edifices, the 
 meaning of inscriptions which were engraved upon them 
 in sacred characters ; and it was this circumstance which 
 gave rise to the opinion that the privileged castes only 
 understood them. Herodotus has scattered through his 
 works many translations of the inscriptions, which are 
 not always to be relied upon. Tacitus, in describing the 
 voyage of Germanicus in Egypt, relates that one of the 
 old priests of Thebes, being questioned by the prince about 
 the magnificent monuments of this ancient capital, pointed 
 out to him in the inscriptions,’ the state of the Egyptian 
 forces, and a tablet of the conquests of it anises, the cele- 
 brated Pharaoh Sesostris. (Ann. II. 60.) 
 
 3. Such are the notions which we find relative to the 
 state of hieroglyphic knowledge, at an epoch when the 
 primitive customs of Egypt had fallen into complete obli- 
 vion. But when, with the revival of letters and of the 
 arts, the intellectual regeneration of modern Europe com' 
 
11 
 
 menced, monuments, as being the records of antiquity, 
 became objects of interest and of study. Much labor 
 was bestowed upon those of Greece and Rome, and the 
 imposing, the mysterious Egypt could not be neglected, 
 but must in turn excite the curiosity and the emulation of 
 the learned. And so it was; the human mind made 
 repeated efforts to raise the veil with which time had 
 covered the history, the genius, the manners, the language, 
 and the writings of those celebrated countries which were 
 formerly the cradle of civilization. From the sixteenth 
 century, great exertions were made to penetrate the mean- 
 ing of the characters inscribed upon the monuments of the 
 Pharaohs. Researches were still more diligently made, 
 during the seventeenth century ; and in the eighteenth, 
 the work was not discouraged by the little success which 
 had been previously experienced. It was reserved, how- 
 ever, for the nineteenth century to witness the solution of 
 this important question ; and the honor of the discovery 
 belongs to France.* The noble conquest was achieved 
 at the price of the blood of her warriors, who reaped their 
 harvest in the plains of Memphis. 
 
 As we have before observed, the knowledge we gain 
 from antiquity relative to the writings of Egypt, is of small 
 extent, and of a very unsatisfactory nature. Some scat- 
 tered passages in the writings of Herodotus, of Plutarch, 
 and Eusebius ; a translation from the legends of an obe- 
 lisk, which is attributed to Hermapion by Ammius Mar- 
 
 * Notwithstanding the hasty assertions of several British journals, 
 and particularly of the Edinburgh Review, it is certain in the view 
 of every impartial man, that Dr. Young cannot contest the priority 
 of the discovery with Champollion. (See the Précis du Système 
 hiéroglyphique, chap, i.) These disputes however, excited by a 
 national spirit, are honorable to Champollion. The discovery of 
 hieroglyphics is contested, as of old the honor of having given birth 
 to Homer was disputed by the villages of Ionia. 
 
12 
 
 cellinus who has preserved it (xvii. 4) ; the little treatise 
 of Horapollo, who has not explained the fundamental 
 principles of the Egyptian methods of writing, although 
 he wrote much about them ; * lastly, a short and some- 
 what obscure passage in Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 
 edit* Oxon. Lib. v. tom. ii. p. 657), a passage which until 
 now has not been understood ; f these composed all the 
 hieroglyphic library, and with these frail materials a sys- 
 tem was to be established. Of course, every effort to 
 succeed in this way failed, on account of the barrenness 
 of the sources, and science was enriched with no satis- 
 factory result. Those who made the experiment, aban- 
 doned their authorities as insufficient, and followed their 
 imaginations as a guide. They threw themselves into an 
 unbounded field of gratuitous hypothesis, imaginary analo- 
 gies, and etymological subtilties ; and in the laborious 
 creation of chimeras more or less ingenious, more or less 
 absurd, they resembled rather children seeking to divine 
 an enigma, than studious men building a consistent and 
 rational system upon facts. A man who felt the dignity 
 of science, would be pained in perusing their writings ; 
 and he would sometimes smile at the good-natured assur- 
 ance, I had almost said the candid presumption, with 
 which these Literati, in other respects worthy, construct- 
 ed fantastic edifices, and deceived and tormented them- 
 selves with endeavoring to explain ex jprofesso wffiat they 
 
 * Champollion thinks that a considerable part of the symbolical 
 images indicated by Horapollo, relate to those bas-reliefs which have 
 no common quality with the proper Egyptian writings. To these we 
 have before referred under the name of anaglyphs. 
 
 f The passage of Clement could not certainly he the germ of 
 Champollion’s discovery, although it accords perfectly with the sys- 
 tem of this learned man. On the contrary, it is owing altogether to 
 the success which has attended the researches of Champollion, that 
 the text of the learned Father has become intelligible to modern 
 readers. 
 
13 
 
 did not and could not understand. Such, in the seven- 
 teenth century, a century of eminent learning, was the 
 method of these pretended CEdipuses ; such especially was 
 that of father Kircher, the most remarkable of them all, 
 who, advancing beyond the bounds of moderation, has left 
 suspicions to rest upon his good faith and literary credit, 
 which have hardly been dissipated even to this day.* 
 
 The men who studied this subject in the following age, 
 were not more scrupulous than their predecessors. War- 
 burton, who was the most consistent and wise, was the 
 only one who confined himself to a discussion of ancient 
 texts and to their results. He appears to have recognized 
 the existence of alphabetic characters , though he erred in 
 considering them as the elements of a writing sui generis. 
 — It was a happy conjecture ; and if followed out, it might 
 have led the way to a true discovery. But the learned 
 Englishman pretended to frame only general theories, and 
 did not seek to explain the monuments. Pluche, who 
 adopted in relation to the Egyptian antiquities a system 
 of allegory which at a later period was very differently 
 applied by Dupuis, appealed for the support of his views 
 to the Egyptian monuments ; but he did not apply his 
 exaggerated notions to the interpretation of hieroglyphics, 
 although he saw in them some emblems. 
 
 The successors of these men were more presumptuous. 
 Unfortunately Kircher had created a school, and his disci- 
 
 * Kircher wrote much about Egyptian antiquities. The most cele- 
 brated of his works are those entitled : Prodromus Coptus, etc., 
 Romæ, 1636, in4to ; Lingua Ægypliacarestituta, etc., Romæ, 1643, 
 in 4to, and Œdipus Ægyptiacus etc., Romæ, 1652, 4 vol. in fol. 
 Jablonski makes the following remark about him ; Kircher, who 
 always exhibits more ostentation than true learning ; and again : 
 He deceives his readers and sells them smoke. (Opusc. tom. I. pp. 
 157 & 211.) If this judgment appears too severe, let the reader 
 consult the works of the learned Jesuit. 
 
 2 
 
14 
 
 pies pushed still farther than the master, the extravagances 
 of imagination. Thus the learned Count de Gebelin, 
 abusing his great erudition, and torturing some Greek, 
 Hebrew, Arabic, or Phenician words, read upon the coffin 
 of a mummy an inscription as ridiculous as was his own 
 commentary upon it.* * * § So, more recently, a laborious 
 writer after collecting what he calls The Symbols of Na- 
 tions, has found upon the portico of a large temple at 
 Dendera, a translation of the hundredth psalm of David , 
 composed to invite all people to enter into the house of 
 the LordA So also, with perhaps still greater extrava- 
 gance, it has been pretended that hieroglyphics, con- 
 sidered as simple letters, expressed Hebrew words ; { as 
 if it was not known that the ancient Egyptians had a 
 language of their own, which exists for the most part now 
 in the idiom and books of the Coptic. All these aberra- 
 tions, which would have abased learning if true learning 
 were not beyond the reach of being abased, had produced 
 a deplorable effect. So many useless attempts had dis- 
 couraged the learned ; and as Jthe true restorer of the 
 hieroglyphic science well observes, “ One single opinion 
 appeared well established, viz. that it was impossible ever 
 to acquire that knowledge, which had hitherto been sought 
 with great labor and in vain/’ § 
 
 Other causes still have been assigned, why Egyptian 
 studies made no progress until our own time. Monuments 
 which contained hieroglyphics, and especially royal car- 
 touches, || were few in number and little known ; and 
 
 * This letter of Gebelin’s, an incoherent collection of learning and 
 absurdities, can be found in the Recueil cT antiquités of La Sau- 
 vagère, p. 361. 
 
 ■f- De V Étude des hiéroglyphiques . Paris, 1822, 5 vols, in 12mo. 
 
 | Essai sur les hiéroglyphiques Egyptiens. Bordeaux, 1821. 
 
 § Précis du système hiéroglyphique, p. 14. 
 
 || This word means, a kind of ovals or rings in which the name of 
 sovereigns were placed, in order to distinguish them from other parts 
 of a legend. — T r. 
 
15 
 
 besides, the designs or engravings of them were executed 
 with so little care and fidelity, that those characters which 
 should have been delineated with the most perfect accu- 
 racy, were totally obscure, and they could furnish no just 
 idea of the systems of writing which were the object of 
 study. This is the fault of the plates of Kircher’s volu- 
 minous works, of father Montfaucon’s, and also of those 
 of the Count de Caylus, notwithstanding he was versed in 
 the art of designing. But the epoch at which he lived 
 was an unfortunate one, and arts like manners were in a 
 state of shameful degradation. Now, the state of things 
 in both these respects, is very different. Since the memo- 
 rable expedition of the French army, Europe has received 
 in the illustrious researches of modern travellers, in the 
 recent compacts with the new government of Egypt, and 
 in the better appreciation of the Egyptian monuments, an 
 augmentation of resources which would astonish us, if we 
 did not know that the catacombs of Egypt furnish a mine 
 that is exhaustless. In becoming more common, the 
 monuments have of course become more accessible, either 
 in private museums, or in the magnificent collections 
 made by sovereigns to establish and extend their glory. 
 Finally, owing to the progress of the arts of design and of 
 engraving, and to the precious discovery of lithography, 
 the plates w r hich accompany descriptive works, are now 
 true fac similes of the monuments. Such especially are 
 most of those in the magnificent work on Egypt, which 
 was executed at the expense of the French government, 
 and in the publications of Mr. Dubois. 
 
 4. The monument which finally led to the knowledge 
 of the ancient writings of Egypt, was discovered at the 
 close of the last century. While the French troops were 
 carrying on the war in Egypt, and a commission of learned 
 men, associated with the expedition, were exploring this 
 ancient country with a view to advance the arts and sci- 
 
IG 
 
 ences, one division of the army occupied the village of 
 R as chid, which we call Rosetta, and were employed in 
 laboring upon some military works. While digging the 
 foundations of the fort St. Julien, they found a large 
 mutilated block of black basalt, which was covered with 
 a considerable portion of three inscriptions in different 
 characters. One of the inscriptions, written in Greek, 
 contained a decree in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes, and 
 suggested the idea that the same decree was the subject 
 of the two other inscriptions, which were written in two 
 distinct kinds of Egyptian characters, the sacred or hiero- 
 glyphic, and the enchorial * or common character of the 
 country; IE P 012 KAI ETXSIPIOI2 KAI E A AHN IK- 
 012 r PAMMA 2 IN. This curious monument soon fell 
 into the hands of the English, by the capitulation of Alex- 
 andria; and being transported to London, was afterwards 
 placed in the British Museum, f But although it was lost 
 to France by the chances of war, it was by no means lost 
 to science. Having been delineated at that time by many 
 ingenious men, it was finally exhibited in an engraving, 
 which was circulated abroad to exercise the penetration 
 of learned men. [See App. C.] 
 
 Although the inscriptions on the stone found at Rosetta 
 were mutilated by a fracture, still it is easily perceived 
 how a polyglott monument of such a kind throws light 
 upon the writings of ancient Egypt, since it contrasts the 
 Egyptian texts with a Greek inscription containing a 
 translation of them. This Greek inscription has been 
 commented upon and illustrated by many learned men, 
 
 * It will be seen in the sequel, that this second kind of writing has 
 other names still among Greek authors. 
 
 f The English took from France many other monuments which 
 were procured in Egypt. Among the rest, they took the beautiful 
 sarcophagus commonly called the tomb of Alexander, upon which 
 Messrs. Yorke & Leake, who applied Champollion’s system to the 
 Egyptian monuments in the British Museum, have discovered tbs 
 name of Achoris or Uchoreus. 
 
17 
 
 slid among the rest by our countryman Mr. Ameilhon.* 
 As the enchorial writing was supposed to be alphabetic, a 
 collation of this part of the Egyptian inscriptions with 
 the Greek, was commenced first. But the result did not 
 answer the expectation. The learned Silvester de Sacy 
 devoted himself to the examination with some success.! 
 He was able, at last, to read some of the proper names 
 which are numerous in the inscription, and he recom- 
 posed, in this way, some portions of the enchorial alphabet. 
 Akerblad of Sweden went much farther ; \ but he mistook 
 in attempting to find the vowels, which are often sup- 
 pressed in the Egyptian texts. Thus only a few facts 
 were discovered relative to this enchorial system of wri- 
 ting ; and the knowledge of the proper hieroglyphic signs 
 did not advance one step. Those who attempted to dis- 
 cover their meaning by means of the Rosetta monument, 
 fell into the old path which their predecessors had followed, 
 or rather they were not able to proceed ; and all their 
 efforts to find any sort of agreement between the hiero- 
 glyphic inscription and the text of the decree in Greek, 
 ended in conjectures as hazardous, and in systems as 
 inconsistent, as those which sprung from the reckless 
 imagination of Kircher and his disciples. No stronger 
 proof of this is needed, than the simple fact of a belief 
 that the hieroglyphic inscription w r as entire, as was very 
 nearly the Greek inscription ; when it is now known that 
 a considerable portion of the first, as well as its translation 
 in the enchorial writing, were unfortunately destroyed by 
 the mutilation of the monument as above mentioned. 
 
 * Éclair cissemens sur V inscription Grecque du monument 
 trouvé à Rosette. Paris an xi. (1803) in 4to. 
 
 f Lettre au cit. Chaptal , ministre de V intérieur etc , au sujet 
 de V inscription Egyptienne du monument trouvé à Rosette. Paris, 
 an x. (1802) in 8vo. 
 
 X Lettre sur V inscription Egyptienne de Rosette. Paris, an x. 
 (1802), in 8vo. 
 
 2 * 
 
CHAPTER IL 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS. 
 
 Labors of Champollion. Foreign names upon the Egyptian monuments. 
 
 Royal cartouches, name of Ptolemy. Obelisk of Philoe, name of Cleo- 
 patra. Phonetic alphabet. 
 
 Having adverted to the fruitless attempts which were 
 long made to penetrate the mystery surrounding the an- 
 cient writings of Egypt, we come at length to more fortu- 
 nate results, and we shall now describe the manner in 
 which one of our countrymen succeeded in tearing away 
 the thick veil, that for ages had covered the most illus- 
 trious people of antiquity. 
 
 1. The monument of Rosetta was not destined always 
 to deceive the hopes which it had inspired. After having 
 been devoted to the spirit of hypothesis, and having been 
 tortured in a manner wholly inconsistent with the princi- 
 ples of true criticism and of sound judgment, it was 
 for a long time abandoned by learned men. They were 
 discouraged by the numerous difficulties which encom- 
 passed their path, and the inscriptions which at first were 
 an object of so much study, were now, so to speak, buried 
 in oblivion. 
 
 A young student in the mean time arose, who, prepared 
 by an excellent education, and guided by a noble emula- 
 tion and rare sagacity, began immediately by means of 
 
19 
 
 Jacts to reverse all the old doctrines concerning hiero- 
 glyphics, and to introduce in the place of the vague theo- 
 ries which had previously obtained, a positive, methodical, 
 and lucid system. Champollion fortunately had been 
 occupied with the different branches of Egyptian history. 
 He had perceived what advantages the Coptic language 
 and literature would furnish, in researches with respect 
 to the systems of writing which were in use among the 
 old Egyptians ; and making these almost the sole aim of 
 his literary labors, he had studied them with ardor and 
 perseverance. He had already reaped much benefit from 
 this study in investigating the Géographie Egyptienne of 
 Egypt, as he terms it, and he had delighted the public 
 with a volume containing the first part of his Egypte sous 
 les Pharaons ; * a remarkable work, especially when we 
 consider the youth of its author. The fruitlessness of 
 former investigations had not terrified him. He had the 
 boldness to try again, what had so many times been tried 
 before ; but he followed a different method, and the Ro- 
 setta inscription studied with an unyielding constancy, at 
 last disclosed the track, and revealed to him the secret, of 
 the hieroglyphic writing. 
 
 It had been the general belief until now, that the hiero- 
 glyphic writing was exclusively ideographic , i. e. figurative 
 or symbolical, and that each of the signs it employed, ex- 
 pressed of itself an idea. This opinion appeared the better 
 founded, because it agreed with the views of those ancient 
 writers who had left a few scraps relative to the subject. 
 Being struck particularly with the circumstance which 
 distinguished one Egyptian method of writing from those 
 to which they were accustomed, these writers always at- 
 tached less interest to modes of writing which they had in 
 common with otljer people ; and this is the reason, doubt- 
 
 Première partie, Géographie. Paris, 1814, 2 vol. in 8vo. 
 
20 
 
 less, why they have never spoken except of the ideographic 
 part of the Egyptian monumental writing. They are 
 entirely silent about any other, nor have they written a 
 single syllable, from which the use of an alphabetic writing 
 in Egypt could be conjectured. * It required deep reflec- 
 tion, then, to attain to the idea of its existence. The 
 observing and penetrating mind of Champollion soon per- 
 ceived that the ideographic system, in its fullest extent, 
 must necessarily admit of exceptions ; since it could not 
 express proper names , which do not always convey an 
 idea that is capable of being expressed, [i. e. are not always 
 significant] ; nor especially foreign names, which, being 
 destitute of any relation to a particular spoken language, 
 could not be represented by conventional signs. To sup- 
 ply this insufficiency of the supposed hieroglyphic method, 
 it was indispensably necessary to recur to a system of 
 writing analagous to that in use among other nations. It 
 was thought that there must exist among the Egyptians, 
 characters or phonetic signs, that is, signs which should 
 in some way express the sounds of the spoken language. 
 Having obtained this idea, which could not prove falla- 
 cious, Champollion undertook to establish it by a very 
 natural process. He applied it to the hieroglyphic and 
 Greek inscriptions on the stone from Rosetta. 
 
 3. In the Greek text of the decree the name of Ptolemy 
 often occurred, and many other proper names which were 
 foreign to the Egyptian language. So in the hieroglyphic 
 inscription, a group of signs were observed to be frequently 
 repeated, which were contained in the ovals or rings 
 called cartels or cartouches. By this last mark of dis- 
 
 ♦Clement of Alexandria described, it is true, this part of hiero- 
 glyphic writing ; but in a manner extremely concise, and which was 
 not understood. It is almost unnecessary to repeat the remark, that 
 his text relative to this important subject, could not be understood in 
 the then state of Egyptian studies. 
 
21 
 
 tinction, as well as by its relative position in the text, the 
 hieroglyphic group appeared to correspond with the name 
 of Ptolemy, Uioleyaiog in the Greek inscription. It might 
 then be supposed with very great probability, that the signs 
 clustered in the ring or cartouche, expressed phonetically 
 the name of this prince ; * and this conjecture led to the 
 expectation, that in decomposing the group to which such 
 a signification was attributed, some of those first elements 
 of alphabetic writing which were sought, might be found. 
 
 Champollion proceeded to analyse the hieroglyphic 
 group which he supposed to designate the name of Ptole- 
 my; and noting each of the signs which composed it, he 
 believed that he recognized signs which were the equiva- 
 lents of the letters 77. T. O. A. M. H. &, 2 } which, when 
 united, make the word IJTOAMH2 (Ptolmês). It was 
 impossible to mistake the name of Ptolemy (nToXeyatog), 
 from which the first differed only by its termination, and 
 (in a manner common to all writings in the Shemitish 
 languages) by the suppression of one of its medial vowels. 
 (See App. D.) 
 
 Champollion had now obtained seven letters, or rather 
 seven signs, of a phonetic alphabet, and his happy success 
 inspired the hope of discovering others with equal facility. 
 This first result however, satisfactory as it was, could not 
 appear to him more than a conjecture ; a very probable 
 one indeed, but one which nevertheless belonged to the 
 class of conjectures. Before he advanced any farther in 
 
 *Long before the labors of Champollion and of Dr. Young, the 
 Abbe Barthélémy had conjectured that the cartouches contained 
 proper names. (Recueil d’ antiquités de Caylus, tom. v. p. 79.) The 
 learned Zoëga had the same idea ; “ Every where about the Egyp- 
 tian monuments are seen certain round or elliptical figures , which 
 include (by way of giving them importance ) certain compositions 
 of signs, expressing either the proper names of persons , or desig- 
 nating the most sacred formulas.” (De origine et usu obeliscorum . 
 p. 445.) He had before expressed the same conjecture (p. 374). 
 
22 
 
 his learned examinations, prudent criticism would natur- 
 ally lead him to prove the truth of his first result, by means 
 of some object of comparison. In fact, if his solution of 
 the signs composing what he believed to be the name of 
 Ptolemy, would not apply equally well to any other hiero- 
 glyphic group, suppose for instance another name, into 
 the composition of which the very same signs entered as 
 elements, then his solution must be false, and he must 
 abandon a pretended discovery, because his conjecture 
 would then no longer appear to be well founded. But if, 
 on the other hand, some of these signs employed in a 
 group expressing a name otherwise known , should, when 
 elsewhere employed, fulfil the same office as before, i. e. 
 should there represent the same letters , the question was 
 very evidently decided. The principles which he had 
 assumed would in this way be proved to be good, and the 
 true sense of his small number of signs being confirmed, 
 a discovery might be made of the highest importance. 
 
 But to attain this end, a name otherwise knoivn must be 
 analysed, and another bilingual monument must be found, 
 because the Rosetta stone did not afford means for this 
 new application. Besides being irregularly broken, and 
 in an oblique direction, it had lost a part of the three 
 inscriptions; but the hieroglyphic text had suffered much 
 more than the rest, and the cartouches enclosing (as was 
 supposed) the proper names which still remained upon 
 the inscription, all exhibited the same signs, and seemed 
 to be only repetitions of the name of Ptolemy, at different 
 intervals, as they appeared in the Greek text. 
 
 4. Fortunately, another monument supplied the defi- 
 ciency which he deplored, and very seasonably afforded 
 the necessary aid. An obelisk, discovered in the island of 
 Philœ and transported to London, was observed to have, 
 in its hieroglyphic legend, two groups of signs enclosed in 
 
23 
 
 cartouches. The first group was of no use, because it 
 was a mere repetition of the name of Ptolemy ; but the 
 second seemed to belong to a princess, and it was supposed 
 to be the name of Cleopatra. This conjecture was ripened 
 into certainty by the evidence from another monument, 
 belonging to the socle which primitively supported the obe- 
 lisk. It was covered with an inscription in Greek, and 
 contained a supplication of the priests of Isis at Philce, 
 addressed to king Ptolemy , to the queen Cleopatra, his 
 sister , to the queen Cleopatra his wife , complaining of 
 vexations from certain magistrates. A comparison might 
 now be made between the hieroglyphic signs of Ptolemy, 
 and those of Cleopatra which had several sounds in com- 
 mon with the former. To prove the former analysis, the 
 signs repeated in Cleopatra ought to perform, like alpha- 
 betic letters, the same functions which had previously 
 been attributed to them. 
 
 In the same manner as before, Champollion read the 
 group of the second cartouche in the inscription on the 
 obelisk, and there he recognized signs equivalent to the 
 letters IC. A. E. O. H. A. T. P. A , which in fact compose 
 the name of KAEOTIATPA ( Cleopatra). Five of these 
 letters were already known from the analysis of the name 
 T1TOAMH2, and were found placed in a consistent order, 
 in the new group. These letters were A, H or E, * O, 
 and TI, which were expressed by exactly the same figures, 
 and lastly the T } which was the only letter that presented 
 a new form, and that differed from what had been before 
 observed. [See App. E.] 
 
 Champollion had now made a great advance. He was 
 
 * As Egyptian transcribers often neglected the vowels, it happened 
 that they sometimes used indifferently one for the other. It is in this 
 way, that a sign which resembles two feathers or two plumes, and 
 which stands in the cartouche enclosing the name of Ptolemy for the 
 expression of H or AI, corresponds with the vowels E, I, and the 
 dipthongs AI, El. 
 
24 
 
 confident, from this comparison, of the undoubted truth of 
 his system ; and what was of still more consequence, he 
 had enriched his phonetic alphabet with three new charac- 
 ters. From this time, then, he possessed twelve alphabetic 
 signs ; seven consonants, K . A. M. TI. P. 2, two forms of 
 T } and three vowels, A , H which appeared to perform 
 the functions of the E and of the dipthong AI t and 
 lastly O. 
 
 5. Encouraged by such success, Champollion pursued, 
 with more ardor than ever, investigations that promised 
 the most happy results. Many other cartouches, composed 
 in part of alphabetic elements which he already knew, 
 became in turn subjects of a new experiment, and by 
 restoring the hieroglyphic names of a great number of 
 Greek or Roman sovereigns, they furnished him with 
 nearly all his phonetic alphabet, * and convinced him that 
 the use of this class of characters was much less limited 
 than he had first supposed. It was then that he gave an 
 account of his discovery and of the first principles of his 
 system in a letter to Mr. Dacier, perpetual secretary of the 
 Academy of Inscriptions and of Belles Lettres, dated the 
 22d of September, 1822. This letter was communicated 
 by a copy to the Academy ; and being printed a short 
 time after (in 8vo. 52 pages, with 4 plates), it aroused 
 the learned world in respect to this subject, and rekindled 
 hopes which had been for a long time extinguished, f 
 
 These hopes were not illusory. Our learned country- 
 man continued unceasingly devoted to a profound exam- 
 
 * In the first alphabetic table published by Champollion, there were 
 wanting only the signs corresponding to the Greek letters Z. 0. Y. 
 \p. X. He has since found the hieroglyphics which express these 
 sounds, so far as they relate to the inflections of voice in the Coptic lan- 
 guage. 
 
 f This important production, which had become very rare, has 
 been united to the Précis du système hiéroglyphique , in a second 
 edition of this work. 
 
ination and comparison of the hieroglyphic texts. The 
 inscriptions of the temples, the obelisks, the coffins of the 
 mummies, the stelæ [i. e. monuments set up in the high- 
 way, or tombstones], the scarabées [i. e. forms of the 
 Egyptian beetle], the figurines [i. e. little figures, which 
 are accessaries to larger ones], the papyri, in a word, 
 Egyptian monuments of all kinds and of all ages, have 
 furnished him with new facts in support of his discovery ; 
 they have afforded the signs that were wanting to complete 
 his phonetic alphabet, and also a large number of new signs 
 expressing the same sounds , to which, after him, we have 
 given the name of homophones .* In the mean time, he 
 has not neglected other Egyptian writings ; and his labors 
 upon those which are extensively related to the hiero- 
 glyphics, have contributed not a little to enrich this 
 method of writing with new data. 
 
 Champollion, after writing his observations in a com- 
 plete and very methodical treatise, soon published his 
 Precis du Système hiéroglyphique ; f a lucid and entirely 
 new work, that has now become a classic for Egyptian 
 study. In this important production, after retracing the 
 numerous facts which led to the discovery, and demon- 
 strating their certainty, he goes on to explain the theory 
 which he has built upon observations that are well ground- 
 ed and arranged in the best manner. No one can be less 
 influenced by the spirit of hypothesis, than himself. His 
 positions are proof against the most rigorous criticism, and 
 the reader must yield to the clearness of his method and 
 to the evidence of his inductions. It is from this source 
 and from his Letter to M. Dacier, that we have drawn, 
 
 * This word is from the Greek ouoyovoi , which means, of the same 
 sound , having the same phonetic power. — Tr. 
 
 t Two vols, in 8vo. one of which has plates. Paris, royal printing 
 press. The first edition was in 1824, the second in 1828. 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 substantially, the materials for our two first chapters. We 
 shall gather from them likewise the substance of our next 
 chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON THE NATURE OF EGYPTIAN WRITINGS. 
 
 Three kinds of writing among the ancient Egyptians. Two orders of signs 
 in tiie hieroglyphic writing. Division of the ideographic signs. 
 
 We come at length to the text of Clement of Alexan- 
 dria, to which we have often referred, as the only docu- 
 ment of any exactness that antiquity has bequeathed, on 
 the subject of Egyptian writings. In our notice of it, 
 we shall consult M. Letronne’s translation, and perspicu- 
 ous commentary.* His perfect agreement with the results 
 obtained by Champollion may be easily seen ; and this 
 fact will doubtless be, in the minds of our readers, a 
 weighty argument in favor of Champollion’ s system. 
 
 1. In the following passage, (which was so long unin- 
 telligible on account of the abstract nature of its object 
 and the conciseness with which it was treated, but which 
 has acquired new interest since the discovery made by 
 Champollion), the learned Father acquaints us first with 
 the different kinds of writing in use among the Egyptians. 
 “ Those,” says he, “ among the Egyptians, who received 
 
 * In the first edition of the Précis du Système hiéroglyphique, 
 Champollion inserted a letter from M. Letronne, of the Academy of 
 Inscriptions, on the subject of the text in question. It has been re- 
 printed in the new edition of the Précis, with some modifications, and 
 more full illustrations. It stands by itself under the title of Examen 
 du texte de Clement d'Alexandrie , etc. 
 
27 
 
 instruction, learned first of all the kind of Egyptian letters 
 called epistolographic ; next, the hieratic , which was 
 employed by the sacred writers ; and lastly the hiero- 
 glyphic Aviiy-CC oi TtClQ AiyVTCTÎOlÇ rCCudèVOflEVOl , TtQO)- 
 t ov /iièv ndvjbiv Aiyvmib)v yQuppjdjcvv péôoôov èx- 
 pav Od v overt, t rjv EHI2 TO A Or PA <PIKHN xalovpévijv 
 devTEQccv ôè, jrj v IEPATIKHN, rf /oüvTcn oi lEQoyçuppa- 
 TEiç • vazdjïjv ôè xul teIevtccîccv tt\v ' IEPOrAYd>IKHN . 
 (Strom, v. p. 657, ed. Potter.) 
 
 It will doubtless be remarked that this classification 
 differs from that of Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, who 
 distinguished only two kinds of characters. The first 
 calls them the sacred, i£gd } and the popular, drjpojtxd. 
 (n. 36.) Diodorus employs the very same name for the 
 first, ieqd, and that of ôrjpdÔTj for the other, ( hi . 3.) 
 But it is easy to reconcile the apparent discrepancies in 
 these testimonies. The kind of writing which Clement 
 calls epistolographic, is the same (under a different 
 name) which the two historians call demotic ; and which 
 the Greek inscription on the Rosetta monument calls 
 enchorial, that is to say, of the country, national, ErxSl- 
 PIOI2 rPAMMASIN. In regard to the sacred writ- 
 ing, profane historians, by uniting under this denomination 
 two very distinct methods of writing, viz. those which are 
 called by Clement hieratic and hieroglyphic, seem to 
 have confounded them. This mistake was more natural 
 on the part of writers who did not belong to Egypt ; be- 
 cause the Greek names of these two classes of writing, 
 though they may be differently applied, are still very 
 similar, and both contain as a common element in their 
 meaning the qualification of sacred, ieçd ; the word hie- 
 ratic being composed of leqd with an adjective termina- 
 tion merely, and the word hieroglyphic literally signifying 
 sacred engraving, yhvepri]. 
 
28 
 
 llero then we have three different methods of writing 
 formally announced by Clement ; the epistolographic 
 writing, (elsewhere called the enchorial and the demo- 
 tic) ; the hieratic writing ; and the hieroglyphic writing. 
 Champollion has recognized all three of them upon the 
 old Egyptian monuments ; and he perfectly distinguishes 
 them from each other, although he observes that they 
 have many common principles, and are derived the one 
 from the other. He regards the hieroglyphic method as 
 the primitive writing, which was gradually simplified into 
 the hieratic ; and the latter in turn becoming more sim- 
 ple in its delineation and process, in order that it might 
 be more easily understood by the people, formed at last 
 the demotic writing.* 
 
 The demotic writing, the most flowing and simple of 
 the three, (which, admitting chiefly phonetic or alphabetic 
 signs, is on this account more nearly akin to methods of 
 writing in use among other nations, and will be more 
 easily interpreted when its whole alphabet is known), was 
 devoted, as its different names prove, to the ordinary 
 purposes of civil life. It was the kind of writing used in 
 decrees and in other public acts, in letters missive, in 
 various contracts or special transactions ; and we possess 
 manuscripts of this class. But it was rarely employed on 
 monuments. The most remarkable legend in this writ- 
 ing, is without doubt that upon the celebrated Rosetta 
 stone, which belongs to the class of decrees. Of this we 
 have before spoken. 
 
 The hieratic writing, less simple than the demotic , 
 differs from the hieroglyphic in the delineation of its 
 characters, which are a kind of reduction, or rather the 
 tachygraphy [i. e. the running hand] of the hieroglyphic 
 signs to which they correspond. It employs much fewer 
 
 * Précis du Système hiéroglyphique , p. 416, seq. 
 
29 
 
 ideographic signs than the hieroglyphic , and more than 
 the popular writing. But in their phonetic part, these 
 three writings (so to speak) form but one, their only 
 difference consisting in the differently formed signs which 
 they employ ; and as the hieratic writing is an epitome or 
 abridgement of the hieroglyphic , so likewise the demotic 
 writing is an abridgement of the hieratic. The hieratic 
 method, (which, as we learn from Clement, was employed 
 by the hierogrammatists or sacred writers who belonged, 
 as it would seem, to the sacerdotal order), is the kind of 
 writing used in many papyri , especially in the historical 
 manuscripts and in the registers of accountability kept in 
 the temples, those precious relics of Egyptian antiquity, 
 which have furnished its chronology with many important 
 facts, and have shed much light upon the numerical system 
 of this people. Hieratic inscriptions are found also upon 
 the coffins of mummies and upon various other monu- 
 ments, and sometimes upon the edifices of Egypt. Those 
 inscriptions upon the edifices which contain nothing 
 monumental, must have been traced by travellers who 
 formerly visited them. 
 
 Champollion, in his Precis and in many of his other 
 productions, has given very interesting details upon the 
 two first kinds of writing, but he has said nothing ex 
 professo ; and the observations which he has published 
 contain only the important elements of a system that he 
 will hereafter fully develope. We will therefore take our 
 leave of these two kinds of writing, and confine ourselves 
 to the hieroglyphic ; a writing which we can much more 
 completely understand, and about which Clement has left 
 us some account. 
 
 2. “ This writing,” continues this father, “ is of two 
 kinds ; one of these, the cyriologic , employs the primi- 
 tive alphabetic letters , the other is symbolic; v; v yêi> 
 3 * 
 
30 
 
 eon did tù>< IIP SIT UN 2TOIXEISIN KYPIOAOFIKH , 
 dj ôè 2YMBOAIKH . v. p. 657.) 
 
 Clement here distinguishes two kinds of hieroglyphic 
 writing, or rather two different methods employed in the 
 same writing ; one which, according to our modern modes 
 of writing, expresses ideas by the sounds of the words ; 
 and another which makes use of signs as symbols of ideas. 
 With regard to the last, there is no difficulty in the sense 
 of the text ; let us examine the expressions which charac- 
 terize the first. 
 
 The word xvçioloynnj when taken literally and as op- 
 posed to periphrases and to figurative terms, is easily un- 
 derstood. The only difficulty, as M. Letronne remarks, 
 is in its relation to the words aToi/ënop ttqû tmv. These 
 cannot mean any thing here except the primitive letters 
 of the alphabet ; for, although axoï/ëiov has not strictly 
 the sense of letter like yçdpycc, it has certainly the sense 
 of element , constituent principle ; and in a text where 
 writing is in question, its general signification ought 
 certainly to be so modified that it may convey the par- 
 ticular meaning here given to it by M. Letronne. This 
 learned Hellenist cites many examples elsewhere of the 
 use of axoï/ëiu to express alphabetic elements or letters, 
 and without this interpretation, the phrase of our text 
 would make no tolerable sense. 
 
 It remains to see how the word ngdr i»v qualifies the 
 meaning of axoï/ëiuiv. There is no need of discussing 
 here the interpretation which gives to these terms the 
 sense of frst letters of each ivord; an interpretation upon 
 which the whimsical system of acrologic hieroglyphics 
 was founded.* If such had been the meaning of Clement 
 
 * This system, which originated with M. de Goulianoff, a member 
 of the Russian Academy, has been overthrown in the Lettres sur 
 les hiéroglyphiques, by M. Klaproth. Paris, 1827. 2 pamphlets 8vo. 
 
31 
 
 he would have added something more fully to designate it. 
 The word ngmaDv has but one plausible meaning ; and 
 this is that which M. Letronne has adopted. He under- 
 stands by (Tioixeïa nqôjra, the primitive letters of which 
 the Grecian alphabet is composed, in distinction from the 
 secondary letters afterwards added to it. We ought to 
 remember here that in the above passage a Greek was 
 addressing Greeks ; he could therefore employ a notion 
 which was familiar to them, viz. that of the formation of 
 their own alphabet, which was composed of sixteen ele- 
 mentary letters. But, leaving this explanation which 
 some have thought hardly natural, we may understand 
 by crioi/eia nqma those elementary articulations expressed 
 by letters, to which, among all nations, the alphabet is 
 limited while in its primitive simplicity, and before new 
 elements are added to express those niceties of sounds 
 which are liable to be confounded, such as the D and T , 
 the B and P, the F and V, etc.* 
 
 Here then are evidently two different modes of hie- 
 roglyphic writing ; the one alphabetic, the other ideo- 
 graphic. Champollion has proved the frequent employ- 
 ment of each in Egyptian legends. We have already 
 seen that he discovered, (what before was not supposed 
 to exist), an order o ï hieroglyphic signs expressing sounds, 
 to which he has given the name of phonetic , and which 
 are the same with the cyriologic by the primitive alpha- 
 betic letters of the Greek father. He found them (agreea- 
 bly to the principles of his discovery) employed in copies 
 of foreign names, and in names of the gods, and monarchs, 
 and great men of Egypt. We shall see in the sequel, 
 whether they were used in this way only. As it regards 
 the ideographic signs which Clement describes under the 
 
 * Well understood, the signs of Champollion’s alphabet recall in 
 reality the simplicity of the primitive alphabet. 
 
32 
 
 name of symbolical, avyGohxrj, their existence as the dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of hieroglyphic writing had been 
 always known, and many learned men, deceived by a 
 false interpretation of the notions of Greek authors on this 
 subject, had considered them as exclusively symbolical ; 
 nor did they suspect that a mode of writing which repre- 
 sented the articulations of language, was used in ancient 
 
 Egypt- 
 
 3. But the ideographic signs were employed in various 
 ways, and Clement has designated them in the following 
 passage from his text. “ The [method] symbolical, says 
 he, [is subdivided into many kinds] ; one represents ob- 
 jects properly by imitation; another expresses them by 
 means of tropes [metaphorically] ; a third employs only 
 allegories, expressed by certain enigmas . Thus, in con- 
 formity with the imitative method, if the Egyptians wished 
 to represent the sun, they made a circle ; if the moon, they 
 made a crescent. In the tropical method, changing and 
 qualifying the meaning of objects by means of analogies, 
 they expressed them either by modifying their images, or 
 by subjecting them to various transformations. It was 
 thus that the Egyptians employed anaglyphs, when they 
 wished to convey the praises of their kings under the form 
 of religious fables. The following is an example of the 
 third kind [of symbolical hieroglyphics], in the form of 
 enigmatical allusions ; the Egyptians represent their stars 
 by means of serpents, on account of the obliquity of their 
 course ; and the sun is represented by the figure of a 
 beetle . ” Tfjç ôè 2 Y MB OA IK HZ ?j y è v K YPIOA O FEI- 
 TAIKATA MIMHZIN ,ij ô ’ locrnco TP OTHtUlZ yçdcferiu 
 
 ôè dvnxQV ç dXh/yoocïnai K A TA T INA Z A INIFMOYZ . 
 c Hhov yovv ygdipcn fîovXôpevoi kvxIov noiovai, (reXrjvqr 
 ôè o/Tjya [irjvoeiôèç, KATA TO KYPIOAOF OYMENON 
 EIAOZ. TPOniKSIS ôè y. ad oîxei6tt}tu yerdyovie ç xoù 
 
33 
 
 fistctTiôévTB g, id 8' êÇuXXdnovieç, id ôè noXXa/üç fiEiaa- 
 XTjfiaii'ÇovTFç /agdiiovanv. Tovç yovv iüv fi acnXébJv ènai- 
 rovç xXeoXoyovfiévoiç pvOoig naçcxôidoviEç, dvuygdqjovoi 
 ôid lâv AN A TA Y fI>SlN. Tov ôè KATA TOY 2 A INIT- 
 IA 0 Y 2 iqiiov eïôovç ôeiyuu taio) lôôa’ id yèv ydo iüv 
 vXXoiv uargoiv, ôid lijr noqeiav it\v Xo%t\v dcpçotv awyaoiv 
 dneUatov , iov ôè AlXiov loi tov xuvôdqov. (Strom,. V. p. 
 
 657 .) 
 
 This passage, which has been made clear by the 
 new discoveries, points out two different kinds of the sym- 
 bolical or ideographic method ; the one by a proper imi- 
 tation of the objects themselves, recalls the ideas of them, 
 v.vQioXoyeïiuL naid yi/urjOLv ; the other expresses the ideas 
 of them tropically and metaphorically , by means of analo- 
 gies which, so to speak, change the literal meaning, 
 t qotuküç. The learned father adds to these two methods 
 a third, which employs only allegories expressed by certain 
 enigmas, dXXrjyoqs trou vend nvdg uîviyyovç, and this de- 
 scription applies particularly to the anaglyphs, ôid iüv dva- 
 yXvcpüv. 
 
 Such a division of the ideographic signs agrees perfectly 
 with the results obtained by Champollion. By studying 
 the monuments, he has ascertained that the ideographic 
 signs which belong to hieroglyphic writing, are of two 
 kinds. The first are a proper representation or imitation 
 of objects, y.aid ylfiTjoiv ; the second are metaphorical, ac- 
 cording to the relations (near or remote, true or false), 
 of abstract ideas with material forms ; which relations 
 were admitted by the Egyptians between the objects repre- 
 sented and the ideas to be conveyed. This definition 
 corresponds perfectly with the idea which Clement gives 
 of the method he calls tropical. Lastly, upon some bas- 
 reliefs, which at first sight appear rather like paintings 
 than proper writings, there may be found examples of the 
 
34 
 
 enigmatic method ; which according to this father is that 
 of anaglyphs. It seems to be a peculiar ivriting , intend- 
 ed to conceal the mysteries of the sacerdotal caste and of 
 the initiated, so that it was a good conjecture of Clement’s, 
 that anaglyphs were reserved for religious fables. [See 
 App. F.] 
 
 In the following chapter, taking our authorities from the 
 observations collected by our learned countryman, we shall 
 enter into a few details concerning th e phonetic, figurative, 
 and symbolical methods, which will confirm the notions 
 we have extracted from the Alexandrine doctor. 
 
 From what has now been said, and from the analysis of 
 the famous passage in the Stromata , we obtain the follow- 
 ing results; (1) The Egyptians possessed three entirely 
 distinct kinds of writing , which were devoted to different 
 uses. First, the common writing, which Clement calls 
 epistolographic , the Rosetta inscription enchorial, Hero- 
 dotus and Diodorus demotic ; secondly, the writing of the 
 hierogrammatists, i. e. the sacerdotal writing, called hie- 
 ratic ; and lastly, the hieroglyphic writing, which ancient 
 profane authors seem to class with the hieratic , under the 
 common denomination of sacred. (2) The hieroglyphic 
 method of writing comprises three different modes. («) 
 The cyriologic by the primitive letters of the alphabet , as 
 it is called by the father of the church so often named, 
 or phonetic , as it is called by Champollion. ( b ) The 
 ideographic or symbolical ; which is subdivided into two 
 kinds, viz. 1. That of proper imitation , which constitutes 
 the figurative signs. 2. That of tropes or enigmas, which 
 is properly called by Champollion the symbolic. 
 
 All the different branches of the Egyptian systems of 
 writing are exhibited more unitedly and precisely in the 
 following synoptical table, which we copy from M. Le- 
 tronne. 
 
35 
 
 hr)\joTiKà and irjijni6r) by Herodotus and Diodorus, 
 f’y^ùipja by the inscription of Rosetta. 
 htoTo\oypa<f>iKà by Clement of Alexandria. 
 
 a. Hieratic, or sacerdotal writing, which may be 
 called hierographic. 
 
 b. Hiero- f a. Cyriologic, by means of the first letters 
 
 glyphic, of the alphabet. 
 
 composed < b. Symbol- r 1. Cyriologic, by imitation, 
 of ... . I ical, com- ? 2. Tropical or metaphorical. 
 I, prising the ( 3. Enigmatical. 
 
 We pass now to consider exclusively the hieroglyphic 
 method, about which Champollion has furnished us with 
 many important details. [See App. G.] 
 
 EGYPTIAN 
 WRITING, 
 divided by 
 Herodotus, 
 Diodorus, 
 and the 
 inscription 
 of Rosetta, 
 into two 
 kinds, viz. 
 
 A. The com- 
 mon, called, 
 
 The sacred, 
 divided by 
 Clement of 
 Alexandria 
 into .... 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EPITOME OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Forma and number of signs. Delineation of signs. Disposition of signs. 
 Figurative characters. Symbolical characters. Phonetic characters. 
 Simultaneous employment of three orders of signs. Egyptian or foreign 
 names upon the monuments. Grammatical forms. Certainty of Cham- 
 pollion’s system. 
 
 The hieroglyphic writing is eminently monumental. 
 Its special use was in inscriptions that were engraved or 
 sculptured upon public edifices. It is also found executed 
 in similar ways, upon objects which preserve the religious 
 or domestic usages of ancient Egypt ; and it is also de- 
 lineated with the pencil, either in numerous manuscripts, 
 on the wooden coffins of the mummies, or finally upon 
 harder substances, such as baked or enamelled earth, etc. 
 We shall consider this writing under its material and 
 philosophical relations, and shall recount the most promi- 
 nent of the numerous facts observed by the learned French- 
 man, whose system we have undertaken to analyze. 
 
36 
 
 1. From the nature of the signs it employs, the hiero- 
 glyphic writing is a species of painting, and it presents a 
 various and picturesque aspect, which distinguishes it 
 essentially from every other method of writing. The hie- 
 roglyphic characters do in fact exhibit images of almost 
 every material object in creation.* 
 
 We find here figures of the divinities adored in Egypt, 
 or of some of their attributes ; a representation of the vari- 
 ous celestial bodies, the sun, the moon in its different 
 phases, the stars, the heavens ; the human race of both 
 sexes and of all ages, in their positions of action or rest, 
 and the separate members of which the body is composed ; 
 divers kinds of quadrupeds, domestic and wild ; a multi- 
 tude of birds of different kinds ; many reptiles, some kinds 
 of fish and insects, and a succession of vegetables, flowers 
 and fruits. 
 
 Faithful copies- are also found of the productions of the 
 arts ; vases of various forms, arms, coverings for the leg 
 and foot, and head-dresses ; furniture, sacred or domestic 
 utensils, instruments of music, tools of the different trades, 
 religious or civil edifices, etc. ; different forms in geome- 
 try, such as right, curved, and interrupted lines, angles, 
 circles, polygons, etc. ; many fantastic beings, the offspring 
 of the imagination, and created by a union of objects 
 which have no prototype in nature, are also represented. 
 
 The elements of a writing so various must be very ex- 
 tensive. But their real number is neither so large as 
 would be at first supposed, nor so small as some learned 
 men have judged. The traveller Bruce said that he could 
 find but Jive hundred and fourteen hieroglyphics which 
 were essentially different, but this judgment appears some- 
 what superficial. The learned Zoëga pretends to have 
 collected a series of nine hundred and fifty eight charac- 
 
 * See Precis du Système hiéroglyphique , pp. 302 — 308. 
 
37 
 
 ters wholly distinct, from the obelisks of Rome only and 
 a few monuments that were preserved in Italy. It is possi- 
 ble that he made a distinction between some equivalent 
 characters, or those whose difference was very slight. But 
 it is very difficult to make an exact estimate of the hiero- 
 glyphic signs, so long as the import of a large number re- 
 mains unknown. Champollion computes them at very 
 nearly nine hundred. [See App. H.] 
 
 2. We should suppose that the signs of such a writing 
 would be executed too faithfully to allow of mistake with 
 regard to the objects they represented ; and in general, 
 the execution of hieroglyphics upon monuments of all 
 kinds, is sufficiently exact to be consistent with this first 
 law of imitative writing. But so much difference arises 
 from the various degrees of precision and elegance in their 
 delineation, that, on this account, we have occasion to di- 
 vide them into many distinct classes.* 
 
 Hieroglyphics are often delineated with such careful 
 observation, with such great purity of design, and with a 
 fidelity so minute even in the smallest details, that this 
 kind of writing, especially when a certain grandeur is 
 given to its proportions, has all the merit of true sculpture ; 
 and the peculiar brightness of colors which the signs pos- 
 sess, adds to their richness and to the correctness of the 
 imitation. Hieroglyphics of this class are usually executed 
 in very elliptic bas-reliefs, or in cavities — a method of 
 preservation which, like many other circumstances, dis- 
 closes the peculiar ambition of the Egyptians to bequeath 
 their monuments to the remotest posterity. The admira- 
 ble precision of these signs made them worthy the magnifi- 
 cence of those public buildings where they seem to have 
 been especially used. Champollion gives them the name 
 of pure hieroglyphics. 
 
 * See Précis du Système hiéroglyphique , pp. 308 — 312. 
 
 4 
 
38 
 
 Other inscriptions present hieroglyphics, which, in any 
 view, are only the profiles of the objects that they repre- 
 sent. They trace the outlines, but the space within is all 
 hollowed out for the purpose of being filled with mastick 
 or colored enamel, and of course can admit no details. 
 Such are the characters of the hieroglyphic text of Rosetta, 
 and they are also found on most of the little monuments 
 which are carefully executed. They are called by our 
 author the profile hieroglyphics. [Such are those on the 
 plates at the close of this volume.] 
 
 Most of the manuscripts, the legends painted upon the 
 mummy chests, and those upon some other monuments, 
 are composed of characters which present only a simple 
 draught — a very abridged sketch of objects that are indi- 
 cated rather than described by a few traits ; the strokes 
 are very fine and delicate, and one can perfectly under- 
 stand the character of the objects in these draughts, if he 
 is ever so little acquainted with the pure hieroglyphics. 
 Champollion calls this third kind of hieroglyphic signs, 
 linear hieroglyphics. 
 
 But these three classes of characters, which are distin- 
 guished from each other only by the greater or less 
 perfection of their structure, do not constitute different 
 methods of writing : they are only more monumental, or 
 more cursive modes of tracing elements of the same kind ; 
 and they who have sometimes thought the hieroglyphics 
 which we, with Champollion, call linear , to be the same 
 with the characters of the hieratic loriting, are in a great 
 error. 
 
 3. In hieroglyphic inscriptions, the signs are ranged in 
 various ways*; either following the various forms of the 
 monument upon which they are traced, or ranging ac- 
 cording to the space left by the images of gods or men, 
 
 * See Précis du Système hiéroglyphique , pp. 317 — 320. 
 
39 
 
 which occupy one portion of the monuments. These 
 different dispositions depended wholly upon the judgment 
 of the artist. Thus we find the characters disposed in 
 perpendicular columns , where the texts are of a certain 
 length; in other texts, they range in horizontal lines. In 
 all the legends, we find them disposed in groups of two or 
 three signs, sometimes placed over each other, and in an 
 order which is determined by the greater or less breadth 
 or height of their forms. But even w T hen they are placed 
 in a perpendicular order, that is to say, in columns, they 
 are always to be read horizontally. 
 
 Herodotus relates (n. 36) that the Egyptians wrote 
 and reckoned by moving the hand from the right to the 
 left. Being particularly struck, as he testifies, with a 
 process different from that among the Greeks, the father 
 of history has told only one part of the truth. The hiero- 
 glyphic inscriptions can be traced and read indifferently 
 from the right to the left , and from the left to the right ; 
 and there are examples of both these dispositions of signs 
 upon the monuments. 
 
 But it is impossible to be deceived w T ith regard to the 
 w r ay of reading the Egyptian legends. Champollion has 
 found that the figures of men and of animals, which are 
 generally delineated by profiles , at least the heads, are 
 invariably directed towards the same side of the inscrip- 
 tion ; and the reading of the texts commences on the side 
 towards which they are turned. The same fact is true 
 also of the salient, angular, or indented parts of inanimate 
 objects which figure in the texts. These, when there are 
 no forms of animals, determine by their direction, where 
 the reading of the same texts commences. 
 
 4. We come now to consider hieroglyphic characters 
 in their material forms. When viewed in a more impor- 
 tant and philosophical light, that of their expression, they 
 
40 
 
 take different properties according to the modes of the 
 hieroglyphic method to which they belong — modes which 
 Clement has described, and which we distinguished, after 
 Champollion, by the names of phonetic , symbolic , and 
 figurative. We will commence with the last.* 
 
 We understand by the term figurative characters , signs 
 which in their material forms, are images of objects the 
 ideas of which are to be expressed. Without pushing too 
 far the opinion of philosophers that writing in its infancy 
 was a simple painting, it appears very probable that so 
 natural a manner of expressing the ideas of material 
 objects, would present itself first, to the mind of a man 
 who was inventing a system of writing. A great number 
 of figurative characters are found in the Egyptian inscrip- 
 tions, which either follow this primitive system in all its 
 simplicity, or in a more abridged and striking form express 
 the ideas of certain objects. 
 
 A single attentive inspection of the Rosetta hieroglyphic 
 inscription, will sufficiently prove this fact. Indeed, one 
 cannot fail to distinguish the figurative characters in the 
 signs which correspond to words in the Greek text, vaôç , 
 temple ; eîxév. image; Soctvov, statue; d anig, asp, etc. ; for 
 these various objects are represented very faithfully. Other 
 monuments exhibit a multitude of similar signs, and there 
 can be no deception now about them, even though their 
 expression is not indicated by a Greek version. Thus, in 
 a legend which refers to edifices, to pillars, or to sphinxes 
 elevated before a temple, the figures of these objects take 
 the place of their names ; so, in bas-reliefs representing 
 the victories of the Pharaohs, the figurative sign of a man, 
 followed by a numerical sign, indicates evidently the num- 
 ber of prisoners ; the figurative character a hand, accom- 
 panied also by a numerical sign, describes the number of 
 
 * Précis du Système hiéroglyphique, pp. 322 — 331. 
 
41 
 
 hands cut off from the vanquished ; so, in a hieroglyphic 
 inscription of the royal museum, which relates to the 
 courses of chariots and of horses, the ideas of these objects 
 are recalled by their images ; so, the offerings made to 
 the gods are expressed by representing the objects offered , 
 accompanied by another sign which is known to express 
 an idea of offering. 
 
 Figurative characters also exist of a little different na- 
 ture. Some, instead of representing a perfect image of 
 an object, only trace a part : it is in this way that the 
 ideas habitation , house, edifice, are designated by means 
 of the plan or section of these buildings, and not by their 
 elevation or their profile. Others are a little more remote 
 from the real nature of the objects, because they have 
 forms corresponding with the particular ideas which the 
 Egyptians attached to these objects. Thus an idea of the 
 sky is expressed by the ceiling of a temple, covered with 
 stars, or painted blue.* 
 
 These various observations led Champollion to distin- 
 guish three kinds of figurative characters, called by him 
 the figurative proper, the figurative abridged, and the 
 figurative conventional. [See App. I.] 
 
 5. Figurative characters, though very suitable to ex- 
 press ideas of material objects, were yet insufficient to 
 express abstract ideas. But abstract ideas might have 
 relations more or less direct, more or less sensible, with 
 material objects, and then it would be possible in painting 
 these objects to find a method of expressing the relative 
 ideas. It was only to do in the art of writing thoughts, 
 what is first done in the art of language, viz., to employ 
 what the rhetoricians call tropes or figures of speech. The 
 
 * So in designating the ideas of their gods. They made representa- 
 tions of men, invested with just such appearances as the Egyptians 
 supposed the gods to exhibit in the celestial worlds. — T r. 
 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 signs employed in this manner are those to which the an- 
 cient writers give the name of tropical , enigmatical, or 
 symbolical ; this last denomination Champollion preserves. 
 
 The Egyptians proceeded with this kind of signs, — 
 
 (1.) By synecdoche, in painting a part for the whole. 
 Thus two arms lifted towards heaven signified an offering; 
 a vessel from which water was poured, a libation; a per- 
 fuming pan and grains of incense, adoration, etc. 
 
 (2.) 'By metonymy, in painting the cause for the effect. 
 Thus according to Horapollo, whose testimony is con- 
 firmed by the Rosetta inscription, the crescent of the 
 moon expressed the idea of a month ; so upon the same 
 monument and elsewhere, the ideas to write, writing, 
 letters, are expressed by a group consisting of a brush or 
 reed used in writing, of a palette containing the colors, 
 and sometimes of a little vessel in which the colors were 
 diluted. 
 
 (3.) By metaphor, in employing the image of one object 
 to express the idea of another. It is according to this 
 principle, says Horapollo, that the bee signifies a people 
 obedient to their Icing ; the foreparts of a lion, power; an 
 asp, the power of life or death, etc. 
 
 Many other symbolic signs, whose forms had no rela- 
 tions, or rather, exceedingly remote and purely conven- 
 tional relations, to the objects of which they were to express 
 the ideas, were true enigmas, as they are called by Cle- 
 ment ; as the scarabée, a symbol of the world, of the male 
 nature or paternity ; the vulture, a symbol of the female 
 nature or maternity ; the folds of the serpent, figuring the 
 course of the stars, etc. 
 
 Finally, the names of the gods which are expressed by 
 human figures with the heads of animals, or by the ani- 
 mals themselves which were sacred to them, (a method 
 which to a certain point would enter into a system of 
 
43 
 
 figurative signs), are in this way very often expressed, by 
 signs which imitate only inanimate objects or parts only 
 of animated objects. Thus an eye is the symbol of Osiris; 
 the object which we not improperly call milometer , is a 
 symbol of Phta; an obelisk is a symbol of Ammon , etc. 
 
 It is evident from what has been said, that a knowledge 
 of the particular ideas which the Egyptians attached to 
 the objects they represented, is necessary in order to un- 
 derstand these symbolic signs. Consequently it is this 
 part of the hieroglyphic signs which presents us with the 
 most formidable obstacles. [See App. J.] 
 
 6. It is difficult to conceive of a writing wholly ideo- 
 graphic, and bearing no relation to the sounds of a spoken 
 language. That of the Chinese which is sometimes said 
 to be of this description, in the midst of more numerous 
 symbolic signs or images than are found among the Egyp- 
 tians, has another order of characters representing sounds ; 
 and M. Abel Rémusat has discovered that this order, cal- 
 led Hîng-chîng, forms half at least of their written lan- 
 guage. It was so also among the Egyptians, and it is now 
 certain that they made use of phonetic signs, or of those 
 which expressed sounds. We have seen that the idea of 
 their existence as absolutely necessary for the expression 
 of foreign names, was the fortunate germ of Champollion’s 
 discovery. He became satisfied indeed, and this was his 
 first step, that these names were written phonetically; 
 and by discovering also that Egyptian names of divinities, 
 of the Pharaohs, and of simple individuals, were written 
 upon the monuments in accordance with the same princi- 
 ples, he satisfactorily proves that the use of this kind of 
 writing extends back to the first epochs known in Egyptian 
 antiquity. 
 
 But the use of phonetic characters was not confined to 
 the simple transcription of foreign or of national proper 
 
44 
 
 names. Consistently with the principles of his discovery, 
 Champollion conjectured that they had a more extensive 
 use, and the study of the monuments convinced him that 
 his conjecture was well founded. It is now demonstrated 
 that phonetic signs form the most considerable part of 
 all kinds of Egyptian texts , and the mere idea of such a 
 use, says Champollion, was a great advance towards decy- 
 phering hieroglyphics. 
 
 Phonetic characters constitute a system purely alpha- 
 betic, like that of the ancient people of western Asia, that 
 is to say, each character corresponds invariably to an al- 
 phabetic letter. This assertion is founded upon the nu- 
 merous facts developed by Champollion. It is a great 
 error to view these characters as syllabic signs, and it 
 was this supposition that led to those great mistakes in which 
 Dr. Young was involved, at the commencement of his 
 labors. But it is important for us to observe, that this 
 mode of writing, like that of the Shemitish languages, very 
 often omits the medial vowels. This suppression of vowels, 
 we find also takes place in many Theban texts. It per- 
 haps made the reading of the hieroglyphic legends more 
 easy to all Egyptians, who spoke the different dialects that 
 may be supposed to have existed in ancient as well as in 
 modern times — dialects in which the sound of the vowels, 
 being much less sensible than in the idioms of southern 
 Europe,* was subject to variation from the manner of its 
 
 * Champollion says ( Précis 366) that the vowels in the ancient 
 Egyptian languages, “ were much less striking and decided in their 
 sounds than those of the languages of southern Europe. Their sounds 
 were so fugitive, and so differently pronounced by different districts, 
 and often by different individuals of the same district, that it was very 
 natural when the invention of alphabets first took place, to attach a 
 secondary importance to their expression.” With regard to their sup- 
 pression in the representation of words, he thinks, that “ considering 
 the great number of dialects and different methods of pronunciation 
 in use when phonetic characters were invented, and the probability 
 
✓ 
 
 45 
 
 articulation. The same fact is true also of phonetic signs 
 which express indifferently consonants that are susceptible 
 of being used for each other in the different dialects, such 
 as the 77 and the #>, the A and the P, etc. 
 
 When his Precis was published, Champollion had 
 already enumerated a great number of phonetic characters, 
 and his succeeding labors furnished him with more that 
 were new. They expressed still only letters of the Coptic 
 alphabet,* * but many of the signs are homophonous , i. e. 
 expressive of the same sounds ; as we have before observed. 
 So an Egyptian copyist, to express the same articulation, 
 had the choice between many equivalent characters. Still, 
 there is reason to believe that this choice was not purely 
 arbitrary ; that it was regulated by known rules, and that 
 the preference given to one of the various homophones over 
 another was determined, either by its material form which 
 made it proper to be united with other signs, or by the re- 
 lations of the object depicted to the nature of the idea 
 which the hieroglyphic group was destined to express. 
 [See App. K.] 
 
 Phonetic signs present examples of a kind of use in the 
 Egyptian writings, which would hardly have been suppo- 
 sed, had not experience revealed the fact. They were 
 sometimes employed to express words in an abbreviated 
 manner. They then ceased to be rigorously phonetic, 
 and became a means of painting ideas, rather than of 
 standing directly for words. In this way, to make writing 
 more expeditious, the first, the two first, or the first and 
 
 of their continuance even after the system was invented, vowels 
 which were subject to such variations and niceties would naturally 
 be left out and give place to consonants that were subject to much 
 less variation.” — T r. 
 
 * The Coptic alphabet is composed of thirty one letters, many of 
 which, expressing complex sounds, are represented in phonetic writ- 
 ing by two signs united. 
 
46 
 
 last of those phonetic signs which were necessary to ex- 
 press the word integrally, were to be written. The Precis 
 of Champollion gives many examples of this kind of abbre- 
 viation ; which did not apply probably except to words the 
 most easy to be understood, because they more frequently 
 occurred. They must have been familiar to the ancient 
 Egyptians; but they would deceive a modern reader if he 
 was not cautious, and he might be led to take for ideo- 
 graphic hieroglyphics those signs which in fact are only 
 the initials of phonetic words, and which are like the signs 
 of Greek and Roman inscriptions, or such as we employ 
 frequently in the writings of our modern languages. 
 
 7. The adoption of phonetic signs, (which must be 
 posterior to the use of the two other kinds of signs — the 
 only elements of primitive writing, as there is reason to 
 believe), would not destroy the homogeneousness of the 
 writing where they were employed. The three kinds of 
 hieroglyphic signs, differing only in their mode of expres- 
 sion, were alike in regard to their material forms ; and 
 they all presented images of physical objects that were 
 designed either to represent those objects properly, or to 
 recall symbolically ideas related to the objects, or lastly, 
 to express phonetically articulations which were the ele- 
 ments of the words in the spoken language. The figura- 
 tive signs were employed for the notation of the most 
 simple ideas, those of sensible objects ; the symbolical 
 signs denoted very simple abstract ideas ; and the phonetic 
 characters served to express the most complicated ideas, 
 such as could not be represented by the other two orders 
 of signs, and could not be rendered intelligibly, except by 
 means of words written down by the hand in a manner 
 correspondent to their pronunciation. 
 
 Thus the employment of these three classes of hiero- 
 glyphic signs was simultaneous, as the examination of the 
 
47 
 
 monuments fully proves. No single inscription, however 
 brief it may be, is without the elements of these different 
 kinds of characters. Not only are the figurative , the 
 symbolical, and the phonetic divisions (of which the last 
 is in the proportion of two thirds) found; but the very 
 same ideas in the same text, are often traced by different 
 processes. It is not unusual to find them employed simul- 
 taneously in expressing the same word ; here an image is 
 first made of the object whose name is to be given, and 
 lastly the characters purely phonetic are drawn. This 
 takes place particularly in words where the names of the 
 gods figure as elements ; these names are often expressed 
 by ideographic methods. 
 
 Such are the most striking facts observed by Champol- 
 lion in the employment of the different signs which com- 
 pose the hieroglyphic method. To complete this part 
 of our labor we ought to add, after his example, several 
 remarks which are essential to establish the truth of his 
 system, and to facilitate the explanation of hieroglyphics. 
 
 8. It will be recollected that our author, after he had 
 learned the use of the phonetic method in the transcription 
 of foreign names, applied himself to find upon the monu- 
 ments Egyptian proper names, and that he has found the 
 names of the gods, those of the Pharaohs, and numerous 
 names of individuals of both sexes, written after the three 
 ways above indicated, but more often, and always in some 
 part, according to the phonetic method. 
 
 We have seen that the names of the sovereigns are 
 sufficiently distinguished from other portions of the texts, 
 by their position in rings of an elliptical form, called car- 
 touches — a distinction which belongs exclusively to them. 
 These cartouches are of two kinds, which are placed 
 immediately succeeding each other, or sometimes are 
 separated by the interposition of signs ; one contains the 
 
48 
 
 last name of the sovereign, the other his first name. The 
 cartouche containing the first name is surmounted or 
 preceded, according as its direction is perpendicular or 
 horizontal, by a group composed of a bee, of a kind 
 of plant, and of a segment of a sphere, which expresses, 
 partly symbolically, partly phonetically, the title of the 
 king or director of an obedient people. The cartouche 
 containing the last name is likewise preceded or sur- 
 mounted by another group consisting of two signs; the 
 chenalopex [i. e. Egyptian goose] and the disk of the sun ; 
 this group signifies son of the sun, an appellation common 
 to all the Egyptian sovereigns.* [See plate I. for the form 
 of a cartouche.] 
 
 The names of the gods and those of simple individuals 
 are not inscribed in cartouches like those of the kings, 
 but another particular sign distinguishes them from the 
 rest of the text, and marks them as proper names. So 
 names of divinities, either symbolical, figurative or pho- 
 netic, are followed immediately by the generic sign of a 
 god or goddess, and, with a little attention, no mistake 
 can be made about them, f The names of individuals, 
 to whatever order of hieroglyphics their elements belong, 
 are denoted by figurative signs of the gender, male or 
 female, to which they belong, and by another sign indi- 
 cating also individuals who are deceased. J 
 
 With the aid of these different indications, persons who 
 have not themselves studied deeply the subject of hiero- 
 glyphics, may recognize upon any amulets, stelœ, or other 
 monuments that they may possess, those which contain 
 the names of divinities, of monarchs, or of individual 
 Egyptians. 
 
 9. The expression of the different relations, whether of 
 a social or grammatical nature, which occur so often in 
 
 * Précis du Système hiéroglyphique, pp. 236, 237. 
 
 t Précis etc., pp. 138, 139. f Id., p. 163. 
 
49 
 
 discourse, could not escape the laborious investigation of 
 our learned countryman. He has found a great number, 
 and has recounted them in his Precis as strong authorities 
 in favor of his system.* 
 
 So he has found that the ideas of different degrees of 
 kindred and analogous relations, such as son , daughter , 
 infant or pupil , child, father , mother, brother, sister, Icing, 
 office, etc., are expressed in the inscriptions by phonetic 
 signs which correspond perfectly to the words by which 
 the Egyptians expressed them, and which are presented 
 in the Coptic dialects. These hieroglyphic denominations 
 often occur upon the funeral monuments, particularly upon 
 those stelce which represent the dead receiving homage 
 from their families. 
 
 In like manner Champollion found numerous groups of 
 phonetic characters expressing verbs, adjectives, genders, 
 numbers, tenses, etc. We shall notice here only the sign 
 which accompanies and characterizes female groups, and 
 which corresponds to the Coptic TT ; the definite arti- 
 cle yi, a sign of the masculine gender; different expres- 
 sions of the plural article H ; the mark of the genitive or 
 the preposition H or XVP ; the different pronouns him, of 
 him, to him, of her, to her, etc.; the affixes or prefixes 
 which determine the third person singular or plural in the 
 present, past, and future time, etc. [See App. L.] 
 
 Finally, in the General Table, which forms the second 
 part of the Precis, he shows us a large number of common 
 names which frequently occurred, titles of honor, and dif- 
 ferent qualifications of the various gods, kings, individuals, 
 etc., written in figurative, symbolical, or phonetic charac- 
 ters; and he has furnished us besides with numerous 
 other notions, though they may not all be yet complete. 
 
 * Syst. du. Hièrog. pp. 118 — 137. 
 
 5 
 
50 
 
 10. The process by which Champollion made his dis- 
 covery; the data which the monuments have furnished; 
 their intimate connection among themselves, and their 
 perfect agreement with the celebrated passage in Clement, 
 on which they are a most satisfactory commentary; all 
 these circumstances, as it seems to us, fully establish the 
 certainty of the system founded by the learned Frenchman. 
 Every thing is consistent and methodical; the results con- 
 nect together naturally, and in a way where there is no- 
 thing of chance. An ingenious conjecture, hazarded with 
 great address on the part of the author, may sometimes 
 afford a plausible explanation of a few isolated facts ; but 
 a view which applies equally well to many facts, and those 
 of a different nature, ceases to be simply a conjecture ; it 
 becomes, by this means, an established verity. Such, in 
 our estimation, is the system of Champollion, because it 
 has been subjected to all those tests which must have dis- 
 proved it, had it been untrue ; and these tests have only 
 contributed to confirm the correctness of the whole. 
 
 It would then be a great error, to confound this system 
 with the chimeras that sprung from the imaginations of 
 the scholars who preceded Champollion, and who are 
 thrown into the shade by his fortunate success. There 
 is no foundation for opposing to his system (as has been 
 done by those unacquainted with the subject), another 
 which acquired a short lived reputation only on account 
 of the national partiality of some learned Germans. No 
 one, who is even slightly acquainted with the respective 
 works of Champollion and Seyffart, can allow himself to 
 compare arbitrary theories, followed without principle, and 
 without being applied, with a system which has its basis 
 in numberless well known facts, that are not only con- 
 sistent, but in accordance with all the notions of the 
 learned ancients, and which applies to all cases. In a 
 
51 
 
 word, to borrow the happy expression of M. Cocquerel ; 
 “ Between Champollion and his predecessors, there is this 
 single, though very important difference, that before him 
 one attempted to guess at the hieroglyphics ; he learned 
 to read them.” * 
 
 Sometimes it almost appears as if the important dis- 
 covery of our countryman had reached the height of its 
 development. Most of the signs which designate sounds, 
 it is true, must be known, although Champollion has not 
 yet published them all ; and when he gives us his Hiero- 
 glyphic Dictionary, we may be able, with the aid of 
 the Coptic language, to read considerable portions of the 
 Egyptian texts. But, as we have observed, the phonetic 
 signs are often blended with both kinds of the ideographic 
 hieroglyphics; and the knowledge of these is very far 
 from being so much advanced as that of the phonetic ones. 
 The figurative hieroglyphics will doubtless be the most 
 easy to recognize, because they were destined to recall 
 an idea of the objects whose images they traced ; and a 
 profound study of the usages of ancient Egypt, of its 
 productions and utensils, objects which were often used 
 for figurative signs, may render one able to complete the 
 series of known characters belonging to this class. There 
 are also symbolical signs whose relations with the ideas 
 they were to express are less direct, less sensible, and 
 often less real. Fortunately this class of signs is the least 
 numerous of the three composing the monumental hiero- 
 glyphic system of writing. The comparison of similar 
 manuscripts, such as rituals, the stelce , and funereal cha- 
 racters, which consist generally of repetitions of the same 
 formulas, may afford the means of sometime discovering 
 
 * Lettre à M. Ch. Cocquerel sur le Système hiéroglyphique de M. 
 Champollion, considéré dans ses rapports avec V Écriture Sainte. 
 Amsterdam, 1825, in 8vo. 
 
52 
 
 a phonetic copy of the symbolical groups elsewhere found, 
 that were before unintelligible. This comparative study 
 will contribute in a peculiar manner to the progress of 
 this branch, the least advanced of the Egyptian writings ; 
 and if any one is so fortunate as to discover some bilingual 
 monuments, we may hope to acquire almost complete data 
 with regard to the constituent elements of the methods of 
 writing among a people so curious to the student ; and we 
 may then see human knowledge of all kinds, but especially 
 history, enriched with the precious documents that lie still 
 hid in the monuments of ancient Egypt. In the hands of 
 a scholar so indefatigable as Champollion, this discovery 
 would soon reach its fullest development ; such as it now 
 is, it gives room for numerous applications, as we shall 
 see in the following chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BRIEF VIEW OF THE RESULTS OF THE DISCOVERY OF 
 HIEROGLYPHICS. 
 
 Historical and chronological results. Results in relation to Egyptian my- 
 thology. Results relative to the history of art in Egypt. 
 
 Hardly had Champollion published his first notions on 
 the subject of his discovery, in his Letter to M. Dacier, 
 before he received from every quarter the most honorable 
 encouragement. Sovereigns, learned Societies, antiqua- 
 rians of every country, did honor to themselves by express- 
 ing in every way their pleasure in the progress of his im- 
 portant labors. The king, Louis XVIII., gave to him his 
 high protection ; and his royal succcessor , in his interest 
 
53 
 
 for Egyptian studies, founded soon after our rich Museum 
 of Charles X., by purchasing the Salt* collection. The 
 sovereign pontiff, whose death is now deplored, and who 
 bore with honor the name of Leon (so dear to the cause 
 of learning), received the illustrious Frenchman with 
 great marks of distinction, when he went to examine the 
 numerous trophies of the Pharaohs in the eternal city ; 
 and the king of Sardinia placed at his disposal the im- 
 mense collection of Drovetti, which now forms the Royal 
 Egyptian Museum of Turin, a collection whose loss France 
 will ever regret, and which has furnished Champollion the 
 materials of his most important works, f The portfolios 
 of travellers and artists, like the cabinets of antiquaries, 
 were laid open for his inspection ; plaster moulds of the 
 original monuments and numerous designs were sent to 
 him from all quarters, and he was consulted as a sovereign 
 arbiter in every thing which concerned the writings and 
 the monuments of ancient Egypt. Such a train of rela- 
 tions led him to examine thoroughly this interesting sub- 
 ject, and to multiply observations which, by a connected 
 and methodical process, have led to important results 
 concerning the various branches of historic knowledge. 
 In this chapter, we shall give the reader a sketch of the 
 most striking. 
 
 1. The first results of reading the Egyptian legends 
 would of course be historical or chronological, because the 
 nature of the first researches would render necessary the 
 employment of the phonetic system, in order to decipher 
 the groups of signs which were supposed to be proper 
 names ; and since the honor of a cartouche was reserved 
 
 *That is, a collection procured by Mr. Salt, the late British consul 
 at Cairo. — T r. 
 
 t Lettres à M. le duc de Blacas d’Aulphs, etc., relatives au Musée 
 Royal Égyptien de Turin. Paris. F. Didot, 1824 & 1826, in Svo 
 
 5 * 
 
54 
 
 solely for the names of kings, all the names which were 
 first analyzed were those of the sovereigns of Egypt, either 
 Roman, Greek, Persian, or Aboriginal. So in pursuing 
 these researches which now had a particular aim, Cham- 
 pollion has found upon the monuments the royal names 
 of nearly all the princes who governed Egypt for twenty 
 two epochs, from the time of Concharis down to that of 
 Commodus, and he has restored to the history of this 
 celebrated country, fifteen ages which were shrouded in 
 obscurity.* 
 
 In the Roman epoch, he has read upon the monuments 
 built in Egypt by the Caesars, the legends and the names 
 of Commodus , the last emperor to whom these monuments 
 refer, of Marcus Aurelius and of Lucius Verus, those of 
 Antoninus Pius and of Hadrian , of Sabina his wife 
 and of his favorite Antinous, of Trajan, of Domitian, of 
 Titus and Vespasian , of Nero, Claudius, Caligula and 
 Tiberius. The absence of the names of Nerva, and those 
 of Galba, Otho and Vitellius, whose agitated reigns were 
 so short in duration, make then the only deficiency in this 
 succession of the masters of the world which is inscribed 
 upon the edifices of Egypt. 
 
 In the Greek epoch, he has found the royal names of 
 the celebrated Cleopatra, and of Ptolemy her father, sur- 
 named Dionysius ; those of the two Ptolemies, surnamed 
 Alexander ; and of Cleopatra Eucrgete Philometora, the 
 mother and guardian of the first of these princes ; those of 
 Ptolemy Soter II., of Euergetcs II. whom his subjects 
 called Kalcergetes, and of his two wives who both bore 
 the name of Cleopatra; those of the Ptolemies, Philometor 
 
 * See V Aperçu des résultats historiques de la découverte de 
 V alphabet hiéroglyphique Égyptien, by Champollion, in the Bulle- 
 tin des Sciences Historiques, May and June 1827. It has also been 
 printed by itself (20 pages in 8vo). 
 
55 
 
 and Epiphanes ; of another Cleopatra , the spouse of this 
 last ; of Ptolemy Philopator and of his wife Arsinoë ; of 
 Euergetes I., of Berenice his wife, of Philadelphus , and 
 lastly of Ptolemy Soter ) the first of the kings descended 
 from Lagus. 
 
 But besides the sovereigns who figure in history, the 
 monuments of this epoch have restored the princes whose 
 reigns and whose names were unknown, or at least uncer- 
 tain. Such are the young Ptolemy Cœsar , the son of the 
 dictator Julius Cæsar and of the last Cleopatra, called 
 sometimes Cæsarion , and who reigned under the guardi- 
 anship of his mother ; a queen Berenice , wife of the first 
 Ptolemy Alexander; another named Cleopatra Tryphœne , 
 whose existence was unknown; an infant Ptolemy Eupha- 
 tor, son of the king Philometor, whose short reign was ter- 
 minated by a barbarous uncle who assassinated him ; Philip , 
 surnamed Arideus, brother of Alexander the great, whose 
 reign over Egypt, after the conquering Macedonian, was 
 not before known ; another Alexander, son of Alexander 
 the great and Roxana, who appears to have succeeded his 
 uncle Philip* ; finally, a prince who was foreign to Egypt, 
 but who was sovereign of the neighboring country of 
 Ethiopia ; his name, Erg amenés, is preserved by Diodorus 
 Siculus (hi. 6). The monuments afford reason to believe 
 that he reigned over Nubia ; and the hieroglyphic legends 
 of the ancient Pselcis , show that he was cotemporary with 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus, as the Greek historian informs us. 
 
 The conquering dynasty of the Persians did not escape 
 the researches of Champollion. From appearances, there 
 w as little foundation for a hope of finding, upon the Egyp- 
 tian monuments, the names of these ferocious conquerors, 
 
 *This brother and son of the conqueror are mentioned in a canon 
 of the kings, on a head of Almagestes ; but no monument had before 
 confirmed the fact of their reign over Egypt. 
 
56 
 
 who were more occupied, in unfortunate Egypt, with the 
 work of destroying than of building up. But the legends 
 of various monuments have given to Champollion the names 
 of Cambyses, of Darius, of Artaxerxes, and of Xerxes. A 
 very remarkable monument belongs to this last prince, 
 which we cannot refrain from noticing here. It is a vase 
 of eastern alabaster belonging to the cabinet of the king,* 
 and presenting a hieroglyphic inscription with the royal 
 cartouche of the Persian monarch ; but it is accompanied 
 with a series of cuneiform characters, that is to say, such 
 as belong to the ancient writing of Persia, and such as are 
 found upon the old monuments of Persepolis. This second 
 inscription expresses the same name, as St. Martin found, 
 who has been a long time employed in restoring the 
 Persepolitan alphabet. 
 
 In tracing the succession of Egyptian sovereigns, 
 Champollion soon found upon certain monuments the 
 names of the Pharaohs Acoris, Nephereüs, Nepherites , 
 and the two Nectcmebi, princes who for a long period de- 
 fended the liberty of Egypt against the power of the Per- 
 sians. He has found most of the Pharaohs of the twenty 
 sixth dynasty, Psammenites , Amasis, Apries, Psammet- 
 ichus II., Nechao II., PsammeticJms I., Ammeris ; the 
 twenty fifth and twenty third entire t ; three sovereigns of 
 the twenty second, TaJceUotJiis, Osorchon and Sesonchis ; 
 two of the twenty first, Psousenes I., and Smendis or Mon- 
 des who is the chief.J The monuments have besides 
 
 * Précis du Système hiéroglyphique , pp. 231 and 233. The vase 
 is engraved in the Recueil d’ Antiquités of Caylus, tom. v. pi. 30. 
 
 f The twenty fourth dynasty was formed by Rochoris alone. 
 
 t The names of the twelve kings of the twentieth dynasty exist 
 upon the Egyptian edifices, as Champollion observes ; hut the ab- 
 breviators of Manetho not having preserved the list, a close exami- 
 nation becomes necessary of the monuments and of the order of the 
 cartouches, to acquire the names in their true arrangement. The 
 travels of the learned Frenchman in Egypt, will without doubt ena- 
 ble him to supply this deficiency. 
 
57 
 
 afforded him the whole of the nineteenth, from Thuoris 
 who was cotemporary with the Trojan war, and who ap- 
 pears to be the Polybus of Homer, down to the celebra- 
 ted conqueror Ramses the Great; and the eighteenth, 
 from Ramses Amenophis to Miphra Thoutlimosis , who 
 drove away the Shepherds. This dynasty of the Shep- 
 herds counts for the seventeenth, in the fragments of Ma- 
 netho ; but it corresponds with a dynasty of Egyptian kings, 
 about w r hich the lists heretofore existing are all silent. The 
 monuments have restored to Champollion this royal family ; 
 at least they have acquainted him with the number and 
 first names of the sovereigns who composed it. Beyond 
 this epoch, nothing definite is known ; the name of Man - 
 douei only is found, which is perhaps the same as the Osy- 
 mandias of Diodorus. 
 
 All these results, too consistent to be doubted, are con- 
 firmed, for the most part, by two monuments which are of a 
 peculiar order and of high importance to the chronology 
 of Egyptian history. The first is the celebrated table of 
 Abydos, which has forty royal first names , classed in their 
 chronological order, and sculptured in a temple of an an- 
 cient city of the Theba'is, as it was called by the Greeks, 
 j[i. e. Upper Egypt.] Designs were taken of it by Mr. 
 Bankes, and by our countryman M. Calliaud, and it was 
 at a later period reproduced by Champollion in his Letters 
 upon the Turin Museum * This monument, although it 
 has been partly destroyed by the waste of the wall where 
 it was placed, has been of great service in determining 
 the order of the sovereigns contained in the cartouches of 
 the Egyptian legends. For it evidently exhibits a genea- 
 logical list of many dynasties of the Pharaohs — a list which 
 terminates with the first king of the nineteenth dynasty, 
 whose last name it gives ; the prœnomina which it contains, 
 
 * Second Lettre sur le Musée de Turin , pl. 6. 
 
5S 
 
 belong then to the predecessors of this Pharaoh, and the 
 order of these fore-names being indicated, we are thus 
 made acquainted with the order of the after-names or 
 second naines which on other monuments accompany the 
 fore-names. The order of descents mentioned in certain 
 hieroglyphic legends, which unite the name of the prince 
 with that of his father, are also in perfect agreement 
 with the lists of Abydos. 
 
 There is also a curious manuscript, found still later by 
 Champollion among the fragments of papyrus in the Turin 
 Museum,* and which is in a state of mutilation very much 
 to be regretted. It was a genealogical tablet , which by 
 its arrangement presents to view the chronological canon 
 of Manetho. It gives a list of more than one hundred 
 kings ; and therefore in its actually imperfect state, it still 
 forms a precious supplement to the table of Abydos. 
 
 We see then in what way the chronological materials 
 found by Champollion, prove to be important. They 
 could not long remain isolated ; their number and their 
 relation was such, that they might be united and form a 
 whole. The brother of the author of so many discoveries, 
 Champollion Figeac , was charged with this labor. He 
 has collected and put in order the materials furnished by 
 the author, and has in this way established, according to 
 the monuments, the succession of a great number of Egyp- 
 tian dynasties, such as the abbreviators of Manetho have 
 designated. Two of his Chronological Notices were pub- 
 lished after the Letters upon the Turin Museum ,t and we 
 wait for the third which will terminate this undertaking, 
 with all that impatience which the researches of these two 
 learned brothers are adapted to inspire. 
 
 Thus the first result of the hieroglyphic discovery has 
 
 * Bulletin des sciences historiques, tom. n. p. 302. 
 
 t Lettre 1st, p. 93, and Lettre 2nd, p. 130. 
 
59 
 
 been, to establish the chronology of the ancient Egyptian 
 history. Henceforth this history will be as certain as those 
 of other ancient countries ; and besides this, the state of 
 certain epochs will be more clearly known. Though this 
 were the only result, we should yet owe much to the labors 
 of Champollion. We shall see, however, that many more 
 uses can be made of his invaluable discovery. 
 
 2. The mythology of Egypt was still more obscure than 
 its history. Hardly anything was known respecting it 
 except from a few authors of ancient Greece, who them- 
 selves appear to have understood but little about it. They 
 are very far from having enumerated all the divinities ado- 
 red in Egypt ; and those which they have mentioned, are 
 often disguised under the Greek names by which they at- 
 tempted to describe their primitive denominations. These 
 names, which of course had nothing of the Egyptian 
 physiognomy, confounded the Egyptian divinities with the 
 gods of Greece. 
 
 The readings of the papyri and of the monumental 
 legends, must make amends for the silence, or correct the 
 errors, of ancient authors, and must throw light upon this 
 interesting part of the institutions of a people eminently 
 devoted to objects of a religious nature. This people, 
 which wrote anciently more than any other, traced often 
 upon the productions of their arts the names of objects they 
 washed to represent ; and the brief inscriptions which ac- 
 company the images of their various objects of worship 
 having now become intelligible, their true Egyptian names 
 will probably be revealed, and perhaps their titles, their 
 functions and their rank among the divinities. This is, 
 in fact, one new result of the reading of Egyptian legends. 
 
 In his Precis du Système hiéroglyphique, Champollion 
 has already published the Egyptian names of many divini- 
 ties, which were formerly adored upon the banks of thé 
 
60 
 
 Nile. He has not limited his researches to determining 
 these names merely (a labor not yet completed), but he 
 had another end in view. In a special work formed upon 
 a much more extensive plan,* he has undertaken to unveil 
 the mysteries of Egyptian mythology, by means of monu- 
 ments which relate to the notices left us by writers of anti- 
 quity ; and a part of this important labor has been already 
 executed with complete success. In reproducing upon 
 colored plates images of mythological personages, he has 
 accompanied them with texts explaining their names upon 
 the monuments ; the genealogical rank of each, their at- 
 tributes, their relations to the Greek and Roman divinities, 
 which the writers of these two nations describe, and the 
 conclusions which may be drawn concerning them from a 
 comparison of monuments. Among these names many 
 are entirely new, and divinities are revealed to us who 
 were entirely unknown to the ancient authors whose writ- 
 ings we possess. But there are other indices, also, which 
 assist in furnishing the means of assigning to them their 
 place in the Pantheon of ancient Egypt. 
 
 These learned researches, which illustrate the mythology 
 of this celebrated people, are useful also in their applica- 
 tion to monuments that have no inscriptions. The figures, 
 the costumes, and the attributes of each mythological per- 
 sonage being known, they can be recognized with cer- 
 tainty in all their images ; and there will be no danger of 
 seeing, as Caylus did, even in every funereal representation, 
 an Isis, an Osiris, a Horus, or the priests of these three 
 divinities characterized by their peculiar symbols. 
 
 The reading of inscriptions and of the papyri, has been 
 
 *Panthéon Égyptien, collection des personnages mythologiques 
 de V ancienne Égypte, avec un text explicatif, etc., and the figures 
 d’après les dessins de M. Dubois. Paris, gr. in 4to, Firmin Didot. 
 This work is to consist of thirty numbers, of which thirteen are pub- 
 lished. 
 
61 
 
 of still farther use in developing the ceremonies of Egyp- 
 tian worship. We cite only the stelœ as examples, which 
 generally represent acts of adoration, and upon which can 
 be read not only the names of the dead and of their fami- 
 lies, but the prayers addressed to the gods in their behalf, 
 the explanation of offerings and other details. We might 
 adduce here many circumstances of the funeral scenes 
 represented upon coffins, in manuscripts, etc., which all 
 have an intimate connection with religion. [See App. M.] 
 3. In relation to the arts, the reading of Egyptian writ- 
 ings has produced as many results as in other respects, and 
 promises many more of a highly interesting nature. 
 
 Among the monuments studied by our celebrated coun- 
 tryman, principally in the Turin Museum, were found nu- 
 merous colossal statues ; they are more or less remarkable 
 for the material of which they are made, or for their exe- 
 cution. But whatever may be their perfection as a whole, 
 the heads are generally very carefully constructed. The 
 cartouches found upon them determine that they belong to 
 the time of the Pharaohs whose names they bear, and the 
 repetition of the same features upon other large statues, upon 
 figures of smaller proportions, and upon monuments of a 
 different kind, lead to the conclusion that these statues 
 have a perfect resemblance to the sovereigns whose memo- 
 ries they were intended to perpetuate. In this way many 
 portraits of the Pharaohs are known, and Champollion 
 might give us an Egyptian Iconography , as the celebrated 
 Visconti has given us Grech and Roman Iconographies , 
 [i. e. series of portraits or likenesses.] 
 
 But there is a more general and important result con- 
 nected with the critical history of Egyptian arts, which 
 should be unravelled and reduced to certain principles. 
 The celebrated Winckelmann, to whom the arts are cer- 
 tainly much indebted, knew much more about those of 
 
 6 
 
62 
 
 Greece and Rome than he did about those of Egypt ; for 
 in his time, there was opportunity to study only a few 
 monuments which were collected without selection in the 
 museums of Europe. The somewhat superficial theory 
 which he built upon their authority, has occasioned in the 
 world, and even among men who were especially devoted to 
 this kind of study, notions far from being exact, to say noth- 
 ing more. Thus, not only was the supposed obligation rest- 
 ing upon Egyptian artists to imitate servilely a very limited 
 number of primitive types, literally admitted ; but it was 
 also a received opinion that the monuments of Egypt pos- 
 sessed no kind of beauty, and that their antiquity consti- 
 tuted their only merit. So also, the superiority of the 
 Grecian school over that of the Egyptian, during the 
 domination of the Lagidæ and of the Roman Emperors, 
 was for a long period believed, and every object which 
 had a merit superior to the standard that had been gra- 
 tuitously formed concerning the style of art in the time of 
 the Pharaohs, was ranked in that class called the second 
 style or the Egyptian-Greek. 
 
 These premature judgments, which were not founded 
 upon facts nor upon a sufficiently profound study, have 
 been curiously modified, or rather totally changed by the 
 progress of Egyptian researches. An attentive and im- 
 partial examination of the monuments that our museums 
 now possess, and the use of copies, in which the crayon and 
 the graver have reproduced those which cover the soil of 
 Egypt with a fidelity not known until the last fifty years, 
 has sufficed to restore Egyptian art from the unjust dis- 
 grace with which it had been overwhelmed. It is in 
 fact impossible not to perceive, that Egyptian architec- 
 ture, though inferior in elegance to the Grecian, still has 
 its own kind of purity , that it presents admirable profiles 
 and details, and that it surpasses its rival in grandeur and 
 
63 
 
 imposing effect* It must be seen also, that Egyptian 
 sculpture, which was not usually confined to an exclusive 
 imitation of given models, but was regulated by the im- 
 portant destination of its works, t exhibits often in its most 
 prominent parts, which are the heads of men or animals, 
 a truth and a life that would support a comparison of its 
 chefs d'œuvre with the products of the Grecian chisel. 
 It must be acknowledged also, that although painting 
 among this people may fail in correctness of design, in 
 perspective, and in the inseparable effect of shades; 
 although it may participate in the general stiffness of the 
 Egyptian style ; still the vivacity and adroit distribution 
 of colors strike the eye very agreeably, and produce no 
 small degree of effect. Lastly, among even the most 
 common objects, a large number recommend themselves 
 to notice, by the purity of their forms, the precision and 
 ease of their ornaments and hieroglyphics, and the per- 
 fection of their mechanical execution. 
 
 The discoveries of Champollion have effected more. 
 The inscriptions upon the above mentioned monuments 
 have fixed the chronology of art, as they have established, 
 
 * One may perhaps, in this respect, compare it with the architec- 
 ture not improperly called Gothic. Thi3 was also despised as barba- 
 rous, even by artists unable to execute any thing like the Grecian 
 architecture. Happily this deplorable error is done away. 
 
 t Egyptian architects understood perfectly the harmony of lines ; 
 hence the sculpture which they often employed as auxiliary, exhibits 
 the stiffness with which it is frequently reproached. Statues serv- 
 ing as ornaments to architecture, either in edifices themselves or in 
 the avenues which lead to them, ought to be viewed as united with 
 parts purely architectural ; and if more movement had been given 
 to them, it would have broken the ensemble of their lines, and de- 
 stroyed that regularity which architecture claims. The grave char- 
 acter of the Egyptian people, a character quite opposed to the levity 
 of the Greeks, and the nature of their climate which makes repose 
 one of the chief necessities of life, may likewise account for the gen- 
 eral positions observable in the works of their sculptors. 
 
04 
 
 concurrently with the lists of Manetho, that of history. In 
 fact the names of the Pharaohs, of the Ptolemies, and of 
 the Cæsars, inscribed upon Egyptian edifices, incontes- 
 tably prove that these various edifices, or different portions 
 of the same edifices, must be attributed to the respective 
 princes whose names they bear. The same is true of all 
 written monuments which contain in their legends royal 
 names or surnames, not to speak of those, which more 
 positively still, like many of the stelœ and the papyri, fix 
 the dates of princes in years, months, and days. These 
 monuments all afford, then, the certain means of knowing 
 their age ; of following, in the series of their productions, 
 the rise or decay of the arts in Egypt ; and of forming a 
 definite judgment upon the great question of Greek or 
 Roman influence. Such a judgment, the certainty and 
 evidence of which cannot be contested, has reversed all 
 the old systems on this subject. 
 
 It has been found by Champollion, and by all those 
 who have followed the development of his admirable 
 labors, that the most beautiful of those monuments which 
 remain upon the soil of Egypt, or of those which either in 
 ancient or modern times have been transported into 
 Europe ; those which excite the highest admiration among 
 well informed men and connoisseurs in the arts ; — those, 
 in a word, which have been thought to belong to the sec- 
 ond epoch of Egyptian style (such as most of the monu- 
 ments of Thebes and many of Nubia), do, on the contrary, 
 relate to th q first epoch, and belong to the kings of the 
 eighteenth dynasty, and to the first kings of the nineteenth, 
 whose names or surnames may be read upon them. It is 
 equally well proved, that edifices and monuments, which 
 at first sight would be judged inferior, and upon which 
 experienced men, like Messrs. Huyot et Gau, have found 
 evident manifestations of the decay of Egyptian art, such 
 
65 
 
 as the temples of Ombos, of Philos, of Dendera, and of 
 Esne, contain in their inscriptions the names of the La- 
 gidæ or of the Roman emperors; and they ought to be con- 
 sidered as belonging to the epoch, when the Greeks or Ro- 
 mans swayed the ancient empire of the Pharaohs. The 
 monuments of the seventeenth dynasty are very inferior to 
 those of the eighteenth ; the small number of objects recog- 
 nized as belonging to an epoch preceding this, prove the 
 infancy of art in that preceding period ; and all which are 
 intermediate between the epoch of the great Diospolitan 
 families and that of the Ptolemies or Cæsars, participate 
 more or less in the perfection or decay of Egyptian style, 
 according as they approach nearer, or are remote from, 
 the first or second of these two ages. [See App. N.] 
 
 These certain principles, for they are founded upon 
 facts, prove that the influence of the conquerors was more 
 destructive than beneficial to the arts of primitive Egypt. 
 They tend likewise to constitute a monumental standard 
 for Egyptian arts, even more sure than that formed for 
 Greece and Rome from the comparative examination of 
 their productions, and they are a page well worthy of 
 attention in the highly interesting history of ancient civili- 
 zation. Champollion has promised us a special work on 
 the chronology of the monuments of Egypt, which he is 
 to execute in concert with M. Huyot ; his travels will 
 doubtless furnish him with new materials for this impor- 
 tant publication. 
 
 We now finish details, which we might extend much 
 farther ; but we believe that we have sufficiently shown 
 the certainty of the hieroglyphic system, and the impor- 
 tance of its results. Here terminates, then, the first part 
 of our Essay . 
 
 6 * 
 
PART II. 
 
 APPLICATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYSTEM TO THE 
 SACRED WRITINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Relations of the Hebrews with the Egyptians. Connection of their histories. 
 Analogy in the manners of both nations. Utility of the reading of hiero- 
 glyphics, in respect to sacred history which relates to Egypt. 
 
 In our first part, we have presented our readers with 
 the basis of Champollion’s discovery, and with the most 
 important principles of his system. This explanation, 
 which we have abridged as much as possible, was indis- 
 pensable for our object, and it will enable us to understand 
 what follows. We come now to the most essential part of 
 our labor, - that is to say, we shall now apply to the holy 
 Scriptures the facts we have learned from hieroglyphics, 
 either to explain, or to defend the sacred books of Chris- 
 tians ; and we hope to show clearly in what way the read- 
 ing of the ancient Egyptian writings, so interesting in itself 
 considered, is important to religion. 
 
 1. Of all countries foreign to Judea, none is so con- 
 spicuous in the Bible as Egypt. Its name is found upon 
 nearly all the historic pages of the Old Testament. With 
 the Egyptian people, the Hebrews had more ancient, more 
 frequent, and more intimate relations, than with any other. 
 
67 
 
 These relations are pointed out to us by the sacred writers, 
 as subsisting from the time of Abraham down to the ruin 
 of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews in Babylonia. 
 The father of the faithful travelled in Egypt, to avoid the 
 famine which desolated the land of Canaan. Jacob and 
 his sons went down there under similar circumstances; 
 and the posterity of Israel sojourned there for more than 
 two centuries. Before he became the chief and the legis- 
 lator of his people, Moses was instructed in all the wisdom 
 of this renowned nation. Solomon espoused the daughter 
 of an Egyptian sovereign. Shishac entered into Judea 
 with a strong army and took Jerusalem, under the reign 
 of Rehoboam. The Ethiopian Zerah likewise made war 
 upon the pious king Asa. But many other Pharaohs were 
 the allies and auxiliaries of the kings of Judah ; and when 
 Nebuchadnezzar had reduced the Hebrews to servitude, 
 Egypt became an asylum for a very large number of Jews. 
 Finally, a very remarkable fact must be noticed ; when the 
 Lord so severely interdicted to his people all communica- 
 tion with neighboring nations, and pointed them out as an 
 object of horror and an abomination ; after excepting from 
 this general reprobation the children of Edom, because 
 they had a common origin with the children of Israel, he 
 likewise excepts the inhabitants of Egypt, with whom the 
 Hebrews had long enjoyed the rights of hospitality. Thou 
 shalt not abhor an Edomite^ for he is thy brother ; thou 
 shall not abhor an Egyptian , for thou wast a stranger in 
 his land. (Deuter. xxiii. 7.) 
 
 2. Hence it follows that the history of the people of 
 God, blended with that of Egypt in early times, was also 
 essentially connected with it at many other epochs, and 
 that in order thoroughly to understand the former, we 
 must be well acquainted with the latter. He who would 
 study in detail the historic annals of the Hebrews, ought 
 
68 
 
 then to connect them with those of ancient Egypt. He 
 ought to search with interest, in the series of Egyptian 
 dynasties, for the Pharaohs whom the holy books point out 
 as the allies or enemies of Israel ; he ought to inquire into 
 the epochs which separate ages, the synchronisms of events 
 which concern both people ; into the geography of Egypt, 
 the names and position of cities and places referred to by 
 the sacred writers ; and it is only by means of this com- 
 parative study, that any important results connected with 
 biblical criticism can be obtained. This is what histo- 
 rians and interpreters have sought to do, who have labored 
 to comment upon and illustrate the narratives of the Old 
 Testament, so interesting to every well instructed man, 
 even when, leaving out of account their divine inspiration, 
 these narratives are considered only as the most ancient 
 historic monuments. Profane erudition, when employed 
 as an auxiliary to sacred criticism, has often served, in the 
 hands of learned and judicious men, by fortunate colla- 
 tions, to render more intelligible passages of Scripture 
 which were before difficult to explain. But notwithstand- 
 ing their zeal and their labors, much is yet left to do, and 
 especially in relation to Egypt, whose history heretofore 
 has been but imperfectly known, and about which our 
 only guides, the Greek and Roman authors, who were 
 themselves but little familiar with the subject, have left 
 often false ideas or inexact notions, which it has been 
 impossible to rectify for want of other resources. 
 
 3. The numerous communications of the Hebrews with 
 the Egyptians, and especially the long sojourn of the chil- 
 dren of Israel in the land of the Pharaohs, produces ano- 
 ther natural consequence which has not been sufficiently 
 appreciated. Two nations mingled together, whatever 
 might be the character of their relations, would in time 
 necessarily make interchanges in their language, their 
 
69 
 
 costume and their manners ; and their very mode of ex- 
 istence, or (if you please) their moral physiognomy, modi- 
 fied by the circumstances which have placed them in 
 contact, must in the end receive an impression more or 
 less marked. All history attests this truth, and often 
 exhibits to us even the vanquished exercising a moral and 
 irresistible influence over their conquerors. We may then 
 reasonably suppose that such was the case with the Israel- 
 ites and Egyptians, and we remember that the sacred 
 writers make mention of the Jewish people as strongly 
 disposed to imitate other nations — a propensity which 
 often led them to provoke the Lord by their practices of 
 idolatry. We will cite two facts which go to prove this 
 exchange of customs. If it is true, as many learned men 
 believe, that circumcision was practised among the ancient 
 Egyptians, it seems probable that they borrowed this cere- 
 mony from the Israelites, rather than from the Arabs the 
 descendants of Ishmael, with whom they must have had 
 much less communication.* 
 
 On the other hand, it is certain that the children of 
 Is*rael adopted in 'Egypt the custom of embalming bodies, 
 in imitation of the Egyptians. Scripture informs us that 
 it was practised upon the bodies of Jacob and of Joseph 
 ( Gen . l. 2 and 3, ibid. 25). The sacred historian enters 
 into some details, conformable to those which profane 
 writers have left, on the manner of embalming among 
 the Egyptians, and, to give a reason for this new proceed- 
 ing among the Hebrews, he formally announces that such 
 
 * Many mummies are so well preserved as to verify this fact ; and 
 an examination of them has proved that all males exhibit traces of this 
 operation. It is necessary only to decide whether it was practised 
 upon living persons, or whether it formed a part of the funeral cere- 
 monies. However this may be, it confirms remarkably what Hero- 
 dotus relates (n. 36), concerning the use of circumcision among the 
 Egyptians. 
 
70 
 
 was the custom of the country ; such teas the custom of 
 the Egyptians. If the Israelites at a later period, when 
 wandering in the desert or established in the land of 
 promise, did not retain entire the mode of sepulture they 
 had before adopted ; at least some details in the holy 
 books, among the rest the use of bandages, indicated in 
 the narrative of the resurrection of Lazarus (John xi. 44), 
 afford reason to think that many of their funeral rites, 
 even after their return from captivity, were the same as 
 those which they had seen practised in the land of Egypt. 
 
 We must limit ourselves here to a few among numerous 
 facts of the same kind ; for there existed other common 
 usages among nations which were so often and for so long 
 a time related. This conformity would be a very inter- 
 esting subject of study, and it might form an important 
 page in an extensive history of national manners; but 
 documents have been wanting, and these curious analogies 
 have remained heretofore unperceived by the greater part 
 of the learned. Marsham, in his Chronicus Canon, treats 
 of this subject, but he has adopted a system of so wide an 
 extent, that he excited strong disapprobation. He seems 
 to view all the Hebrew rites as imitations of those prac- 
 tised by the Egyptians. This opinion, however, when 
 confined to very narrow limits, may perhaps approach quite 
 near the truth. 
 
 4. It is then indisputable, and it has long been under- 
 stood, that the Hebrews and Egyptians should be studied 
 together and in their relations ; that the customs and 
 history of Egypt, if better studied and better understood, 
 would throw great light upon the history and customs of 
 the people of God ; in a word, that the Pharaonic antiqui- 
 ties, if it were possible to lift up the veil, would form the 
 best historic commentary upon a portion of the holy books, 
 
71 
 
 and especially upon the Pentateuch. But we were, not 
 long since, still far from this result. To know Egypt, 
 its history and customs, to facilitate the comparative study 
 of the two nations, the banks of the Nile must needs be 
 explored with the most untiring perseverance ; their monu- 
 ments, sketched with care, must be compared and com- 
 mented upon with judgment; and especially, which we 
 hardly dared to expect, they must cease to be unintelligible 
 to us. Such is now the case ; the land of the Pharaohs 
 has been visited by numerous and learned travellers, and, 
 for the first time, an army has been seen extending its 
 protection to the peaceable researches of science. Egypt 
 has been described in a work where all the arts are 
 displayed with a magnificence truly regal. Finally, Provi- 
 dence, which has directed in our age the discovery of 
 hieroglyphics, has given a mouth to the Egyptian monu- 
 ments, which for so many centuries have been wrapped in 
 silence. Should not this happy concurrence of circum- 
 stances lead us to hope for many most important aids to 
 sacred criticism? In proportion as the science which 
 owes its origin to Champollion, shall successively reach 
 the developments it promises, we must see those narratives 
 of the sacred books in which Egypt is so conspicuous, 
 more and more confirmed and illustrated ; and already, 
 though the study of hieroglyphics is in its infancy, many 
 precious documents have aided in the understanding and 
 defence of the Scriptures. Pope Leo XII. fully compre- 
 hended this subject. In encouraging by all the weight of 
 his influence the learned labors of Champollion, he did not 
 confine himself to viewing this event simply as one of the 
 most notable in the calendar of human knowledge, but he 
 perceived in it an invaluable source of positive data con- 
 cerning the history of the people of God in their relations 
 
72 
 
 to Egypt.* We shall see in the following chapters, the 
 philological, historical, and geographical results which 
 grow out of the application of hieroglyphics to the sacred 
 books, and the means which they afford for a satisfactory 
 solution of certain very weighty difficulties. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Relations between the Egyptian writings and those of the Hebrews. Analo- 
 gies between the style of the sacred writings and that of certain hiero- 
 glyphic legends. Egyptian names preserved in the Bible. 
 
 Learned men have for a long time conjectured that 
 some relations existed between the Hebrew and Egyptian 
 languages. We may indeed suppose that language, so 
 important a part of national usages, could not remain unin- 
 fluenced by the mutual and frequent communications of 
 the Israelites and Egyptians. The Egyptian monuments, 
 decyphered by Champollion, support this conjecture, and 
 reveal many examples of this kind of analogy. We will 
 notice here only those which are the best established and 
 the most striking. 
 
 * A letter from the Duke of Laval-Montmorency, our ambassador at 
 Rome, addressed to the minister, expresses this opinion of the sove- 
 reign pontiff in a manner very flattering to Champollion and to France. 
 The head of the Church desired that the king should know the judg- 
 ment of his Holiness with regard to the labors of the learned man. 
 
 [The reader will remember, in perusing this note, that the writer 
 is a member of the Romish church ; which accounts for the style 
 here employed. — T r.] 
 
73 
 
 In the table of phonetic, hieratic, and demotic alpha- 
 bets, placed at the end of his Precis , Champollion exhibits 
 a correspondence of each of the signs with equivalent 
 letters of the Coptic alphabet. The object of his work 
 demands such an exhibition, because phonetic hieroglyph- 
 ics must form words that are preserved, for the most part, 
 in the Coptic language. To make this synoptical table 
 more complete and more useful, he has copied there in the 
 same order the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabetic signs. 
 This excellent arrangement gives readers an opportunity 
 of observing the striking relations in form, between the 
 writings of Egypt and those of the Hebrew alphabet. We 
 notice particularly the letters ft ^ *) tt 5 72 D and U), as 
 presenting, with the correspondent signs in the three Egyp- 
 tian alphabets, resemblances which it is impossible for one 
 not to perceive, however little skilled he may be in this 
 kind of study. Although the generally admitted fact, that 
 the Jews when transported into Assyria changed their 
 primitive characters for those of the Chaldee alphabet, may 
 rob our observation of part of its pertinency, still we can 
 add, that the same relations exist, though they may be 
 less sensible and numerous, between the signs of Egyptian 
 writing, and the ancient characters employed by the He- 
 brews which the Samaritans have preserved. We would 
 not enter into details which might appear minute ; suffice 
 it to say, the fact may be verified by an easy collation. 
 
 Champollion makes an ingenious remark with regard to 
 the phonetic signs which compose his alphabet. He finds 
 that each hieroglyphic expresses always the sound of the 
 initial letter of the name given, in the Egyptian tongue, 
 to the material object which the phonetic sign represents. 
 
 Thus an eagle , called by the Egyptians SXjbcujut 
 ( Akliom ), expresses the letter a ; an axe 
 
 7 
 
74 
 
 ( Kclebin), expresses the letter K ; an owl UoyXc^ 
 ( Mouladj ), the letter TJ ; a mouth Pui (Ro), the letter 
 
 P, etc.* It is just the same as if, wishing to establish a 
 mode of phonetic characters according to [English] usage, 
 we should make an eagle to represent the sound of the vow- 
 el E, a wheel the sound of the consonant W, the sun that of 
 the consonant S, etc. This curious circumstance is inte- 
 resting, because it will serve to determine the phonetic im- 
 port of new signs, which may be hereafter found upon the 
 hieroglyphic legends not yet studied. But it has another 
 kind of interest relating more to our present object. It 
 reveals tô us a new analogy between the Egyptian writings 
 and those of the children of Israel. We know that in the 
 Hebrew, as in many other Shemitish languages, t each 
 letter of the alphabet constitutes the first of those which 
 compose its written name ; for example, the letter &, which 
 may be rendered by our A, is called (Aleph); the 
 letter % which is our D, is named nb.7 (Daleth); the 
 letter b, equivalent to our L, is called "lüb (Lamedh), etc. 
 Does this manner of rendering the sounds of the spoken 
 language by the initials of the names of objects in one part, 
 and by those of alphabetic characters in another, present a 
 purely fortuitous relation ? It does more, in the opinion 
 of certain learned men, who have thought they could 
 discover, in the primitive letters of the Hebrew alphabet 
 or Samaritan, true figures, though indistinct, of the objects 
 to which their names relate ; as for example, the letter 3 
 (Ghimel) expresses the name of camel in Hebrew b)Q3, etc. 
 
 * See the Précis du Syst. hieroglyph, pp. 359 — 361. 
 
 t This designation, Shemitish, doubtless inexact because it is ap- 
 plied to some languages which do not belong to the posterity of Shem, 
 is a term substituted by science for the old denomination of oriental 
 languages, a denomination more inexact still in a geographical rela-t 
 tion, and besides too general. 
 
75 
 
 These letters then, though always phonetic, yet being true 
 figurative signs of objects, they exhibit very striking rela- 
 tions with those of the Egyptian writings. [See Appen- 
 dix O.] 
 
 We will call to mind here what we have already said, 
 upon the employment of vowels in the phonetic part of 
 Egyptian texts. They are frequently not expressed, and 
 frequently a vowel is susceptible of representing different 
 sounds; lastly, one vowel is sometimes substituted for 
 another in various transcriptions of the same word. Cham- 
 pollion has had frequent occasion to repeat these remarks 
 in reading the hieroglyphic legends ; and they give rise, in 
 our view, to a new relation with the Arabic, Syriac, and 
 Chaldee languages, and with the language in which the 
 precious books of divine revelation are written. Every 
 individual knows that the Hebrew, strictly speaking, has 
 no written vowels : and that the points employed to fix its 
 pronunciation, are a modern invention, and that they are 
 not found in the Samaritan. Rules are established to ex- 
 plain the changes of these Masoretic points ; and perhaps 
 the Egyptian scribes likewise possessed established rules 
 for the suppression or substitution of vowels in the phonetic 
 parts of legends ; but they are unknown to us, and will 
 always remain unknown, so far as we can conjecture. 
 
 The various philological phenomena which we have 
 considered, are of some interest in a new science, called 
 ethnography , which has for its aim to study the filiation 
 and relations of nations, and to class them after their idioms. 
 Divers analogies of an ancient kind, will still indicate, in 
 two languages, the traces of a primitive language from 
 which they are both derived, and will relate back to that 
 great event which dispersed the descendants of Noah, at 
 the tower of Babel. 
 
 2. The reading of the various Egyptian writings, affords 
 
76 
 
 occasion to remark other close relations in parts of the 
 style of legends, to those of the sacred writings. We cannot 
 dispense with noticing some of them here. Though they 
 may be of little importance when separately considered, 
 yet taken together they are of some interest in relation to 
 other more definite data. Besides, as it has often been 
 remarked, nothing should be neglected which pertains to 
 knowledge ; and it is true, especially of a subject so essen- 
 tial and elevated as that which claims our attention in this 
 work. 
 
 M. Jomard, member of the Institute, and Dr. Young, 
 published at the same time four numerical signs of the 
 ancient Egyptians. Champollion has since added a fifth, 
 and the import of these ciphers has been proved by experi- 
 ment*. Aided by this discovery, the number of vanquished 
 enemies can be determined upon the monuments, or the 
 objects consecrated as offerings, the age of the dead, and, 
 what is of still higher importance, the date of an event, the 
 days, months, or years of the reign of a Pharaoh. For the 
 dates which have been found in great numbers in hiero- 
 glyphic inscriptions, upon hieratic or demotic stelce , on 
 papyrus, etc., are always mentioned according to the same 
 formula, and differ in no respects from the manner in 
 which they are expressed in the sacred books ; e. g. in 
 the fifth year , the fifth day of the month of ... . accord - 
 in g to the direction of the king of an obedient people; 
 (the cartouches containing the name and surname of the 
 prince.) Is not this similitude of expression striking? 
 
 There are examples more striking still of this similarity, 
 in certain titles of honor given to princes and to gods, 
 which Champollion has collected in his General Table. 
 
 *The system of numeration among the Egyptians was one of great 
 simplicity, and resembles very nearly that of the Romans. Quantities 
 are expressed by signs equivalent to numbers, 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000 , 
 which are repeated as many times as is necessary. [See App. P.] 
 
Many original copies of formulas trace religious ideas, 
 which are in vain sought for either upon the Greek or 
 Roman monuments of antiquity ; but which are found de- 
 scribed in the noble and simple style of the sacred writ- 
 ings. Such are those of loved of Ammon * (Jupiter), ex- 
 actly resembling Samuel loved by the Lord his God 
 (Eccl. xlvi. 13) ; approved by Pthah (Vulcan) ; ap- 
 proved by Re, (the Sun) ; expressions analogous to these, 
 viz. acceptable to God, approved of God, which are often 
 repeated in Scripture. The Gods Lords, is an identical 
 title, as it regards the repetition, with Lord God in the 
 Bible ; great and great, a designation given to Thoth, the 
 Egyptian Mercury, and corresponding in some good degree 
 with the Holy, Holy, Holy, which, in our sublime books 
 of the prophets, the choirs of heaven are represented as 
 chanting at the foot of the eternal throne, etc. etc. We 
 shall not extend any farther these collations, of which we 
 can give only an incomplete sketch ; but we shall now 
 notice a fact observed by Champollion, which proves a re- 
 markable conformity between the two nations in a usage 
 that concerns religion more than either writing or phi- 
 lology. 
 
 The pronunciation of the celebrated TSTçaygdpfiajor 
 is not known, nor its entire signification. It is a word of 
 four letters, expressing the ineffable name of the Lord 
 who was revealed to Moses, ï-p,-p (Jehovah), which ap- 
 pears to be derived from the root tV'ï'i, and to contain all 
 the tenses of the verb to be, so as to render the idea of an 
 eternal and necessary being in the same manner as it is 
 rendered in Exodus (iii. 14), I am that I am. Two 
 
 * It has often been remarked that Pagan antiquity makes little re- 
 ference to the love due to divinities. Among the Egyptians the ex- 
 pressions, dear to the gods, loving the gods, are frequently repeated, 
 and they seem to indicate more just ideas of their divinities and of the 
 obligations which they imposed upon mankind. 
 
78 
 
 apostles in the New Testament have imitated this ; St, 
 Paul in the Hebrews (xiii. 8), the same yesterday , to-day , 
 and forever ; and St. John in the Apocalypse (iv. 8), who 
 iras, and is, and is to come. But we know that the He- 
 brews cherished the most profound awe for this incommu- 
 nicable and mysterious name ; a sentiment which appears 
 to have led them, at least after the captivity of Babylon, 
 to avoid pronouncing it when they met with it in the sa- 
 cred text, and to substitute for it the word 13 Si* (Adonai), 
 which signifies the Lord. This conclusion might be de- 
 duced from the following fact alone, viz. that the Seventy 
 have not translated this sacred name, nor sought to render 
 the idea which it conveys ; but they have always expressed 
 it by Kvqloç (as in the Vulgate it is also expressed by 
 Dominus), because they had read for ï"n!"P. This 
 is still a custom of modern Jews, who attribute to the true 
 pronunciation of the name of the Almighty, the power of 
 miracles, and pretend in this way to explain many won- 
 derful things, and even the miracles of Jesus Christ. 
 Without delaying to consider a multitude of superstitious 
 ideas which are connected with this religious respect for 
 the name of the Lord, we cannot but be struck with its 
 analogy to the veneration of the Egyptians for the proper 
 names of their divinities. These names, which can be 
 written, and which in fact are written, by three kinds of 
 characters, the figurative , symbolic, or phonetic, are not 
 expressed indifferently in one or another of these modes. 
 They axe phonetic in those hieroglyphic and hieratic in- 
 scriptions, which were written by members of the sacer- 
 dotal order, and they elsewhere form in themselves sacred 
 writings specially devoted to religious subjects. But in 
 demotic texts, which being destined for common use, were 
 of a profane nature, the names of the gods are always 
 expressed by means of symbols, and never phonetically . 
 
79 
 
 From a comparison of various Egyptian manuscripts, 
 Champollion has found that, probably for similar reasons, 
 some hieroglyphic divine names were written in one way, 
 and pronounced in another.* 
 
 3. The study of the names of men, which are generally 
 significant, is connected with the study of a people and 
 their manners, and on some accounts philology should not 
 neglect it.f In many editions of the Vulgate, there is a 
 table of Hebrew proper names, accompanied with their 
 interpretation ; and this kind of dictionary, abridged as it 
 is, will be useful to persons who are not in the habit of 
 reading the Scriptures in the original. A similar work, 
 but more full in its developments upon the foreign names 
 which occur in the Bible, would prove highly important 
 to all classes of readers ; and the study of the monuments 
 of Egypt and of its writings, would facilitate the investiga- 
 tion of the few Egyptian names preserved in the books of 
 the Old Testament. Champollion, without making it his 
 particular aim, has obtained for us some curious data on 
 this subject. 
 
 For example, upon a beautiful funereal manuscript, 
 procured from the celebrated traveller Cailliaud for the 
 cabinet of the king, he has discovered the name of Pha- 
 raoh’s officer to whom Joseph was sold in Egypt (Gen. 
 xxxix. 1) ; a name which was also borne by the priest of 
 Heliopolis, who became the father in law of this patriarch 
 (Gen. xli. 45 ). \ This name, written in the Hebrew text 
 and in the Vulgate Putiphar and Putiphare , 
 is called IJsTscpgri in the Septuagint ; and the orthography 
 
 * Précis du Syst. hiérogl. pp 350 — 351. 
 
 t M. Eusèbe Salverte has written a work on this subject, entitled; 
 Essai historique et philosophique sur les noms d’hommes , de peu- 
 ples, et de lieux, etc. Paris, 1824, 2 vols, in 8vo. It presents many 
 interesting details. 
 
 t Précis du Syst. hiérogl. pp. 176, 177. 
 
80 
 
 of the Egyptian papyrus, if we may use the expression, is 
 strictly that of the Alexandrine translators. The hiero- 
 glyphic signs which compose it, when rendered by equiv- 
 alent characters, give the reading which 
 
 is the same with that in the Coptic version of Genesis ; 
 and we know that this name when analyzed signifies, he 
 who is, or who belongs to Re or Phre (the Sun). It would, 
 however, be absurd to pretend that the deceased, to whom 
 this manuscript belonged, was either the father in law of 
 Joseph, or the Egyptian dignitary to whom he was sold. 
 We have no proofs to confirm such a supposition ; and 
 this name, which is composed from that of one of the 
 Egyptian divinities, must have been common to a great 
 number of Egyptians. It is no less remarkable, that this 
 name is completely identical with that in the Bible ; and 
 the unexpected discovery of it upon such a monument, 
 must attract interest, and show the historic exactness of 
 the Scriptures even in the smallest details. The following 
 example is of the same character, and we trace it to the 
 same source. 
 
 In Genesis (xli. 45), Asenath, an Egyptian woman 
 whom Pharaoh gave for a wife to Joseph, and who was 
 the daughter of one of the Potiphars we have alluded to, 
 is called nsDN, 'AoevsQ. This name, very certainly an 
 Egyptian one, has not been observed in the legends of 
 the monuments ; still we cannot but notice its striking 
 conformity to another name of a woman found by Cham- 
 pollion.* Upon a figure of enamelled earth belonging 
 to the cabinet of the king, he has read 5\,CHCï {Asêsi 
 or Asfsz) ; and, as he remarks, this name is made up of that 
 of the goddess Isis, preceded by the monosyllable 
 whose signification he does not know, but which appears 
 
 Précis du Syst. hiérogl. p. 178. 
 
81 
 
 to us to express some relation of the person named with 
 the goddess Isis * The name of Joseph’s wife, so similar 
 to this in its material form, appears to be composed in the 
 
 same way ; it also exhibits the monosyllable 3\^C, follow- 
 ed by the name of the goddess Neith, who, in the Egyp- 
 tian mythology, corresponds to the 'Adr\vrj of the Greeks, 
 or to the Minerva of the Latins. 
 
 It would be interesting to understand two other striking 
 names in Sacred History ; that of Joseph who became the 
 minister of Pharaoh, and that of Moses. The Vulgate, in 
 speaking of the son of Jacob, tells us that Pharaoh chan- 
 ged his name, and gave him another which signified in 
 Egyptian, Saviour of the world ; “ Vocavitque eum lingua 
 Ægyptiacâ Salvatorem mundi” (Gen. xli. 45). The He- 
 brew text expresses this name by these words ftps© 
 and the Septuagint by Wovdoycpavrix. All the labors of 
 learned men upon this name, have been of little avail. f 
 That of the legislator of the Hebrews ïl'ÿft, Movuffç , 
 Moy ses, Moses , appears to signify drawn from the waters , 
 according as Pharaoh’s daughter saith in Scripture ; Be- 
 cause I drew him out of the water (Exod. ii. 10). This 
 name is certainly Egyptian, since it was given by a prin- 
 cess of this country ; and besides, whatever its etymology 
 may be in the Hebrew language, it never has the sense 
 indicated by Exodus. We might add, that it exhibits a 
 remarkable analogy with many names of the Pharaohs, as 
 Amo sis, Thouthmosis, etc. However this may be, the name 
 
 * The Egyptian names of the two sexes, which Champollion has 
 read in great numbers upon the monuments, are frequently composed 
 of the name of some divinity and of a monosyllable which establishes 
 some relation of dependence, or of worship, as Pethor, he who be- 
 longs to Horus ; Taêse or Taïsi, that which belongs to Isis ; Amon- 
 maï, dear to Ammon ; Amonset , daughter of Amon; Hathdrma , 
 the gift of Hathor (the Egyptian Venus), etc. 
 
 t See Jablonskii Opusc. tom. i. p. 207, on the word PorAoiupavijx- 
 
82 
 
 of Moses, like that of Joseph, has exercised the acuteness 
 of the learned to no purpose. Jablonski, whom we have 
 cited and shall often have occasion to cite, derives the 
 name of Moses from the Egyptian words J(XCll 
 the first of which signifies water , and the second has the 
 meaning, to save (Opusc. tom. n. p. 52). Josephus 
 also says that yov } in the Egyptian language, signifies 
 water (Cont. App. i. 31). It is to be regretted that the 
 new discoveries afford us no positive information about 
 these two important names ; but we may hope that fresh 
 researches, and analogies observed with caution, will one 
 day enable men more capable than ourselves to illustrate 
 these and other details, in a satisfactory and lucid man- 
 ner. Limiting our literary ambition to a simple Essay , 
 we terminate here what we have to say upon this (in our 
 opinion the most obscure) part of Egyptian antiquities 
 that relate to the Bible. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 Name of Pharaoh given to the kings of Egypt. Utility of the labors of 
 Champollion Figeac. Pharaohs cotemporary with Abraham, — with 
 Joseph. Pharaoh the oppressor of the Hebrews. Pharaoh the enemy 
 of Moses. 
 
 The various relations which for a long period placed 
 the Hebrews in contact with Egypt, have occasioned many 
 names of its kings to be mentioned in the Old Testament, 
 and the history of these monarchs is closely connected 
 
83 
 
 with that of the people of God. This subject will now 
 occupy us ; and we shall attempt to illustrate the sacred 
 annals, by means of historical and chronological data 
 which we owe chiefly to the discoveries of the Cham- 
 pollions. 
 
 1. Some of the kings in Scripture, are designated by 
 names very analogous to those given them by the Greek 
 historians of Egypt, though still in certain respects very dif- 
 ferent. But others have no proper name to distinguish them . 
 The title of Pharaoh simply is given in the Scriptures, 
 ï-fÿlS, <&(*() co. This generic denomination is not found 
 among ancient authors, and it is peculiar to the sacred 
 books. But all writers now admit that it was employed 
 to designate the sovereigns of Egypt anterior to the La- 
 gidæ, who were called the Ptolemies. It would be inte- 
 resting, doubtless, to know the just origin and signification 
 of this name adopted by the sacred writers ; but all ex- 
 amination here has proved fruitless. 
 
 Evidently we cannot find any source of this word in 
 profane antiquity, because the biblical name Pharaoh 
 appears not to have been known to the Greek and Roman 
 writers, if we judge from those of their works which have 
 come down to us. The ancient ecclesiastical authors, 
 among whom this Scripture word frequently occurs, fur- 
 nish hardly any useful data with regard to it. The 
 most positive testimony concerning it, is in the works of 
 Josephus, the Jewish historian, and of Julius Africanus. 
 Josephus assures us (viii. Antiq. vi. 2)* that during an 
 
 * Josephus seems to believe, that the denomination Pharaoh ceased 
 to be used in Egypt after the father in law of Solomon. The ground 
 of this belief, doubtless, was the fact that the Scripture gives proper ; 
 names to the kings of that country which it describes after this epoch. 
 But it is a great mistake, to conclude from this fact that they did not 
 also bear the name of Pharaoh. The historical books give it to 
 Necho and to Hophra, and the prophets make use of it in many 
 places. 
 
84 
 
 interval of more than thirteen centuries, this name was 
 borne by all the sovereigns of Egypt, who took it when 
 they mounted the throne, even though they were in their 
 minority ; he adds that this name is Egyptian, and that it 
 signifies Icing; o' &aQa dtp 3tar > Aiyvmiovç ficunXea cry pa iv si. 
 Africanus, cited by Eusebius in his Greek Chronicon 
 (ed. Scaliger, 1658, p. 20), expresses a similar opinion 
 about the word (Paya® • Ovtco ydq Aipémioi toôç fiaadëiç 
 eqfirjvevovdi. He gives, like Josephus, no farther account. 
 Many Latin Fathers also have investigated this word, 
 among whom is Isidorus of Seville (Origin, vii. 6). They 
 repeat the same observations which we have noted, and 
 add nothing new. 
 
 In the absence of all positive documents, modern writers 
 could only conjecture more or less ingeniously. Some 
 have pretended that the name of the Pharaohs related to 
 a place well known in Egypt, <Pdçoç , i. e. the island of 
 Pharos. Bochart believes that Pharaoh signifies a croco- 
 dile, and he explains it by the celebrated passage in 
 Ezekiel (xxix. 3) ; Behold , I am against thee, Pharaoh 
 Icing of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst 
 of his rivers, which hath said, etc. Others have believed 
 it to be derived from the Hebrew verb which, used 
 
 also in the Chaldee, has there the meaning to avenge. 
 According to this analogy, which appears to us altogether 
 fortuitous, the name will signify the avenger, a title 
 
 which to a certain extent applies to a king. But it would 
 be more natural, in our estimation, to trace back the origin 
 of an Egyptian term in the Coptic idiom, the only idiom 
 which preserves a part of the ancient Egyptian language. 
 Unfortunately but little progress has been made here. 
 Masoudy, an Arabian historian quoted by Qnatremere,* 
 relates that he consulted many well instructed Copts, in 
 
 Recherches sur la langue et la littérature de l Égypte , p. 35. 
 
85 
 
 Said and in other parts of Egypt, about the signification 
 of the word Pharaoh ; but they could not explain its sense, 
 and he sought for it in vain in their language. Masoudy 
 flourished about the fourth century of the Mahommedan 
 epoch, which corresponds to the tenth of our own ; and 
 from this period, sources of information on this subject 
 have diminished and difficulties have increased. Jablon- 
 ski however was not retarded in his examination by the 
 authority of the Arabian writer. He pretends to find the 
 origin of the title given by Scripture to the monarchs of 
 
 the Theban dialect, TippO and $ppO, or $EppO.* 
 
 The Abbe Renaudot adopted, after him, the same opinion. f 
 
 Champollion has found that the word OYpO, and with 
 
 the article , is the Egyptian name of the ser- 
 
 pent Uroeus, which is pointed out on all the monuments 
 as a characteristic sign of Egyptian sovereigns. This is 
 a singular congruity ; and it seems to explain the true 
 signification of the title Pharaoh , and the reason why this 
 symbol is placed upon the royal head-dresses. 
 
 2. Whatever is the solution of this philological problem 
 (which may receive fuller explanation when Egyptian 
 studies are more advanced), it is nevertheless certain, that 
 the union of Egyptian kings under a common name has 
 occasioned much obscurity in that portion of Scripture 
 relating to Egyptian history ; and thus it has become very 
 difficult to recognize among the various Pharaohs men- 
 
 * Jablonskii Opusc ., word <t>aoaJj, tom. i. pp. 374 — 376. 
 
 t Dissertatio de linguâ Copticâ, tom. i.; Liturgiarum orientiali - 
 um, p. 127. 
 
 8 
 
86 
 
 tioned in the Bible, those princes whose names have been 
 preserved by Greek or Roman historians. It is chiefly in 
 clearing up these weighty difficulties, that the discoveries 
 and chronological labors of the Champollions will be of 
 great assistance. 
 
 It is known that Champollion Figeac, who is collecting 
 in a work the materials daily furnished from the rich mine 
 explored by his brother, has succeeded in restoring nearly 
 all the vast edifice of Egyptian dynasties. This he has 
 effected by means of royal names inscribed upon the 
 monuments ; and his result corresponding with the lists 
 of Manetho, has reëstablished their authority, which had 
 before been very questionable among the moderns. His 
 labors and the hieroglyphic legends upon which they have 
 been employed, lead us to notice that part of the history 
 and chronology of the Pharaohs which relates to the 
 Scriptures, and afford us, at the same time, new truths on 
 the subject. But it was not sufficient to have found upon 
 the monuments the lists of Manetho as they were pre- 
 served by his abbreviators, and to learn the official names 
 (so to speak) of the Pharaohs; it was necessary also to 
 determine the epochs of their reigns, of which historians 
 kav€ only related the duration. Without this new result, 
 the former results would have been insufficient, and ex- 
 isting simply as objects of curiosity, they would have had 
 no real application to history. Champollion Figeac has 
 executed this important service. By the portions he has 
 selected from two writers of antiquity, he has placed in 
 our hands a thread which will guide us in the labyrinths 
 of Egyptian chronology; he has determined with cer- 
 tainty the date of the reign of Menophres, the third king 
 of the nineteenth dynasty. To make this more satisfactory, 
 we must enter into a few details ; and without attempting 
 to follow all his calculations (for which we refer the reader 
 
87 
 
 to his own work),* we will give an abstract of the reason- 
 ings which conducted to the result we have announced. 
 
 The Egyptians invented a period called Sothiac , which 
 has also been named the Cynic cycle. It was composed 
 of 1461 years, consisting of 365 days each, a number 
 equivalent to 1460 years fixed at 365J ; days each, and 
 its beginning was determined by the time when the star 
 Sirius first rose, on the first day of the month of Thoth. 
 A passage from Theon of Alexandria (in the Greek manu- 
 script No. 2390, Royal Library), apprizes us that this 
 period began anew under the reign of the Pharaoh Meno- 
 phres. Censorinus ( De die natali , xxi.) formally announ- 
 ces that the Cynic cycle ended the year 138 of the vulgar 
 era. Consequently then, by subtracting the 138 years 
 passed since the commencement of our era from the 1460 
 which form the entire period, we shall have in the result 
 1322 years before the Christian era, the date of the reign 
 of Menoplires , Ammeplithes , or Amenophis , whose monu- 
 mental name is Amenoftep , and who was the third 
 sovereign of the nineteenth dynasty. 
 
 But this date was still indeterminate, because, accord- 
 ing to ancient chronologists, Pharaoh occupied the throne 
 forty years ; it became necessary to fix it with more pre- 
 cision, and to find with which of these forty years the 
 renewal of the cycle, 1322 years before the Christian era, 
 corresponded. With equal sagaciousness, Champollion 
 has solved this new problem by means of another date 
 which is indicated by Manetho, and is preserved by Syn- 
 cellus. The historian of Egypt teaches us, that an inva- 
 sion of the Shepherds took place the sixth year of the 
 reign of Concharis, who is also called Timaiis ; and that 
 this year was the seven hundredth of the Cynic cycle, 
 
 * See his Notice Chronologique, following the first letter of his 
 brother upon the Royal Turin Museum, pp. 99 — 105, 
 
88 
 
 the same, doubtless, which ended under Menophres. By 
 adding to these 700 years of the cycle which have passed 
 since the death of Concharis, the 270 years of the usurpa- 
 tion of the Shepherds, the 348 years which made the total 
 duration of the eighteenth dynasty, and the reigns of the 
 two first kings of the nineteenth, of which Menophres was 
 the third, and which together form 121 years, we have 
 the sum total of 1429 years. Thirty-one years are want- 
 ing to complete the 1460 years of the period ; and these 
 must be taken from the reign of Menophres. The renewal 
 of the Cynic cycle, or the 1322d year before the Christian 
 era corresponds then with the thirty-second of the reign 
 of Menophres. 
 
 This conclusion is rigorously drawn, and it must satisfy 
 the most severe critic. We see plainly what advantage 
 it promises in historical study, because it affords a certain 
 date which hereafter will serve as a point of departure for 
 all chronological investigations ; and not only will it help 
 to fix the epochs of the Pharaohs, but to determine also 
 many synchronisms in other histories, either in tracing 
 back to the first dynasties, or in descending towards those 
 of the Persians and Greeks. For the illustration of sacred 
 history and its connection with the history of Egypt, we 
 must possess ourselves of this important result ; and it is 
 to the date of the reign of Menophres that all our chro- 
 nology will relate, while we trace out the sovereigns men- 
 tioned in the Bible. Let us commence an examination 
 of the twelve at least to whom the Bible refers, and whom 
 it designates by the general name of Pharaoh . 
 
 It is not our part to form a new chronological system. 
 Being obliged to select from among those which exist, we 
 have preferred that of Usher, as the one most generally 
 adopted by the interpreters of Scripture. We would not 
 conceal the fact that it is attended with difficulties in 
 
89 
 
 some of its details ; and we shall carefully point out those 
 respectable authorities, by whom essential limitations are 
 made in its application to the times anterior to the deliver- 
 ance of Israel, or to their departure from Egypt. The 
 epoch of these last events is one, in which the history of 
 the people of God is not involved in the same chronological 
 difficulties. 
 
 3. The first Pharaoh of the Scriptures is mentioned in 
 Genesis (xii. 10 — 20), and Egypt also is here named for 
 the first time. At this period, Abraham, to avoid the 
 famine which desolated the land of Canaan, descended 
 into Egypt (this is the common expression in the Bible) 
 with Sarah his wife, whom he wished to pass for his sister. 
 Her great beauty being rumored abroad, Pharaoh took 
 her to his house ; but being punished by the Lord, and 
 learning that she was the wife of the patriarch, he resto- 
 red her to her husband, and compelled them both to leave 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 The attempt to discover this Pharaoh in the profane 
 history of Egypt, presents difficulties of a peculiar kind. 
 Usher and the best chronologists place the preceding 
 events near the year 1918 before our era. At this epoch 
 occurred the devastating reign of the Hikshos* or Shep- 
 herds , who, after having massacred the king Timaüs or 
 Concharis, usurped the throne, and maintained them- 
 selves upon it during two hundred and sixty years. But 
 while these barbarians covered the land with blood and 
 
 * This Egyptian word has been rendered sometimes by king 
 shepherds , sometimes by armed shepherds ; but it seems to signify, 
 according to Manetho, captive shepherds. It would be difficult to 
 give a reason for this epithet. Many modern writers have believed 
 that they saw them represented in the figures of the vanquished or 
 captives, that are frequently found painted on the bottom of mummy 
 coffins. This custom was intended to express, in a very forcible man- 
 ner, the hatred and disgust with which the remembrance of their 
 ravages inspired the people of Egypt. 
 
 8 * 
 
90 
 
 ruin, the descendants of the legitimate sovereigns still 
 reigned over a part of Egypt, and courageously defended 
 themselves against the usurpers, until the time of Mis- 
 phragmouthosis , who shut them up in their capital Aouaris , 
 and left to his son Thouthmosis the easy task of expelling 
 them from Egypt and of driving them to Syria. The 
 dynasty cotemporary with that of the Shepherds (the sev- 
 enteenth), is not noticed by the abbre viators of Manetho ; 
 but it has been restored by the table of Abydos, which 
 gives the surnames of its six kings : the last name of 
 -the last king, Misphragmouthosis , is the only one now 
 known. 
 
 To which of these two parallel dynasties did the Egyp- 
 tian king, described in Genesis as cotemporary with 
 Abraham, belong ? It is not probable that he was one of 
 the Shepherd kings ; the sacred writers give him the title 
 of Pharaoh , which belongs only to legitimate sovereigns ; 
 and the sentiments of justice and fear of God exhibited in 
 his conduct, when he discovered the condition of Sarah, 
 are inconsistent with our ideas of the conduct of those 
 ferocious and impious tyrants. It would be more natural 
 to suppose that Pharaoh was a prince of the seventeenth 
 dynasty. But we are unable to determine not only his 
 last name (because the table of Abydos, as we have re- 
 marked, exhibits only surnames), but even the order of his 
 reign, because we do not know the respective duration of 
 the reigns of the princes of this dynasty, though their total 
 duration, like that of the Shepherds, was evidently two 
 hundred and sixty years. 
 
 There is another hypothesis about the epoch of these 
 events. It is founded on the authority of Eusebius, who 
 affirms positively in his Chronicon , that Abraham was 
 cotemporary with the sixteenth dynasty.* If this synchro- 
 
 * Euseb., ed. Scalig., Chron. Grœc., p. 89; — ed. Venet. armen., 
 tom. ii. p. 63 ; — ed. Milan, p. 240. 
 
91 
 
 nism is admitted, (to which hitherto but little attention 
 has been paid), the absence of Pharaonic monuments 
 belonging to this epoch, will forbid all investigation about 
 the name of the Pharaoh, who took Sarah to his harem. 
 We ought not to venture an opinion on this important 
 question. 
 
 4. About two centuries later, another Pharaoh appears 
 in Genesis. Joseph, the continued object of jealousy to 
 his brothers, was sold by them to the merchants of Midian, 
 who carried him to Egypt, where he became the slave of 
 Potiphar, chief of Pharaoh’s eunuchs and commander 
 of his forces {Gen. xxxvii. 28, 36). The son of Jacob 
 interprets the dreams of this prince, and announces to 
 him seven years of fertility which were to enrich Egypt, 
 and seven years of famine which were to succeed them. 
 Charmed with the wisdom that shone in his conduct, the 
 monarch confided to him the administration of his king- 
 dom. The foresight of the young Hebrew multiplied 
 resources abundantly, and he became the preserver of 
 Egypt and of the neighboring provinces (xli.). The famine 
 soon obliged Jacob to send his sons into Egypt, that they 
 might procure sustenance (xlii. xliii.). Finally Joseph 
 makes himself known to his brethren, in the touching 
 manner which Scripture describes (xliv. xlv.) ; he sends 
 for his father and his family (xlvi.) ; and Pharaoh receives 
 them with kindness and establishes them in the fertile 
 country of Goshen (xlvii.). 
 
 We find here new chronological difficulties like those 
 involved in determining the last Pharaoh. Without pre- 
 tending to decide an arduous question, let us follow the 
 hypothesis of Usher. 
 
 Scripture in no way indicates a succession of sovereigns 
 at the epoch which we are attempting to trace ; and 
 besides, this circumstance would have been of no conse- 
 
92 
 
 quence whatever in relation to a history exclusively na- 
 tional and religious. But the dates commonly assigned 
 in sacred chronology to the various facts which belong 
 to this epoch, will not allow us to view them as having 
 transpired under a single reign. We are obliged to re- 
 cognize two Pharaohs in this space of twenty and some 
 years. 
 
 If we admit that Joseph was sold by his brethren near 
 the year 1827 before the Christian era (as is admitted by 
 many interpreters since Usher), the Pharaoh who govern- 
 ed Egypt when the son of Jacob arrived there, and whose 
 officer Potiphar, the master of Joseph, commanded his 
 troops, would be the fifth king of the eighteenth dynasty. 
 The Egyptian legends give him the name of Thouthmosis 
 (hi.). The ancient chronologists call him MipTira or 
 Miphres , which the Champollions have discovered to be 
 identical with the Mœris of Greek historians,* a prince 
 who gave his name to a famous lake which he excavated, 
 and who was one of the greatest and best of Egyptian 
 kings. In fact this Pharaoh reigned nearly thirteen years, 
 that is to say from the year 1736 till the year 1723, before 
 our era. His royal cartouches are found in great numbers 
 upon the fabrics in Egypt and Nubia, upon the grand 
 obelisk of St. Jean de Latran which w'as formerly trans- 
 ported to Rome, upon a statue in the Turin Museum ,t 
 and upon a multitude of scarabées, amulets, and other 
 monuments of small dimensions and of various kinds, 
 which are found either in private cabinets or in public 
 museums. The most remarkable, without contradiction, 
 is a fragment of a hieratic papyrus found by Champollion 
 in the Turin Museum, which bears the date of Pharaoh’s 
 fifth year .f 
 
 * Letter 1st upon the Turin Museum , pp. 82, 83. t Ibid y p. 31. 
 
 t Bulletin des sciences historiques, tom. n. p. 302. 
 
93 
 
 But the Pharaoh who is most conspicuous in the history 
 of Joseph, he who drew him from prison, who received 
 from Joseph an explanation of his mysterious dreams, who 
 made him his minister and invested him with all his own 
 authority — who finally established Jacob and his sons 
 in Egypt, would be the son and successor of the same 
 Thouthmosis-Mœris, who is called by the chronicles 
 Miphra-Thouthmosis , and by the legends Amenopkis 
 (second of the name). He was the sixth king of the 
 eighteenth dynasty, and his reign of more than twenty- 
 five years, was from the year 1723 before our era to the 
 year 1697. For the facts which we attribute to this reign, 
 could not, according to the most generally admitted dates 
 of sacred chronology, have transpired anterior to the year 
 1714, nor posterior to the year 1705, before our era. The 
 hieroglyphic names of this Pharaoh are read upon many 
 edifices of Egypt and Nubia, especially upon a part of the 
 temple of Amada , beyond the first cataract. The Turin 
 Museum contains a beautiful colossal statue of this prince 
 in red granite, and upon the waist is a royal cartouche 
 enclosing his surname ;* the museum of Charles X. also 
 contains many small monuments which bear his name. 
 
 Like the preceding, these chronological results depend 
 entirely upon the system of Usher, to which other chro- 
 nologists and interpreters approach sufficiently near. But 
 the learned bishop of Cesarea traces much farther back 
 the epoch of Joseph. He places his administration in 
 Egypt under the dynasty of the Shepherds, which was the 
 seventeenth.! This would give to the sojourn of the 
 Hebrews in the land of the Pharaohs, a duration much 
 longer than it is commonly supposed to have been, and 
 
 * 1st Letter upon the Turin Museum, p. 36. 
 
 t Euseb., ed. Scalig., Chron. Grcec .,\ ?. 22; ed. Venet., tom. i. 
 p. 214; ed. Milan, p. 100. 
 
94 
 
 would explain much more strictly than ever has been ex- 
 plained, the four hundred and thirty years spoken of in 
 Scripture ( Gen. xv. 13). Syncellus, as quoted by Jose- 
 phus, gives us to understand that the elevation of Joseph 
 took place under the king named Apophis or Aphophis. 
 These authorities merit discussion; and we leave them 
 to the diligence of the learned men, who specially devote 
 themselves to chronological labors. 
 
 5. The sons of Israel were multiplied in Egypt and 
 became a great people,* when a Pharaoh arose, who knew 
 not Joseph , and who, terrified by the power which this 
 stranger people were daily acquiring, adopted concerning 
 the Hebrews sentiments very diverse from those of his 
 predecessors. He wished to oppress them by overbur- 
 dening them, and setting over them severe taskmasters ; 
 he employed them in making brick and mortar , and in 
 building treasure cities (Exod. i. 8 — 11). But finding 
 these means insufficient, he cruelly caused all their infant 
 male children to be destroyed, at first by the hands of 
 midwives, and afterwards by ordering them to be thrown 
 into the river (i. 12 — 22). It was then that Moses was 
 exposed by the waters of the Nile, and was drawn out 
 from the borders of the river by the daughter of Pharaoh, 
 who saved his life and adopted him for her son (ii. 3 — 10). 
 
 A great number of historians and critics, both ancient 
 and modern, have believed this Pharaoh to be the same 
 
 * This rapid increase of the Hebrew people, and the condition of 
 their army when they went out of Egypt (Exod. xii. 37), have 
 created an objection in the minds of skeptics. The difficulty, if there 
 is any, has been fully resolved by many polemic writers. But for a 
 better treatise on this subject, we refer to a very interesting note by 
 Dureau de la Malle, a member of the Academy of Inscriptions and 
 Belles Lettres, who clearly demonstrates the possibility of this fact. 
 As it has no direct connection with our object, and as its length pre- 
 cludes its introduction here, we refer the reader to the end of Du- 
 reau’s Poliorcétique des anciens , Paris, 1819, in 8vo (p. 441). 
 
95 
 
 with the celebrated Raineses or Ramses (iv.) Meiamoun , 
 the sixth and last king but one of the eighteenth dynasty. 
 But if we attend to the fact that Moses was eighty years 
 old at the time of the departure from Egypt, and that he 
 died at the age of an hundred and twenty, when the wan- 
 derings of forty years in the desert were ended (Deut. 
 xxxiv. 7), we shall see that all the events to which we 
 have referred cannot, in this view, be reconciled with the 
 dates generally adopted. In fact Moses was born near 
 the year 1570 before the Christian era, and Rameses 
 Meiamoun mounted the throne of Egypt in the year 1559 
 before the Christian era. This circumstance at least 
 obliges us to separate the events. 
 
 Since that barbarous measure (which would have de- 
 stroyed the young Moses but for the special protection 
 of Providence which destined him for great events) was 
 anterior to the birth of the Hebrew chief, that is to say 
 was anterior to the year 1570 before the Christian era, 
 the Pharaoh who polluted himself with this crime, appears 
 to us to be the thirteenth king of the eighteenth dynasty, 
 the second of the two Achencheres described by histo- 
 rians,* the king to whom the monuments give the name 
 of Mandouei (2d of this name), and whose reign, which 
 Manetho makes to consist of twenty years, commenced 
 1585, and ended 1565 years before the Christian era. 
 Many monuments are covered with his hieroglyphic 
 legends. M. Huyot has found his name in the hypostyle 
 [i. e. supported by pillars] hall of Karnac at Thebes. 
 
 * The first Achencheres, his brother and predecessor, is called 
 v Ousirei in his legends. To him belongs the admirable tomb disco- 
 vered at Thebes by Belzoni, and the beautiful alabaster sarcophagus 
 which is now in England. In this tomb, was found an immense 
 number of funereal figures in wood, which, scattered about the cabi- 
 nets, have made the cartouche of Ousirei more common than any 
 other. 
 
96 
 
 Champollion has read it upon a very beautiful bas-relief 
 of the Royal Turin Museum, and he attributes to this 
 king likewise the grand obelisk which was formerly raised 
 by Augustus among the ruins of Heliopolis, and which 
 now adorns in Rome the place called del popolo * 
 
 We are very far, however, from rejecting the opinion 
 which makes Ramses Meiamoun one of the oppressors of 
 the Hebrews ; we believe, on the contrary, that the greater 
 part of the facts related in the first chapter of Exodus, may 
 be attributed to him. Indeed, the Scriptures authorize 
 the belief, that the system of precaution adopted against 
 the people of God, continued until the period of their 
 departure from Egypt, and that it existed, consequently, 
 under many successors of Achenclieres Mandouei, and 
 especially during the long reign of Rameses IV., sur- 
 named Meiamoun, that is to say friend of Ammon. This 
 prince, next after the chief of the nineteenth dynasty, has 
 perhaps built the most numerous and the most magnificent 
 edifices; and we easily recognize in him, the Pharaoh 
 who subjected the Hebrews to heavy labors, though he 
 appears to us innocent of the death of their children. An 
 analogy of names presented in Scripture (the examination 
 of which we defer to another chapter),! authorizes us also 
 to attribute specially to him one at least of the treasure 
 cities built by the Israelites. It is true that Scripture 
 seems to make the building of these cities precede the 
 sanguinary orders given by Pharaoh against the male in- 
 fants of Israel ; but it is lawful to consider the description 
 as anticipating the labors which were imposed upon the 
 people of the Lord, or indeed as uniting in one account 
 the cities which were built at different epochs, without 
 being confined to the order of dates. 
 
 The royal names of this Ramses cover a large number 
 
 * 1st Letter on the Turin Museum, p. 65. t See chapter viii. 
 
97 
 
 of Egyptian edifices. They are read upon different por- 
 tions of the fabrics of Karnac and of Luxor at Thebes, 
 and upon the magnificent palace of Medinet-Habou ; 
 whose sculptures representing warlike scenes, seem to 
 justify the title of Martial or favorite of Mars , which 
 sometimes occurs in the legends. His tomb also is known 
 in the valley of Piban-el-MolouJc, near Thebes ; and though 
 there was sufficient reason for attributing it to this Pharaoh 
 from his cartouches, the fact is still farther confirmed by 
 Greek inscriptions traced upon the walls of the excavation, 
 which attest the visits made by ancient travellers to the 
 tomb of Ramses Meiamoun. This sepulchral dwelling 
 once contained a sarcophagus, whose cover of red granite 
 and of colossal dimensions was carried to England a few 
 years since, by the traveller Belzoni, and given to the uni- 
 versity of Cambridge.* The sarcophagus itself has since 
 been raised out of the catacombs of Biban-el-Moloulc , and 
 now adorns the Royal Museum of the Louvre. But the 
 most curious, surely, of all the monuments relating to this 
 Pharaoh, is a plan of this same tomb in faint colors on 
 papyrus, which strictly conforms to that in the description 
 of Egypt, and in which the grand hall presents a sarco- 
 phagus painted in red granite color, whose ensemble and 
 details correspond perfectly with the original. This pro- 
 duction of geometrical design among the Egyptians, wffiolly 
 unique in its kind, was discovered by Champollion in the 
 midst of a large quantity of papyri contained in the Turin 
 Museum.f 
 
 6. We come, finally, to the fourth Pharaoh mentioned 
 in Scripture, the last in the books of Moses, and the most 
 celebrated of all. The name of Pharaoh , expressed with- 
 
 * Messrs. Yorke and Leake have given a design of this monument 
 in plate xiv. of their collection entitled; The principal Egyptian 
 Monuments of the British Museum, etc. London, 1827, in 4to. 
 
 t Bulletin des sciences historiques, tom. n. p. 300. 
 
 9 
 
98 
 
 out any addition to determine its application, would in most 
 minds immediately call up the idea of a prince who was 
 the adversary of Moses, and who suffered chastisements for 
 his hardness of heart. The Lord tells us in his sacred 
 word, that having heard the groans of his oppressed peo- 
 ple, he had pitied them, and sent them a deliverer. Moses 
 presented himself before Pharaoh in behalf of God, and 
 demanded from him the liberty of the Hebrews ; but this 
 blinded prince, despising the orders of the Lord, rejected 
 the demand of his commissioned agent, and made yet 
 heavier the yoke with which he oppressed the children of 
 Israel (Exod. v.). Moses, repeating the orders of the Lord, 
 and to prove his divine mission, performed miracles which 
 all the skill of the wise men in Egypt assayed in vain to 
 imitate, and could not withstand (vii.). The king becom- 
 ing more hardened, Egypt was struck successively with 
 ten disastrous plagues ; and by the last, in a single night, 
 all the first born perished (vii. — xii.). It was then that 
 Pharaoh, terrified by the evils which he drew upon his 
 people, and recognizing, himself and his priests, the finger 
 of God, consented finally to let the children of Israel go 
 (xii. 31). But soon, repenting that he permitted them to 
 withdraw from the land of Egypt, he pursued them with 
 his army. The waters of the Red Sea divided themselves 
 to open a miraculous passage for the people of the Lord, 
 and closing upon the Egyptians in their imprudent attempt 
 to pass, swallowed them up in their abyss (xiv.). 
 
 This presumptuous and impious monarch is recognized 
 by many chronologists in the Pharaoh Amenophis (third 
 of the name), seventeenth and last king of the eighteenth 
 dynasty ; and this identity is indisputable. It was already 
 established, in our view, by Manetho in a fragment which 
 Josephus cites ( cont . App. i. 26), wdiere he relates this 
 remarkable circumstance, that the king feared to contend 
 
99 
 
 against God, or against the gods; dUd fiélUiv ôsouu/eïv 
 vofiioag. In this narrative we cannot but perceive an 
 allusion to the mournful circumstances which transpired 
 at the departure of the Hebrews ; and the expression we 
 have quoted seems to us to present a striking relation with 
 the expression of Scripture, viz., the finger of God is here 
 (Exod. viii. 19), and to describe the terror with which 
 the ten plagues had struck Egypt and its king. But this 
 opinion is farther proved by the Egyptian chronology 
 established by Champollion Figeac, from the monuments 
 and the lists of Manetho. This Pharaoh, son and suc- 
 cessor of Ramses Meiamoun , reigned nineteen years and 
 six months, and the known date of the reign of Menophres 
 fixes this period between 1493 and 1473 years before the 
 Christian era. About this time it is agreed to place the 
 departure from Egypt. Usher fixes it in the year 1491 
 before the Christian era. 
 
 The monuments of this Pharaoh, which are less nume- 
 rous than those of most of his predecessors, give him the 
 name of Ramses (the V.). They are found upon some 
 portions of the palace of Karnac in Thebes ; and the 
 museum of Charles X. contains a funereal figure in alabas- 
 ter w r hich is the image of this prince, and also a scarabee 
 which bears his surname. 
 
 We see that most of the Pharaohs mentioned in the 
 books of Moses, belong to the eighteenth dynasty. This 
 Diospolitan family, which produced the greatest princes, 
 is that under which the government of Egypt most pros- 
 pered, which built the most beautiful and vast edifices, 
 and which carried the arts to their highest perfection. 
 The intimate and continuous relations which the Hebrews 
 had with Egypt, in consequence of their sojourn for two' 
 centuries at least in this strange country, the prominent 
 part which they sustain in the most important events of 
 
100 
 
 sacred history, and the accounts given us in Scripture 
 concerning many individuals of this people, render them, 
 in our view, worthy of being studied with all the interest 
 which sacred criticism inspires. 
 
 It might be expected that we should continue to inves- 
 tigate, in the monuments and in the lists of the historian 
 Manetho, the rest of the Pharaohs mentioned in other 
 books of the Holy Scriptures. But we must first resolve 
 a sufficiently weighty difficulty relative to Pharaoh the 
 cotemporary of Moses, who resisted so long the commands 
 of the Lord, and who we have found to be identical with 
 the king Ramses Amenophis. Good faith demands that 
 we should not dissemble ; and as this subject needs 
 development, we shall examine it farther in the following 
 chanter 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DIFFICULTY RELATIVE TO THE LAST PHARAOH OF 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Did this Pharaoh perish in the Red Sea ? Silence of the historical books on 
 this subject. Examination of passages in the song of the Israelites and in 
 the Psalms. Some evidence in favor of the opinion that this prince did 
 not share in the calamity of his army. 
 
 In the preceding chapter, we have pointed out, in ac- 
 cordance with many critics, the identity of Amenophis 
 Ramses with the last Pharaoh mentioned in the books of 
 Moses, under whose reign the long sojourn of the Israel- 
 ites in Egypt ended. According to Manetho, he reigned 
 about twenty years ; viz. from the year 1493 before the 
 
101 
 
 Christian era to the year 1473, as it is calculated by 
 Champollion Figeac. The departure from Egypt then, 
 which occurred about the year 1491 before the Christian 
 era, took place in the second or third year of this prince. 
 It is usually said that this Pharaoh perished with his 
 army, which was drowned in the Red Sea as it pursued 
 the Hebrews. How shall we reconcile this fact with our 
 chronology, or, which is the same thing, what shall be 
 done with the seventeen remaining years of the reign at- 
 tributed to Amenophis ? 
 
 It is evident that these two facts imply a contradiction ; 
 that it is impossible to reconcile them ; and that one must 
 necessarily be modified by the other. The epoch fixed on 
 by Champollion Figeac, viz. that of the reign of Meno- 
 phres (which we employ as a point of departure), is, as we 
 have seen, indisputably determined ; the identity of the 
 Pharaoh in question with Ramses Amenophis , appears to 
 us equally certain ; and the date we have assigned to the 
 deliverance of the people of Cod, is now generally admit- 
 ted, with the exception of certain slight differences that 
 have'no connection with the seventeen years about which 
 the difficulty exists. Besides, the chronological system 
 we have adopted, and which embraces about thirteen cen- 
 turies, exhibits a consistent and methodical whole, per- 
 fectly in harmony with other epochs in Scripture, and it 
 will demonstrate our remaining statements concerning 
 the Pharaohs. 
 
 Is it a certain fact then, that the Pharaoh who pursued 
 the Hebrews was drowned in the Red Sea ? True, it has 
 been related by most modern historians, who have con- 
 strued literally certain figurative expressions of Scripture, 
 and it has been copied particularly in all those abridgements 
 which in our childhood gave us a lively impression of this 
 tragical event. But the opinion is not a necessary result 
 9* 
 
102 
 
 of an enlightened and religious discussion of the sacred 
 text ; and we believe that a contrary opinion, which will do 
 away the objection we have here anticipated, may be sus- 
 tained without rashness. Let us now examine this opin- 
 ion ; its apparent novelty should not render it suspicious. 
 It will be seen that, though it may be difficult to give it a 
 perfect demonstration, it can still be supported by reason- 
 ings which make it sufficiently probable. 
 
 1. Scripture does not compel us to believe that the 
 Pharaoh with whom we now are concerned, participated in 
 the fatal calamity of his army. And first, Moses says not 
 a word to this effect, when he relates the miracle per- 
 formed by the Lord in favor of his people. He informs 
 us, it is true, that Pharaoh marched in pursuit of the chil- 
 dren of Israel ; And he made ready his chariot and took 
 his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen 
 chariots , and all the chariots of Egypt , and captains over 
 every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of 
 Pharaoh king of Egypt , and he pursued after the chil- 
 dren of Israel (Exod. xiv. 6 — 8). A little farther on he 
 says ; And the Egyptians pursued, and ivent in after 
 them, into the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses , 
 his chariots and his horsemen (v. 23). Finally he adds ; 
 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and 
 the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into 
 the sea after them ; there remained not so much as one of 
 them (v. 28). Such are the principal features of the nar- 
 rative which Moses gives of this Egyptian expedition, and 
 of the terrible event in which it resulted. But in the cir- 
 cumstantial account of this disaster, he does not name 
 Pharaoh personally except when he speaks of his depar- 
 ture. Now if the persecutor of Israel entered the Red 
 Sea with his army, and was swallowed up with it, is it 
 probable that the chief and legislator of the Hebrews 
 
103 
 
 would have been silent about such a circumstance as the 
 tragical death of this prince ? an event more important, 
 perhaps, than even the destruction of his army, and surely 
 very proper as a striking illustration both of the protection 
 which God extended to his people, and of the chastise- 
 ments his justice inflicted upon the impious. And far- 
 ther ; to strengthen the faith of this people when in a 
 state of distrust and murmuring, Moses often recounts to 
 them their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, their pas- 
 sage through the Red Sea, and the other miracles which 
 God had wrought for them ; and on all these occasions, 
 when the allusion to the death of an oppressive prince 
 would have been so natural, he conveys no such idea. 
 
 The circumstance related by Moses, that no one escap- 
 ed, there remained not so much as one of them, proves 
 nothing relative to the supposed disaster of Pharaoh. It 
 refers to those who followed the Hebrews into the sea, 
 among whom Moses does not enumerate this prince. We 
 remark also, that the sacred historian seems designedly to 
 leave room for making exceptions to the general disaster, 
 by the precise manner in which he announces, that the 
 waters covered the chariots and the horsemen, and all the 
 host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them ; this 
 literally signifies that the waters covered only the chariots 
 and horsemen which entered into the sea, and leaves 
 us to infer that all did not enter. The incidental ex- 
 pression in verse 28, that came into the sea after them, 
 seems then to modify the more general expression in verse 
 23, even all, and authorizes us to understand it with some 
 latitude, rather than to restrain it to its rigorous sense. 
 All these circumstances of the narrative accord with the 
 presumption, not only that Pharaoh did not enter into thé 
 Red Sea, but perhaps even that some of his infantry, if he 
 possessed any, did not enter ; and at least, that this is 
 
104 
 
 true of some principal chiefs who surrounded him, and 
 who formed what we now call a body of staff-officers. 
 
 In relating the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, the 
 book of Wisdom, which describes so often and in such an 
 admirable manner, the wonders of the Lord in conducting 
 his people, and which celebrates the illustrious men whom 
 he made his instruments, makes no mention either of Pha- 
 raoh or of his tragical death. It is limited to the remark, 
 that in his wisdom he precipitated the enemies of Israel 
 into the sea ( Wisdom of Solomon, x. 19). 
 
 2. We must not conceal that this opinion meets with 
 difficulties, from passages in the song of the Hebrews after 
 the destruction of the Egyptians, and in the book of Psalms. 
 In the first place, we reply generally to an objection from 
 these sources, by suggesting a wise rule of sacred criticism, 
 which has always been universally adopted, at least in 
 theory; viz. that the Psalms and other songs of Scrip- 
 ture, and even a considerable portion of the prophets, being 
 poetry, we ought, in the use which we make of them, to 
 estimate correctly the metaphors, and numerous figures 
 familiar to poetry in all languages, but especially in those 
 of the east. It is plain, therefore, that when simple facts 
 are in question, the historical books of the Bible are the 
 strongest authority, and should be preferred as furnishing 
 the most positive information every time any seeming con- 
 tradiction is apparent between the sacred writers. But a 
 discussion of the texts alleged will supply a more definite 
 reply to the objection. 
 
 Moses says in his song ( Exod. xv. 19) ; Ingressus est 
 eques Pliarao cum curribus etequitibus ejus in mare; et 
 reduxit super eos Dominus aquas maris, i. e. the horse of 
 Pharaoh went in loith his chariots and with his horsemen 
 into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of 
 the sea upon them. This passage seems to signify that 
 
105 
 
 Pharaoh, marching with his chariots and his horsemen, en- 
 tered on horseback into the sea, and was there submerged 
 with his army. But the word DT D, literally horse , as it reads 
 in the original text, does not appear to designate here a beast 
 for the personal use of Pharaoh, who ought to be mounted 
 upon a chariot according to the custom of the kings of 
 Egypt,* as the sacred historian has given us to understand, 
 when in a preceding verse he says that Pharaoh made ready 
 his chariot (xiv. 6). Here DTD rather indicates cavalry , 
 whether it may take this sense in a rigorous grammatical 
 way, like its feminine derivative HD^D, or whether it takes 
 this sense extraordinarily and in a figurative manner very 
 natural to poetic style. It is for this reason, doubtless, 
 that the Vulgate has put eques for equus , although it has 
 employed the nominative Pharao , instead of the gen- 
 itive Pliaraonis , as the text would authorize it to be trans- 
 lated. In Greek, the word innog, which the Septuagint 
 has preserved, designates cavalry , as well as a horse ; 
 only in the first sense it is feminine, but here there is no 
 article nor words in connection to indicate the gender. The 
 evident result of this explanation is, that the same enume- 
 rative phrase comprises the horses , the chariots , and the 
 horsemen of Pharaoh , because the sense would be ; the 
 cavalry of Pharaoh , with his chariots and horsemen , 
 entered into the sea. But this manner of speaking, which 
 would be extraordinary in our modern languages, is not 
 so in the style of Scripture, and we see it used in the Vul- 
 gate, even in the narrative of Moses ; Equitatus Pliaraonis , 
 currus ejus, et équités , i. e. Pharaoh’s horses , his chariots , 
 and his horsemen (Exod. xiv. 23). The Hebrew text 
 
 * The bas-reliefs and paintings which represent the combats of the 
 ancient Egyptian monarchs, and all the monuments of Thebes, exhibit 
 them fighting in chariots. Homer thus presents his heroes in com- 
 bat. In general, cavalry were rare in high antiquity. 
 
106 
 
 then, in the song of the Israelites, proves nothing against 
 the opinion that Pharaoh was not immersed in the abyss 
 of the Red Sea. 
 
 But there is an expression in the Psalms on this subject, 
 which appears more strong, and is more difficult to be 
 reconciled with the view which we have taken. It is 
 there said, that God overthrew Pharaoh and his army in 
 the Red Sea ; Excussit Pharaonem et virtutem ejus in 
 mari Ruhro (Psal. cxxxvi. 15). We continue to quote 
 from the Vulgate which renders literally the Hebrew, the 
 verb ‘isa perfectly corresponding with the Latin excussit. 
 This passage, at first, would seem to be decidedly opposed 
 to the opinion we are endeavoring to render probable. It 
 is possible however to give it a more favorable interpreta- 
 tion. Cannot the word excussit (^ 55 ), be understood 
 figuratively as well as properly, and be applied to a moral 
 as well as to a physical overthrow ? When we imagine 
 Pharaoh a witness of the catastrophe which Scripture de- 
 scribes ; as viewing the waves rapidly entering the bed 
 which they had for a moment deserted ; the path which 
 God had opened for his people closed before his enemies ; 
 the chariots overturned, the horsemen and horses con- 
 fusedly thrown down and immediately engulphed ; and 
 finally, seeing his army destroyed by the mighty hand of 
 the Lord ; surely we should think, that even in surviving 
 this disaster, he received upon the borders of the Red Sea 
 the most terrible overthroio which a powerful and pre- 
 sumptuous king ever experienced. We say that a general 
 is beaten , when he has received only a slight blow ; that 
 he is annihilated , when he sees the massacre or the dis- 
 graceful flight of his troops ; and these figurative expres- 
 sions, which are stronger than those of the royal prophet, 
 deceive no one in regard to their true meaning. The 
 Syriac version of the Psalms supports this explanation. 
 
107 
 
 It reads f fil , ei qui exagitavit Pharaonem, 
 
 to him icho terrified Pharaoh. The verb signifies 
 
 also pulsavit, angore , anxietate affecit , he heat, he affected 
 with pain , with anxiety. It is used with the participle 
 . in the version of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
 
 (xi. 37), to render the Greek expression Kaxov/ovyevoL, 
 which the Vulgate has translated by afflicti , afflicted. 
 This may perhaps be the true sense of oT. 7 ^ V! in the 
 passage of the Psalms, ei qui angustiavit , qui afflixit Pha- 
 raonem, to him who straitened, who afflicted Pharaoh. 
 
 We have given to the word virtutem of the Vulgate, 
 the figurative sense of an army, as is commonly done. 
 We might have left it with its literal signification, virtue, 
 force, courage, which the Hebrew word likewise sig- 
 nifies. Then the text of the Psalmist would read ; Pha- 
 raoh and his courage, or the courage of Pharaoh, was 
 made to vanish in the Red Sea , when he saw his army 
 perish; an expression which a modern writer might allow, 
 even though he were not a poet. Finally the mode of 
 speaking which the royal prophet always adopts, should be 
 considered as one elevated and strongly figurative, de- 
 signed rather to convey the idea of the army of Pharaoh, 
 than of Pharaoh and his army in the strict sense of the 
 words. This would be altogether in the lofty style of the 
 sacred songs and of the prophets ; and many analogous 
 examples can be found in Scripture. 
 
 But we will not push any farther these philological 
 discussions. Sufficient has been said, in our estimation, 
 to answer the objection in Psalm cxxxvi. ; and we think 
 that the strong term of expression in some pieces of poetry, 
 does not destroy the argument drawn from the absolute 
 silence which the historian of the people of God preserves, 
 in relation to the death of Pharaoh. 
 
108 
 
 3. To confirm the unusual opinion which we have here 
 been discussing, one would wish to see it supported by 
 some historical authorities ; for what we have said in rela- 
 tion to the Scripture texts, amounts only to a negative argu- 
 ment, and can only tend to weaken the generally received 
 opinion, without establishing its opposite. Historical data 
 on this subject are but few in number; still they must not be 
 neglected, and the following are among the most important. 
 Josephus has preserved, among other passages from ancient 
 historians relating to Egypt, quite a long fragment from the 
 Egyptian Manetho ( Cont. App. i. 26 & 27) ; from which 
 we have quoted one expression concerning the Pharaoh 
 in question. In this fragment, we perceive evident allusion 
 to the departure of the people of God from Egypt ; and 
 amidst a variety of irrelevant matter which is intermixed, 
 there are many facts related which preceded and ac- 
 companied this great event. We shall notice here only the 
 most striking among those, which appear to have direct 
 connection with our subject. Manetho in the first place 
 says, that Amenophis, the Pharaoh with whom w T e are now 
 occupied, wishing to drive away a troop of lepers (whom 
 he puts in the place of the Israelites), was terrified by the 
 prophetic menaces of an Egyptian priest ; a circumstance 
 which seems to relate, though indirectly, to the divine 
 mission of Moses, his menaces to Pharaoh, and the 
 plagues with which God smote Egypt. He adds, that this 
 prince decided however to march with his army against 
 the lepers, who were in a state of open rebellion, and 
 against their allies who had come from Palestine • This 
 characterizes the Hebrews. He goes on to say, that fearing 
 to make war against God or against the gods, he did not 
 enter into combat with them , but returned to Memphis ; 
 from whence he immediately went to Ethiopia. Our 
 author makes him afterwards return again [to Memphis] 
 
109 
 
 with his son Ramses. JlafovÔQopi'jaaç rnsv eîç Mépcpiv... 
 svâv'ç eiç Aid louLuv ...dv^/di] . ’Enïjkôev o' Afiévwcpiç dno 
 Aidconiug pisjd ptEydlrjç Ôvvdfieojç, nui o' vioç avrov 
 'Pdpiiftrjç. 
 
 This passage is in some respects very remarkable, and 
 particularly in relation to the question we are discussing ; 
 which is formally decided, if we admit the narrative of 
 Manetho, because he makes Amenophis survive the pur- 
 suit of the Israelites, who are evidently the same with the 
 lepers. The fables with which this testimony is mingled, 
 and the character of its author, an Egyptian priest who 
 could not well be altogether impartial, may perhaps impair 
 its historic authority in the minds of some readers. But 
 it will doubtless appear more weighty, when we recollect 
 that the Jewish historian Josephus was interested in de- 
 stroying the credit of Manetho, and that in the chapter 
 from which the above extract is taken, and in the follow- 
 ing, he refutes in detail, and often with bitterness, certain 
 errors of the Egyptian annalist, and sometimes is even 
 unjustly partial to facts which oppose his particular views. 
 This same Josephus makes no answer to the alleged fact 
 of Pharaoh’s return to Memphis, nor does he contradict it 
 in any manner. 
 
 It appears besides that the ancient Jews did not regard 
 as certain, the drowning of the persecutor of their fathers 
 in the Red Sea. This conclusion is fairly drawn from 
 the silence of Josephus, who does not mention it while he 
 is narrating the passage of the Red Sea (ii. Antiq. xvi. 1), 
 and he does not indicate even that Pharaoh himself 
 marched with his army to the sea. The same inference 
 may be made from Philo, who makes no more reference 
 to the death of Pharaoh than Josephus does, while he is 
 relating the great event of passing the Red Sea {De vita 
 Mosis , i. p. 629. edit. Paris. 1640). Lastly from the 
 10 
 
110 
 
 poet Ezekiel,* who limits himself to saying that the waves 
 returned upon the path opened by the Lord for his people, 
 and that the Red Sea swallowed up the forces of the 
 Egyptians (Euseb. Prœp. Evang. p. 445). 
 
 Something more direct still is found in the opinion of 
 many Rabbins, who say that God preserved Pharaoh 
 from death ; that he did not die ; and that he went to 
 Nineveh where he reigned and repented. We know that 
 Rabbinical opinions in general are worthy of but little 
 confidence ; and we are far from admitting this opinion, 
 with the singular circumstances which accompany it. 
 However, we* beg the liberty to repeat an important re- 
 mark, which grows out of an attentive examination of an- 
 cient traditions ; viz. that fables when so often mingled in 
 history by writers of high antiquity, especially where 
 primitive times are concerned, are rarely episodes of pure 
 invention, and without any historical foundation. Gene- 
 rally they have an evident relation with some commonly 
 known fact, although they are strangely disfigured and 
 embellished with marvellous things which the imagina- 
 tion of poets or the credulity of the multitude have added. 
 Is it not fair then to apply here this maxim derived from 
 experience, and to admit the principal fact, disengaged 
 from the suspicious details which accompany it ; that is 
 to say, may we not suppose, according to the above pas- 
 sage, and in view of the silence of Scripture and of the 
 Jewish authors, and its perfect agreement in the main with 
 the historian of Egypt, that Pharaoh the adversary of 
 
 * This Ezekiel, who was a very different individual from the pro- 
 phet who hears the name, was an Alexandrine Jew, of whose age 
 we are ignorant. He wrote in Greek verses, a tragedy of which 
 Moses is the hero. Eusebius, in his Evangelical Preparation, has 
 preserved long and numerous fragments of this writer which are not 
 void of interest. Clement of Alexandria also quotes him (Strom, i. 
 pp. 414, 415, ed. Pot). 
 
Ill 
 
 Moses escaped death? It may have been, either that 
 God preserved him from the sea, or that he did not him- 
 self march with his army, or (which appears more pro- 
 bable) that remaining upon the bank while his troops at- 
 tempted to effect a passage, he was only a witness of the 
 frightful catastrophe which buried them in the waters. 
 
 We have dwelt a considerable time upon this question. 
 Obliged, in a manner, by chronological results which ap- 
 pear to us certain, to adopt an opinion about the death of 
 the last Pharaoh in Exodus , which is at variance with the 
 common ideas on the subject, we have thought it a duty 
 to justify it from the charge of temerity which might be 
 brought against it, and to support it by arguments of some 
 weight. We regret that we cannot add the authority of 
 some learned critics. Being of no importance except 
 as it stands connected with chronology, it has hardly been 
 discussed. We find it defended only by Desvignoles,* in 
 a well connected system which has furnished us with a 
 part of our reasonings on the subject. Whatever may be 
 the degree of conviction they will produce in the mind of 
 the reader, they suffice at least to render the opinion plau- 
 sible, that the Pharaoh Amenophis, surviving the destruc- 
 tion of his army in the Red Sea, might have reigned until 
 the year 1473 before the Christian era, a period when, 
 having occupied the throne about twenty years, he left it 
 to his son Ramses or Sethon. In this hypothesis, which 
 is established by ancient chronicles, there is nothing which 
 militates with the dates that we are obliged to admit. 
 [See Appendix Q,.] 
 
 * Chronologie de V Histoire Sainte. Berlin, 1738, 2 vols, in 4to, 
 
 tom. n. p. 731. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 OTHER PHARAOHS OF SCRIPTURE. 
 
 Pharaoh cotemporary with David. Pharaoh father in law of king 
 Solomon. Pharaohs mentioned in various texts of the prophets. 
 
 In the following chapter, which will necessarily be very 
 brief, we return to the biblical chronology of the kings of 
 Egypt, and we shall notice the remainder of those who are 
 designated in Scripture only by the common name of Pha- 
 raoh. We now leave far behind the eighteenth dynasty, 
 which was cotemporaneous with the sojourn of the Isra- 
 elites in Egypt, and which occupies many pages in the 
 narratives of Genesis and of Exodus. But the relations of 
 Egypt with the Hebrews, who during a period of four 
 centuries are not mentioned by the sacred historians, re- 
 appear in the books of the Kings , in which we are re- 
 ferred to the epoch of the twenty-first dynasty ; and two 
 new Pharaohs are pointed out, who were differently con- 
 nected with a monarch and an enemy of Israel. 
 
 1. When Joab, general in chief of David’s army, enter- 
 ed Idumea at the head of his troops, in order to lay waste 
 the country (2 Sam. viii. 14), Hadad prince of the blood 
 royal of Edom, was taken while a child by the servants 
 of his father who wished to preserve him from death, and 
 carried to Egypt; from whence he afterwards returned, to 
 carry forward an opposition to king Solomon. The mon- 
 arch who then occupied the throne of the Pharaohs, re- 
 ceived this fugitive prince with kindness, gave him a 
 
113 
 
 house, lands, and revenue, and becoming attached to him, 
 espoused him to the sister of the queen his wife, and was 
 desirous to educate in his palace the son who sprung from 
 this union (1 Kings xi. 15 — 20). The princess, who 
 was the spouse of the Egyptian king, is called in Hebrew 
 D^SE-hn, and Taphnes in the Vulgate; but the Septuagint, 
 for reasons with which we are not acquainted, have given 
 her a very different name, Oexs^iva. 
 
 If we knew the order of succession and the names of 
 the queens of Egypt, as we know their husbands by the 
 lists of Manetho, it would be easy with the aid of Scrip- 
 ture, to find in the tw r enty-first dynasty (for he can belong 
 to no other) the Pharaoh now in question. In default of 
 any such resource, we must recur to the only means left, 
 and compare the dates. 
 
 The facts which we have collected from Scripture, not 
 being connected with any more prominent events whose 
 dates are fixed by the sacred writer, are still very uncer- 
 tain, and can be determined only by conjecture. The 
 flight of the Idumean prince into Egypt, about the year 
 1037 before the Christian era, may however be regarded 
 as probable ; and we may suppose that he went out from 
 Egypt about the year 1013 before our era. According to 
 these data , his sojourn in the land of the Pharaohs, which 
 would be 24 years in duration, would have taken place 
 under several kings of the tw r enty-first dynasty. The 
 Pharaoh who furnished him with an asylum, w 7 ould be 
 the second sovereign of that family, to whom history and 
 the monuments give the name of Psousenes (1st), and 
 whose reign of 46 years extended from the year 1075, to 
 the year 1029 before the Christian era. The king who 
 married his sister in law, will be found in Neplielcheres , 
 who succeeded Psousenes , and reigned till the year 1025. 
 
 The exiled prince must likewise have witnessed the 
 10 * 
 
114 
 
 reign of Pharaoh Amenophis , the fourth king of this 
 family. Finally, his return would date from the reign of 
 the fifth monarch, named Osochor , who governed Egypt 
 during six years, that is to say, from 1016 to 1010 before 
 the Christian era. 
 
 These conjectures are of little importance, by reason of 
 their uncertainty in respect to biblical chronology ; and 
 especially because of the little historic interest attached to 
 a monarch who is simply named in Scripture. But hav- 
 ing undertaken to find the Pharaohs of the sacred books 
 in historic monuments, we wish to complete the labor, 
 and we feel bound not to omit these details, though we 
 attach no importance to them beyond their real value. 
 
 2. In the same book of Kings , and at very nearly the 
 same time with the former Pharaoh, still another Pharaoh 
 is briefly mentioned. He it is who married his daughter to 
 Solomon, king of the Hebrews, and who gave to him for a 
 dowry the city of Gezer * of which he took possession 
 after having driven away the Canaanites (1 Kings ix. 16). 
 Scripture apprizes us farther, that Solomon, having con- 
 ducted his new spouse to the city of David, lodged her 
 in the palace of this prince until he could build his own 
 house (1 Kings iii. 1 ; 2 Cliron. vii. 11). This circum- 
 stance will aid us in determining the epoch of this alliance 
 with Egypt, which is no where else indicated in a precise 
 manner ; but which it would be natural to regard as the 
 commencement of Solomon’s defection. 
 
 Usher seems to place the marriage of the Hebrew mon- 
 arch, about the year 1014 before the Christian era. If we 
 admit this, we shall find that his father-in-law was the 
 Pharaoh Osoclior whom we have already named, because 
 
 * It appears that Gezer belonged to the tribe of Ephraim ; but how 
 and under what circumstances did it fall into the power of Pharaoh ? 
 This is a serious difficulty, which we cannot here slop to examine. 
 
115 
 
 Osochor' s reign of six years according to Manetho, con- 
 tinued, according to the chronology of Champollion Figeac, 
 from the year 1016 before the Christian era to the year 
 1010. We have concluded that the king Osochor occu- 
 pied the throne of the Pharaohs, when the Idumean 
 Hadad left the asylum he had found in Egypt. This colla- 
 tion of dates and the alliance of Osochor with Solomon, 
 seem then to support the conjecture announced by certain 
 critics, who have thought it probable that Pharaoh inter- 
 fered to mediate peace between the prince of Edom and 
 the monarch of the Hebrews. 
 
 The Pharaohs whom we have been hitherto consider- 
 ing, erected many monuments which still exist ; and their 
 hieroglyphic legends have been frequently observed by 
 Champollion. This is not the case with those whom we 
 may hereafter notice. Champollion however remarked, 
 that the royal names of the first king of the twenty-first 
 dynasty, Mandou-ftep, the Mendes or Smendis of histo- 
 rians, and of his son or successor Psousenes, are both in- 
 scribed upon a stela in the Royal Turin Museum.* 
 
 3. The generic title of Pharaoh , unaccompanied by 
 any other name which might give it a definite application, 
 is often found in the texts of the prophets Isaiah, Jere- 
 miah, and Ezekiel, who addressed to Egypt the formidable 
 threatenings of the Lord. But the passages where it oc- 
 curs, after an examination of the context and an interpre- 
 tation by the most able critics, do not seem to designate 
 kings of Egypt different from those mentioned in the 
 historical books of the Bible. Some passages apply, in 
 general, to sovereigns of Egypt who in a manner are 
 personifications of Egypt itself; but the greatest number 
 have reference to sovereigns who were allied with the 
 kings of Judah, and usually in such a way as to violate 
 
 2d Letter on the Turin Museum , pp. 114 seq. 
 
116 
 
 the commands of God as given by his servants. They are 
 regarded as relating principally to the Pharaohs Necho 
 and Hophra, whose names the prophets have sometimes 
 added to the common denomination of Pharaoh. 
 
 For these reasons we shall not here take particular 
 notice of these kings, nor of the passages of the prophets 
 in which they are mentioned. But as they are elsewhere 
 found in the historical books of the Kings and of the 
 Chronicles , we must examine their history in the following 
 chapter, where we shall determine their chronological 
 place. We shall continue to trace their various relations 
 with the Hebrews, as they are known to us through the 
 Scriptures; and we shall also endeavor to find these 
 Pharaohs, with their Egyptian physiognomy, in the an^ 
 cient chronicles and in the monuments of antiquity. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE KINGS OF EGYPT DISTINGUISHED BY PROPER 
 NAMES IN SCRIPTURE. 
 
 Shishak. Zerah the Ethiopian. So. Tirhakah. Necho. Hophra. 
 
 The Egyptian monarchs whom we shall now examine, 
 are not designated in the sacred books simply by the 
 generic denomination of Pharaoh , but they have proper 
 names, which serve to distinguish them more clearly. 
 These names, however, when deprived of their primitive 
 terminations or of those given to them afterwards by Greek 
 historians, and sometimes altered even essentially in their 
 forms, are not always easy to be recognized. In this state 
 
117 
 
 they have often presented a barrier to interpreters, who 
 have sought to discover them among names preserved by 
 historians or ancient chronologists. But these learned 
 men were destitute of one powerful means of historic 
 criticism, which Providence had reserved for our age. It 
 is now furnished by the discovery of Champollion, and by 
 the labors of his brother; and we owe to these and to 
 some other sources, the greatest portion of the following 
 details which appear to us worthy of some attention. 
 
 1. The first king of Egypt whose distinctive name is 
 given by the sacred writers, is called ( Shishak or 
 
 Sheshok ); a name which the Septuagint interpreters have 
 rendered by Zovcruxeiy, JSov.cruttifi; the historian Josephus 
 (viii. Antiq. x. 2) by 2ovoraxog; and the Vulgate, by 
 Sesac ; [in the English version Shishak.] Under his reign, 
 Jeroboam, who had sought to arouse the Jewish people 
 against king Solomon, and who fled from the just ven- 
 geance of this prince, went down to Egypt to find there 
 an asylum (1 Kings xi. 40). It was perhaps on account 
 of an alliance with this fugitive prince, or from the effect 
 of his intrigues, that a few years after, the fifth year of 
 the reign of Rëhoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, 
 Shishak made an incursion into Judea, took possession of 
 Jerusalem, pillaged the temple of the Lord and the trea- 
 sures of the king, and took away the golden shields which 
 Solomon had made (1 Kings xiv. 25, 26). The second 
 book of Chronicles , which relates the same event some- 
 what in detail, informs us (xii. 3) of the imposing force 
 of his army; which, besides the Egyptians was 
 
 composed of the Lyhians fi^^of a people called t3^3p, 
 a name which the Septuagint and Vulgate render by 
 TçbtyloôvTca, Troglodytæ; and lastly, of the Ethiopia 
 ans , fTOs. This number proves the power of Egypt at 
 this period, and the extent of its dominion, or at least of 
 
118 
 
 its influence, over the neighboring nations. It appears 
 that the pillage of Jerusalem was the termination of SJii- 
 shak’s expedition, and the sacred books make no more 
 mention of this warrior king. 
 
 Chronologists have sought to find the Shishak of the 
 sacred annals, among the kings of Egypt enumerated in 
 profane history ; but most of their labors have terminated 
 in vain systems, which a sound critic would disapprove. 
 Marsham, Jameson, and many others have believed him 
 to be the same with the famous Sesostris or Sethosis; but 
 this, as we shall see in the sequel, was going too many 
 centuries back. Usher, with more discretion, but without 
 the power of establishing his opinion by substantial proofs, 
 conjectured that Shishak was no other than the Sesonchis 
 or Sesonchosis of the Greeks. Desvignoles and the editors 
 of the Yence Bible have admitted this opinion as extremely 
 probable. 
 
 In many of his works, especially in his Precis * Cham- 
 pollion has definitely settled this question, because his 
 opinion is established by hieroglyphic legends which con- 
 tain memorials of the Pharaohs. In fact, upon one of 
 the colonnades which adorn the first court of the palace 
 of Karnac at Thebes, two royal legends are inscribed 
 in cartouches ; the first expresses the surname approved 
 by the sun \Amon-mai Sheshonk] ; the second, entirely 
 phonetic, reads thus UjcyHK» dear to 
 
 Ammon , Sheshonk. We see that this name, which is 
 found also upon many other monuments, is strictly the 
 same with that of Zéooy/iç preserved by Manetho, and 
 differs from it only in the addition of a Greek termina- 
 tion. But if one has the slightest notion of the particular 
 genius of the Shemitish languages, which adhering only to 
 the skeletons of words, that is to say to the consonants, 
 
 Pages 255 — 257. 
 
119 
 
 neglect the vowels as least important, he will then be 
 struck with the analogy of the Egyptian name UfcyuK 
 ( Sheslionk ) , to that of the Hebrew written (Shishak 
 or Sheshok). Indeed, one cannot but perceive their 
 identity. . 
 
 A recent discovery made by Champollion in the land 
 of Egypt itself, removes all doubt upon this subject. 
 We transcribe his own description. “ In the wonderful 
 
 palace (that of Karnac ) I saw, says he, Sesonchis 
 
 dragging at the feet of the Theban Trinity, Ammon and 
 Mouth and Rons, the chiefs of more than thirty van- 
 quished nations, among which I have found, written 
 in letters at full length, TOUDAHAMALEK, the king- 
 dom of the Jews or of Judah. This forms a commentary 
 upon the fourteenth chapter of the first book of Kings, 
 which in fact relates the arrival of Sesonchis at Jerusa- 
 lem, and his success. Thus the identity we have estab- 
 lished between the Egyptian Sheshonk , the Sesonchis of 
 Manetho, and the Shishak or Sheshok of the Bible, is 
 confirmed in the most satisfactory manner.”* 
 
 The sacred historian informs us, that the irruption of 
 Shishak into Judea took place in the fifth year of the 
 reign of Rehoboam, which corresponds, according to 
 Usher, with the year 791 before our era. According to 
 the calculations of Champollion Figeac, it was in this 
 same year 791, that Sesonchis , chief of the twenty-second 
 dynasty, mounted the throne of the Pharaohs. So the 
 commencement of his reign was signalized by this act 
 of hostility against the kingdom of Judah; and the dates, 
 as well as the analogy of names and the formal testimony 
 of a monument, justify fully the opinion of Champollion 
 on this subject. 
 
 * See the 7th Letter written by Champollion, during his travels 
 in Egypt, p. 35. 
 
120 
 
 Among the monuments which belong to this Pharaoh, 
 Champollion refers to a statue with the head of a lion in 
 the Royal Museum of France, another statue in the 
 British Museum, and a scarabee in the Turin Museum.* 
 The two last monuments are remarkable on account of 
 the name of the prince being engraved upon them ac- 
 cording to the abbreviative process, of which we have 
 before spoken.t But the re-union of the name with the 
 surname constantly designating Sheskonk, leaves no doubt 
 about the propriety of attributing this royal cartouche 
 to him. 
 
 2. Some years later, under the reign of the young son 
 of Rehoboam, Scripture points out in another sovereign 
 of Egypt a formidable adversary of the people of God. 
 This prince is called Zara by the Vulgate, Zaçé by the 
 Greek version, and Zagaïoç by the historian of the Jews 
 (viii. Antiq. xii. 1). He is named Zerah, rnt, in the 
 original text, [and Zerah in the English version.] At 
 the head of an immense army, he made war upon king 
 Asa, the son of Abijah, and he advanced even to the village 
 of Mareshah. The king of Judah marched out to meet 
 him with forces very inferior in number, ranged them in 
 order of battle in the valley of Zephathah, and under the 
 protection of the Lord, completely routed the enemy, and 
 took from them rich spoils (2 Chron. xiv. 9 — 15). 
 
 It is very difficult to find this prince in the memorials 
 of profane history, because he has been considered as one 
 of the Ethiopian kings, | about whom hardly any historical 
 data exist. This opinion concerning his empire is found- 
 
 * 2d Letter on the Turin Museum, pp. 120, 121. 
 
 t Chapter IV. of our first part, p. 45. 
 
 $ Scaliger however makes him a king of Egypt ; but he seeks him 
 among the anonymous kings of the twenty-second dynasty (Can. 
 Isag. pp. 311 — 318). In this, he appears to wander from his general 
 system of chronology. 
 
121 
 
 ed upon a false interpretation of Scripture. The Chroni- 
 cles give to his name, it is true, the qualification of 
 Ethiopian, FHT, Zara Æthiops , as it reads in the 
 
 Hebrew and in the Vulgate. Reference is frequently 
 made to the Ethiopians of his army ; but Scripture no 
 where declares that he was an Ethiopian king. We 
 willingly admit, however, that his domination extended 
 over this country ; a circumstance which explains the 
 prodigious force of his army, which Scripture makes 
 amount to a million of men (C’Dlrtt mille millium). 
 Like Shishak, he must have called to his army the various 
 nations of his vast empire, and Scripture gives us reason 
 to suppose that Ethiopia formed one portion of it, but it 
 appears certain that this Ethiopian , whether he was so by 
 birth (which is not unlikely), or whether he took the 
 surname as a title of conquest, was a sovereign of power- 
 ful Egypt. 
 
 Who is this Pharaoh, and in what dynasty must we 
 look for him ? Mr. Salt, the zealous explorer of Egyptian 
 antiquities, has found in a royal cartouche traced upon 
 the walls of the ruins near Mount Sinai, a name which 
 he transcribes by the Greek letters 22EPA and which 
 he presumes to be that of Zerah in the sacred books, the 
 double 2, according to him, being employed to represent 
 Z* But the conjecture of the learned Englishman ap- 
 pears to us a little hazardous, and the import of the sign 
 which he supposed to be the second 2 may be subject 
 to some dispute. Champollion has been much more 
 fortunate, as we conceive. 
 
 In a hieroglyphic legend upon the same colonnades where 
 he found the name of Sesostris, he observed the name 
 
 * See Essay upon the system of phonetic hieroglyphics , by 
 Henry Salt, translated into French by Devère. Nancy, 1827, in 8vo 
 (p. 50, note 5, and plate iv. 23). 
 
 11 
 
122 
 
 of another king thus inscribed ^VjLINJJLcM OcpKH 
 or Ocptfn , dear to Ammon , Osorchon or Osorgon. 
 This Pharaoh was the son and successor of Sesonchis 
 (Sheshonk), as is proved by Manetho, who with great 
 probability calls him ’ Oaôç/wv, a name which the copyists 
 or abbreviators have improperly confounded with that of 
 5 Oorôçdœr or ’ Ooôgdwç* It is in this Pharaoh Osorchon , 
 second king of the twenty-second dynasty, that of the 
 BubastiteSf that we recognize (with Champollion) the 
 Ethiopian of the sacred historians. If we take from the 
 
 monumental name OcPSCH ^ ts Egyptian termination, 
 and abstract its vowels, it will exactly correspond with 
 the name fHT in the Hebrew text. The identity of these 
 two names, which was already conjectured by Desvig- 
 noles,f is then established by the monuments. The col- 
 lation of dates furnishes equally strong proof of the fact. 
 
 Without resuming the date from Menophres which we 
 have previously adopted, let us now reckon only from the 
 invasion of Shis hah } which took place in the fifth year of 
 Rehoboam. The son of Solomon reigned 17 years, that 
 is to say 12 years more after the check which he received 
 in battle. By adding to this number the reign of Abijah, 
 his son and successor, which continued 3 years, the 
 15 first years also of the reign of Asa, because the battle 
 of Mareshah is placed in the fifteenth year of this prince, 
 and by subtracting 30 years the sum total of the ad- 
 dition from 971, the date of Shishak’s expedition, the 
 defeat of Zerah will then be found to have taken place 
 about the year 941 before the Christian era. Manetho, 
 
 * Précis du Syst. hiéroglyphique, pp. 257 — 262. Many monu- 
 ments, among the rest two papyri published by Denon, have enabled 
 Champollion to discover two other personages of this family, named 
 also Osorchon and Sheshonk. 
 t Chronologie de V Histone Sainte , tom. n. p. 126. 
 
123 
 
 as we learn from his abbreviators, did not attempt to de- 
 termine the duration of the reigns of Sheshonk and Osor- 
 chon. But as Eusebius gives to those of the three first 
 Pharaohs of this dynasty the total duration of 49 years, 
 we may with great probability divide this number of years 
 equally between them ; and if only thirty be given to the 
 two first, the calculation will make Osor chon’s reign en- 
 dure until 941 before our era, which is the fifteenth year 
 of Asa king of Judah. 
 
 In concluding our remarks about Osorchon or Zerah, 
 we must notice for the information of the curious, any 
 monuments which bear his name. There is a large vase 
 of eastern alabaster which was consecrated by this prince 
 to God , sovereign of the regions of the world , Ammon- 
 Rê, as its hieroglyphic inscription reads. It was after a 
 while transported to Rome, and it became an urn to con- 
 tain the ashes of a member of the Claudian family, whose 
 Latin epitaph is inscribed upon the middle of the vase and 
 opposite to the Egyptian legend. This beautiful monu- 
 ment, and eloquent testimony of human vicissitudes, is 
 now in the Royal Museum of the Louvre, and the dis- 
 covery of Champollion has revealed the striking contrast of 
 inscriptions which it presents.* 
 
 3. About two centuries after the victory obtained by 
 Asa over Zerah , a new king of Egypt appears, who is cal- 
 led in the Vulgate Sua. The Hebrew gives him the 
 name of tfio, which is commonly read So. This reading 
 will be perceived to be very important ; since we find in 
 the Latin Version, Sua, and also Seoua, Seoue , Seva and 
 Seve. The Septuagint calls it 2 cad or 2yy(og; and Jo- 
 sephus (ix. Antiq. xiv. 1), 2 wet or 2 wav. This prince is 
 not very conspicuous in the Scriptures. All that we learn 
 of him is, that Hoshea king of Israel, wishing to throw off 
 
 * Précis du Syst. hiérogl. pp. 257 — 263. 
 
124 
 
 the yoke which Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians had 
 imposed upon him, sent ambassadors to So king of Egypt, 
 doubtless for the purpose of soliciting assistance against 
 his vanquisher (2 Kings xvii. 1 — 4). It does not ap- 
 pear that Pharaoh had the inclination or power to give 
 him aid ; at least the sacred books make no mention of 
 any, in narrating the war which king Shalmaneser imme- 
 diately waged against Hoshea, and which terminated in 
 the seizure of Samaria and in the captivity of the tribes of 
 Israel (2 Kings xvii. 4 — 6). 
 
 Usher and Marsham believe that this prince is no other 
 than the Sabbacon of Herodotus, a chief of the twenty-fifth 
 dynasty of Manetho, whom the Pharaoh of Scripture seems 
 to resemble somewhat in name. But as Pezron, Desvig- 
 noles, and Champollion think, he is much more probably 
 the same with Seveclius the son of this Pharaoh. It 
 being possible to read the name which the Hebrew text 
 gives to So, either Seva or Seve, as we have observed, if 
 we give to *j the sound of our V (as many grammarians 
 do), it is more analogous with the name of Sevechns, than 
 with Sabbacon his father ; and the date of his reign ap- 
 proaches much nearer the period fixed by chronologists of 
 the Bible, to the reign of Hoshea, and to the events which 
 furnish an occasion for the sacred writer to make mention 
 of Pharaoh So. 
 
 Champollion has read upon many monuments a royal 
 name which may be rendered by Scvekoteph, and which 
 he considers the same with Sevechus.* Mr. Salt has also 
 found it at Abydos; but he translates it Sabbacon.f The 
 
 * Aperçu des résultats historiques, p. 14. Champollion has also 
 found the hieroglyphic name of Sabbacon, which he reads Shabak ; 
 his surname is read upon many small monuments in the museum of 
 Charles X. 
 
 t Essai sur le Système des hiéroglyphes phonétiques, p. 50, 
 and plate iv. 24. 
 
125 
 
 museum of Charles X. contains two scarabées with the 
 name of Sevcchus . 
 
 4. At a period somewhat later than the days of Hoshea 
 king of Israel, and of So or Sev échus of whom we have 
 been speaking, in the fourteenth year of the reign of 
 Hezekiah king of Judah, the sacred writers introduce a 
 new Pharaoh, who likewise interposes in the affairs of the 
 people of God. He bears in the Vulgate and Hebrew 
 text the name of Tharaca , iiprpn ; the Septuagint 
 version also calls him Ouqcr/.d ; but Josephus (x. Antiq. 
 i. 4) names him OaQcnxrjç- [in the English text he is 
 called Tirhakah.\ Scripture informs us that Sennache- 
 rib, king of Assyria, having entered with his army into 
 the kingdom of Judah, and having taken possession of 
 many villages, sent one of his generals by name Rab- 
 shakeh as envoy to Hezekiah,* to demand from him sub- 
 mission and the surrender of Jerusalem (2 Kings xviii. 
 17 — 37). The king of Judah, agitated by the insolence 
 and blasphemies of this envoy, knew not what to answer ; 
 but being determined by the counsels of the prophet 
 Isaiah, he sent him back to his master with a formal 
 refusal (2 Kings xix. 1 — 8. Isaiah xxxvi. xxxvii. 1 — 8). 
 Sennacherib being apprised that Tirhakah king of Ethio- 
 pia advanced upon him to give him battle, made ready 
 to march against this ally of the Jews (2 Kings xix. 9. 
 Isaiah xxxvii. 9) ; when an angel of the Lord, on tfie 
 following night, smote the army of the Assyrian king, 
 caused a hundred and fourscore and five thousand men to 
 perish, and forced him to retreat (2 Kings xix. 35 — 37. 
 
 * This name, written in Hebrew is perhaps only a sur- 
 
 name or a title of office. The word signifying great, master, ov 
 chief, and he has given to drink; from this is formed îipujfà 
 
 cup-bearer, may then designate the grand cup-bearer, or 
 
 the chief of cup-bearers. 
 
 11 * 
 
126 
 
 Isaiah xxxvii. 36 — 38). The second book of Chroni- 
 cles which relates these facts more succinctly (xxxii. 
 1 — 21), does not mention Tirhakah; but perhaps the 
 prophet Isaiah had him in view in his chapters xviii. and 
 xx. After this period, no more is seen of him in sacred 
 history, and we are ignorant what were afterwards his 
 relations with the kingdom of Judah. 
 
 This prince appears to be the same whom Strabo calls 
 Teaçitô, with the qualification of Ethiopian , and whom 
 he describes as pushing his conquests even into Europe 
 (i. p. 90 ; xv. p. 978, edit. Oxon. 1807). 
 
 Although the Bible entitles him king of Ethiopia, there 
 is reason to believe that he reigned as sovereign of Egypt 
 over this country, which we have already seen united 
 with Egypt under many other Pharaohs. The conformity 
 of names seems also to establish his identity with Tarcus 
 or Taracus , third king of the twenty-fifth dynasty of 
 Manetho ; who in fact calls him an Ethiopian. Such 
 was the opinion of many chronologists ; and it is also 
 that of Champollion, who has read his name 
 ( Tardk ) upon many monuments.* Mr. Salt has likewise 
 found the name upon various edifices in Egypt and in 
 Ethiopia,! and the surname of this prince is also read 
 upon a scarabee belonging to the museum of Charles X. 
 
 We must be permitted here to relate a fact which is 
 frequently cited. It is related by Herodotus (n. 141), and 
 it appears to us to be only an alteration of the Scripture 
 narrative. He says that when Sethon or Scthosis, priest 
 of Vulcan (the Plita of the Egyptians), was making war 
 upon Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians and Arabians, 
 and while he occupied the environs of Pelusium , a multi- 
 
 * Aperçu des résultats historiques, etc. p. 14. 
 
 t Essai sur le Système des hiéroglyphes phonétiques, plate iv. 
 26—29. 
 
127 
 
 tude of rats spread themselves throughout the camp of the 
 enemy, and devoured, during the night, the quivers, the 
 strings of the bows, and the leather of the bucklers; and 
 that this extraordinary intervention obliged the Assyrian 
 army to flee, with the loss of the greatest part of their 
 soldiery. This narrative, it must have already been re- 
 marked, is, in the main, that of the sacred books. As 
 related by Herodotus, the Egyptian priests have made 
 their own nation most conspicuous, named their god 
 Phta instead of the true God, and represented the arms 
 as rendered incapable of being employed, instead of de- 
 scribing the immediate destruction of those who bore 
 them. This is a remarkable testimony in favor of the 
 veracity of our sacred books, and it is not the only one 
 furnished by profane antiquity. 
 
 5. Scripture gives a much more full account about the 
 Pharaoh, called irDD Necho by the Hebrew text, Nechao 
 by the Vulgate, and Ne/aé by the Septuagint and by 
 Josephus, [and Necho by the English version.] Some of 
 the details would lead to very interesting discussions, in 
 which our subject prevents us from engaging ; we must 
 confine ourselves to an epitome of facts. 
 
 When this Egyptian king advanced to attack the king 
 of Assyria, Josiah, king of Judah, who could not behold 
 without fear a large army penetrating into his empire, 
 advanced to meet him, and notwithstanding the pacific 
 protestations of Pharaoh, who even alleged the commands 
 of the Lord, he entered into combat with him near Ma- 
 giddo ; but the king of Judah, wounded by an arrow, was 
 overthrown, and he died soon after (2 Kings xxiii. 29, 30. 
 2 Chron. xxxv. 20 — 24). Either because the eldest son 
 of Josiah was at the battle of Magiddo and was accounted 
 slain, or because the younger son was preferred at all 
 events, the people on learning the death of their king, 
 
.128 
 
 placed Jehoaliaz, who was twenty-three years old, upon 
 the throne, instead of his brother who was aged twenty- 
 five (2 Kings xxiii. 30. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 1). Three 
 months after, Necho repaired this injustice, by giving the 
 crown to the lawful sovereign Eliakim or Jehoiakim , upon 
 whom he imposed an annual tribute ; and then he return- 
 ed to his own empire, taking with him Jehoahaz whom 
 he retained prisoner, and who died in Egypt (2 Kings 
 xxiii. 33, 34. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 2 — 5). 
 
 The sacred historians do not inform us w r hat was the 
 issue of this first expedition of Necho against Assyria ; but 
 four years later we again see this prince making war upon 
 Nebuchadnezzar, and advancing upon the Euphrates as 
 far as Carchemish, where he experienced a complete 
 overthrow ( Jerem . xlvi. 2). The Assyrian monarch push- 
 ing his success, took possession of all the countries situa- 
 ted between the Euphrates and Egypt, and Necho was 
 confined within the limits of his own empire (2 Kings 
 xxiv. 7). We shall see shortly, w r hat a deluge of evils 
 flowed over Egypt under the successors of this prince. 
 
 The reign of Necho is more easy to distinguish than 
 those which had preceded ; and the documents of Egyp- 
 tian and profane history which, about this period, become 
 more positive and numerous, as well as the complete 
 identity of their names, compel us to recognize the Pha- 
 raoh Necho of Scripture, in the Necho II. of historians, 
 the son and successor of Psammcticus. Herodotus gives 
 some account of him under the appellation of JVexoyç 
 (ii. 158, 159). He informs us that this prince undertook 
 a canal, for the purpose of uniting the Pelusiac branch of 
 the Nile with the Arabian gulf ; a canal to which Diodo- 
 rus Siculus also refers (i. 33), and which was continued 
 under the Persian domination, and completed under the 
 Ptolemies. Herodotus speaks likewise of the numerous 
 
129 
 
 fleet of this king, and narrates his war in Judea. The fol- 
 lowing sentence of the Greek historian is from Larcher’s 
 translation ; “ He engaged in a battle by land also against 
 the Syrians near Magdolum,* and after having obtained 
 the victory, he took Cadytis, a considerable city of Syria.” 
 Herodotus makes no mention of the expedition upon the 
 Euphrates ; about which the Egyptian priests are equally 
 silent with foreign historians, because it reflected little 
 honor upon the monarch or upon their nation. 
 
 The conqueror of Josiah is then very certainly the 
 Pharaoh Necho II., sixth king of the twenty-sixth dynasty. 
 Manetho, as well as Herodotus, places him between his 
 father Psammeticus and Psamenis his son, and both give 
 to his reign a duration of 16 years. Champollion has read 
 his name upon many stelœ or statues. He attributes these 
 monuments to Necho II. of the Egyptian lists, in whom 
 he recognizes the Necho of holy writ.f 
 
 6. The last Pharaoh mentioned in the sacred books, 
 is perhaps more often alluded to than any other, although 
 his name appears only once ( Jerem. xiv. 30) ; but he is 
 plainly enough designated by other circumstances. He is 
 called ssnsh by the Hebrew text, OvacpQi] by the Septua- 
 gint, Ephree by the Vulgate, [ Hoylira by the English ;] 
 and these names, though differently articulated, have still 
 among themselves a strong analogy. Scripture gives us 
 the following account of him. 
 
 In the time of Zedekiah king of Judah, the Chaldeans 
 besieged Jerusalem. The army of Pharaoh went out from 
 Egypt to succour the beleaguered city, and the enemy, learn- 
 ing this fact, hastened to raise the siege (Jerem. xxxvii. 4). 
 
 * We see that Herodotus, who knew Egypt a little better than 
 Judea, has put Magdolum a city of Lower Egypt, for Magiddo a 
 city of Judea; so also he has confounded the Hebrews with the 
 Syrians. These errors are very naturally explained. 
 
 t Jlperçu des résultats historiques , etc. p. 13. 
 
130 
 
 According to Josephus (x. Antiq. vii. 3), the Chaldeans 
 drove away the Egyptians and renewed the siege of Jeru- 
 salem, with their king Nebuchadnezzar at their head. An 
 account of this siege, which terminated so destructively to 
 the Jews, is foreign to our subject ; it is given in Scripture 
 (2 Kings xxv. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17 — 21. Jerem. xxxix.). 
 Prophets had threatened the greatest evils to Egypt, and 
 to those who put their trust in her. But notwithstanding 
 their menacing oracles, a party of Jews who had been left 
 in Palestine by Nebuchadnezzar, fled into the kingdom 
 of Ephree or Hophra, taking with them Jeremiah, who, 
 when he had arrived at Tahpanhes , announced a new 
 invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, and all the evils it 
 would bring in its train (Jerem. xlii. xliii. xliv.). These 
 menaces were not tardy in being accomplished. Josephus 
 informs us (x. Antiq. ix. 7), that five years after the 
 taking of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar, having made nu- 
 merous conquests in Ccelesyria and in the neighboring 
 countries, took possession also of Egypt, and led away 
 captive the Jews who had gone there to seek an asylum. 
 We will shortly give other details from Herodotus ; let us 
 now return to Ephree or Hophra. 
 
 All chronologists agree that this Pharaoh can be no 
 other than the king named "Angt^ç by Herodotus; and it 
 is very certain that this name is nearly identical with the 
 names of Scripture, and particularly with that of Ova(pg7jç J 
 who is made the seventh king of the twenty-sixth dynasty 
 by Syncellus and by Eusebius. Aptries, according to Hero- 
 dotus, was very successful during a great part of his reign, 
 but at last fortune ceased to favor him. Having marched 
 an army against the Cyreneans, he received a considerable 
 check. The Egyptians imputed their misfortune to him, 
 and his indignant troops openly revolted. The king sent 
 Amasis an officer as envoy to them, to induce them to re- 
 
131 
 
 turn to their duty ; but instead of submitting, they pro- 
 claimed king the envoy of Apries ; and this new king, 
 having Egypt and the army in his favor, marched against 
 his sovereign who was assisted only by foreign auxiliaries. 
 Apries was persuaded that the gods themselves would not 
 be able to dethrone him, so great was his confidence in the 
 firmness of his power.* * * § Amasis however vanquished him, 
 and retained him imprisoned in his own palace; soon 
 after, yielding to the importunity and to the reproaches of 
 the people, he gave him into the hands of the Egyptians, 
 who destroyed himf after a reign of 25 years ( Herodot , 
 iv. 161 — 169). This Greek historian gives no more 
 account than Diodorus, about the conquest of Egypt by 
 Nebuchadnezzar; and his silence cannot but appear 
 astonishing. Wesseling attributes it to the concealment, 
 by the Egyptian priests, of an event so little honorable 
 to their nation. £ Perhaps it is better explained by the 
 remark of Larcher, § that Herodotus did not write a com- 
 plete history of Egypt, and that his plan being (as he 
 announces in the beginning of his first book) principally 
 to describe the increase and power of the Persians who 
 were engaged in long and bloody wars with the Greeks, 
 his work really is not, in relation to Egypt, but a succinct 
 and immethodical extract, in which many important events 
 are omitted. 
 
 Champollion admits, with all chronologists, the identity 
 
 * It is perhaps to Hophra that a prophet addresses the words al- 
 ready cited, and which are so appropriate to his pride ; Behold, I am 
 against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth 
 in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own , 
 and I have made it for myself (Ezekiel xxix. 31). 
 
 t In a passage before indicated, Josephus says he was put to death 
 by Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 X JYote to his edition of Diodorus, p. 79, ad lin. 93. 
 
 § History by Herodotus, transi, by Larcher, 2d edit. tom. ii. not. 
 564. 
 
132 
 
 of the Scripture Pharaoh HopTiro , with the Apries of 
 Herodotus, and with the Vaplire of Manetho’s abbrevia- 
 tors. He has found his hieroglyphic name in legends 
 upon the obelisk della Minerva , , at Rome, and in those 
 which cover some portions of the edifices of Philœ .* 
 
 The reader will have remarked, that in what we have 
 said concerning the four last Pharaohs, we have neglected 
 the method we had previously followed of collating the 
 dates of biblical chronology and those which have been 
 deduced from the lists of Manetho. The want of positive 
 chronological documents about the epochs of these last 
 princes, has obliged us to abstain from such collations. 
 The sacred books are sufficiently precise in some of the 
 events which we have cited, and the indications which 
 they give enable chronologists of the Bible to class them 
 in their systems. Such is not the case in the chronology 
 of the last Egyptian dynasties. The striking differences 
 between Julius Africanus and Eusebius, concerning the 
 number of kings belonging to these dynasties, and the 
 total or individual duration of their reigns, ought to be 
 explained by illustrations from the monuments and by the 
 discussion of critics. Such an undertaking does not be- 
 long to us ; it devolves upon the Champollions, whose 
 future labors in this department promise satisfactory re- 
 sults.f But whatever their success may be, the striking 
 conformity we have remarked, between the names of the 
 Scripture Pharaohs and those of the Egyptian annalists 
 or of the monuments, is sufficient to give entire certainty 
 to our synchronisms ; and we believe that the results con- 
 
 * Aperçu des résultats historiques , etc. p. 14. 
 
 t The 3d Letter upon the Turin Museum describes the monu- 
 ments which belong to the last dynasties; and the Chronological No- 
 tice of Champollion Figeac, will doubtless disengage the duration and 
 dates of the reigns from the confusion in which they are now in- 
 volved. 
 
133 
 
 tained in this chapter are no more conjectural in their 
 character, than some of the first which we have noticed. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF MANETHO. 
 
 Of Manetho and his tablet of the kings of Egypt. Of the confidence which 
 he deserves. Is his chronology opposed to that of the Bible ? Probable 
 chronological limits of the Egyptian monuments. 
 
 Champollion Figeac, as we have seen, has followed the 
 chronological lists of Manetho, which have been confirm- 
 ed by each new discovery upon the monuments. We 
 cannot refuse the evidence of the results obtained by this 
 learned man, and we have adopted in this work the chro- 
 nological system which he has built upon the agreement 
 of the monuments and the data of the Egyptian annalist. 
 This fact furnishes a motive for us to add here a few criti- 
 cal observations upon Manetho, upon his writings, and 
 upon the degree of confidence which he merits. 
 
 1. The Egyptian Manetho, a native of Sebennytus, 
 flourished about the middle of the third century before our 
 era, under the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, that illus- 
 trious prince who caused the sacred books of the Jews to 
 be translated into Greek. He was a priest of Heliopolis, 
 and kept the sacred books of Egypt ; offices which were 
 of high importance, and which placed at his disposal an 
 immense number of historic materials. We can regard 
 him also as belonging to the celebrated school of Alexan- 
 dria, which has shed so much splendor upon the reign of 
 12 
 
 
134 
 
 the Lagidæ kings, its founders.* He wrote in Greek 
 many treatises on astronomical, or rather on astrological 
 and historical subjects, hardly any of which have come 
 down to us. Doubtless his most important work, that the 
 loss of which has occasioned the deepest regret, was a 
 universal history of Egypt in three volumes or parts. 
 He had composed it from the memorials found in the ar- 
 chives of the temples, and had dedicated it to the king 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus. Sextus Julius, surnamed Africa - 
 nus , f at a later period inserted Manetho’s history in his 
 Chronography , an important work which is also lost. 
 We do not now possess the great work of the Egyptian 
 annalist ; we have only a small number of historic frag- 
 ments which were preserved by Josephus, by Eusebius, 
 and by some other ecclesiastical writers, and also the lists 
 of the royal dynasties of Egypt, which are found in Syn- 
 cellus,! just as they are described by Julius Africanus 
 and by Eusebius, who only abbreviated them. These 
 isolated fragments and this sterile series of lists of Egyp- 
 tian kings, leave indeed much to be desired ; but they are 
 
 * When the religion of Jesus Christ spread itself in Egypt, this 
 illustrious academy, or rather a new Christian school which was 
 formed in its bosom, acquired additional honors by furnishing the 
 Church with many distinguished scholars, such as Pantcenus, Cle- 
 ment his disciple to whom was added the title of Alexandria, Athe- 
 nagoras , Origen, etc. 
 
 t Julius Africanus lived under Heliogabalus, at the commencement 
 of the third century, and he dwelt in Palestine ; he embraced the 
 Christian faith, and was ordained a priest. The learned Photius 
 speaks in commendation of his Chronography. 
 
 + Georges, surnamed Syncellus from the office which he discharg- 
 ed under the patriarch of Constantinople, flourished about the eighth 
 century. His Chronography , which unfortunately bears the im- 
 pression of this period of decay, was printed at the Louvre, in fol. 
 in 1552, under the superintendence of P. Goar, a learned Dominican, 
 who united with it a preface and notes. This volume forms a part 
 of the Byzantine collection. 
 
135 
 
 the only remains of the national history of Egypt ; and 
 notwithstanding their paucity, they offer precious resour- 
 ces of learning, as we think we have shown in our pre- 
 vious investigations. For a more ample account of Ma- 
 netho and his writings we refer our readers to the learned 
 Fabricius,* and to the interesting work of M. Matter upon 
 the celebrated school of the Ptolemies. f Let us now 
 examine how far confidence may be reposed in the chro- 
 nological data of the Egyptian historian. 
 
 2. Manetho has indeed been contradicted by some his- 
 torians. Among these Josephus is the most ancient, who 
 often corrects errors which the bad faith or ignorance of 
 Manetho led him to commit in relation to the Jews — a 
 people whose position being in a manner isolated amidst 
 other nations, prevented the writers of antiquity from 
 studying and sufficiently knowing them. Josephus has 
 been followed by certain ecclesiastical writers, and by a 
 great number of modern historians. But he is not always 
 just, and he often combats narratives, simply because they 
 are at variance with his favorite system concerning the 
 identity of the Hebrews with the usurping dynasty of the 
 Shepherds. Modern chronologists who have abandoned 
 Manetho with disdain, have been influenced almost solely, 
 by difficulties attending the numerous dynasties of Egyp- 
 tian sovereigns, which they could not reconcile with any 
 acknowledged system of chronology, because they con- 
 strued too literally the narrative of the historian in ques- 
 tion. 
 
 This man however, whose judgment or good faith some 
 more recent writers have wished to impeach, has given 
 proofs of a judicious criticism, by rectifying, in a special 
 work, the errors of the Greek historian Herodotus, so far 
 
 * Bibliotheca Grceca, tom. n. p. 494. 
 
 t Essai historique sur V école d’Alexandrie, tom. i. p. 108. 
 
136 
 
 as we can judge from the testimony of Eustathius. Jose- 
 phus, whom no one would suppose too partial to him, else- 
 where praises his exactness and his fidelity. Julius Afri- 
 canus judged his history worthy of credit, since he intro- 
 duced it into his Chronography , which is so often cited 
 with commendation by the fathers and ecclesiastical wri- 
 ters of the first ages. Eusebius and Syncellus, though at 
 times they abandon and combat him, have founded the 
 whole of their Egyptian chronology upon that of Manetho. 
 It seems to us that such evidence from ancient writers is 
 of some weight in a question of this nature. We ought to 
 add that many modern chronologists have followed Mane- 
 tho with success in the solution of embarrassing difficul- 
 ties ; and especially Champollion Figeac, who, with his 
 aid, first disentangled the confused chaos of Egyptian 
 chronology. Finally, the reader has seen that proofs the 
 most positive, such as the monuments, the manuscripts, the 
 Pharaonic legends, the table of Abydos, etc., have hitherto 
 fully justified the chronology of the priest of Heliopolis, 
 and tend to give him, in every impartial mind, a part at 
 least of the confidence which he enjoyed during the first 
 ages of the church, and of which we think he was unjustly 
 deprived at a later period. 
 
 Many have not yet sufficiently understood the situation of 
 Manetho. The official historiographer of Egypt (for he 
 wrote by the orders of his sovereign and from originals in 
 the archives of the temples), would of course digest his 
 history according to national doctrines which were in 
 some manner connected with religion ; and as a neces- 
 sary result of this obligation, his history of primitive times 
 would be blended with false traditions, which however 
 had become dogmas among the Egyptians. Such not 
 only are the gods and demigods which the old chronicles 
 assign to the predecessors of Menes, and to which Manetho 
 
137 
 
 had very probably given a place in his chronology, but 
 also a portion of the first dynasties of men whose existence 
 was far from being certain until about the sixteenth epoch. 
 We must then distinguish in the chronicles which he has 
 left, two very different parts, although it may not be easy 
 to assign strict limits to each : one part consisting of true 
 history, which traces the Greek and Persian dynasties in 
 epochs known from other data, by means of historians or of 
 monuments ; another part fabulous, or enveloped in the 
 obscurity which shrouds the infancy of every nation, and 
 which extends back beyond the sixteenth dynasty, the 
 last dynasty of whose existence we have any certain 
 traces. 
 
 This obscurity of primitive times, and the fables which 
 compose most of its history, are not peculiar to the annals 
 of ancient Egypt. Ignorance, a love of the marvellous, 
 and national pride have given them a place in other his- 
 tories. Thus the public registers of Greece and Rome, 
 in relation to primitive times, are dark and full of contro- 
 verted facts. Thus in our own history ; leaving out of 
 account the perplexities which attend the parallel or suc- 
 cessive reigns of kings belonging to the first race, have we 
 not heard our illustrious descent from a supposed Francus , 
 a grandchild of Priam, seriously maintained? Have we 
 not seen the chronicles of archbishop Turpin, and the 
 romantic exploits of Charlemagne and his twelve Peers, 
 who cut in twain giants, pass more than once for historic 
 documents? And finally, ought not our annals down to 
 the epoch of the revival of letters, or to the period which 
 immediately precedes it, notwithstanding the progress of 
 criticism, — ought they not to be purged of many ridiculous 
 anecdotes, which are of no use except to poets and writers 
 of romance ? 
 
 We should not then pass too severe judgment upon 
 12 * 
 
138 
 
 Manetho for the use he has made of uncertain traditions, 
 or of those evidently fabulous, which were in a manner 
 thrust upon his notice by his nation and by his caste. It 
 is due in justice to acknowledge, that such aberrations do 
 not, as some critics have pretended, destroy all confidence 
 in his account of those epochs which he was competent to 
 describe ; neither, in like manner, do the fables related 
 by Herodotus on the credit of foreign testimony, impeach 
 his veracity as to other parts of his history ; nor the story 
 of the razor of Accius Naevius and similar traditions, de- 
 tract from the reputation of Livy as a grave historian, 
 when he describes those epochs about which authentic 
 memorials have given him, as it were, the authority of a 
 cotemporaneous witness.* 
 
 It is then entirely useless to recur for a verification of 
 Manetho to the system of parallel dynasties, w T hich existed 
 at the same period over different parts of Egypt ; a system 
 which explains nothing, and which would be a great incon- 
 venience by rendering every thing arbitrary, because there 
 are no data in the lists of the Egyptian historiographer 
 to indicate cotemporaneous dynasties. No one doubts, 
 indeed, that if such had been the object of Manetho, 
 he could not have designated these dynasties by another 
 method of classification ; and the numeral order which he 
 has followed is, on the contrary, a very strong objection to 
 such a method. Besides, all who have adopted the sys- 
 
 * Here perhaps would be the place to speak of the Canon of The- 
 ban kings by Eratosthenes, a learned Greek mathematician who 
 lived a few years after Manetho, and who w r as the librarian of the 
 first Ptolemy Euergetes. A discussion on this subject would carry 
 us too far. We would simply observe, that this isolated fragment, in 
 its present state of mutilation, can be but a very weak assistance in 
 helping us to understand the chronology of Egypt. Time would be 
 lost in commenting upon it, and in no case would any one think of 
 opposing it to the coherent system of dynasties by Manetho, with 
 which it seems to have no connection. 
 
139 
 
 tem, content themselves with simply assuming it, without 
 taking the trouble to arrange the materials preserved by 
 Manetho, in a manner conformable to the intentions which 
 they attribute to him. We have seen that the system can- 
 not apply to dynasties after the sixteenth, which are found 
 complete in their successive order ; and in relation to 
 those which precede , and which do not fall within the 
 province of history, any one is free to think as he pleases. 
 
 3. There is another objection to Manetho of a different 
 kind, which if well founded would impair his authority in 
 the view of religious men. It is one that in a work like 
 ours must be examined seriously. The succession of Pha- 
 raonic dynasties by Manetho, on account of the exaggera- 
 ted antiquity given to his nation, has been often represented 
 as opposed to the chronology of the sacred books, and fears 
 have been cherished that his system might become a very 
 dangerous one, when made use of by writers who are hos- 
 tile to revealed religion. It must be agreed that the strange 
 abuse which his system received from some unbelieving 
 men of the last century, and the little attention paid to it 
 by the defenders of revelation, have contributed to give a 
 singular currency to the foregoing opinion. But in our 
 own age, an age more decided than the preceding, we 
 do not blindly adopt the superficial assertions of Voltaire, 
 whose authority in all matters of erudition has been re- 
 duced to its just weight. To form a judgment then, we 
 must examine in itself the chronology of the Egyptian 
 annalist, who, besides the intrinsic evidence of his system, 
 has in his favor the weighty testimony of the ecclesiastical 
 writers to whom we have referred. 
 
 The distinction we have already taken in respect to the 
 chronicles of Manetho, between a properly historical period 
 and fabulous or dark ages, furnishes a sufficient answerto 
 the objection we are here discussing. In fact, what we 
 
140 
 
 know of Egyptian history, hardly extends farther back 
 than the time of Abraham, and terminates also with the 
 epoch of this patriarch, if we are to believe the synchro- 
 nism related by Eusebius, which we have previously cited.* 
 Now in the period between this epoch and the deluge, we 
 can still find the places of a large number of dynasties. 
 The Hebrew text and the Vulgate, it is true, give to this 
 second age of the world only a duration of 367 years ; but 
 the Samaritan text gives to it 1017, and the Septuagint 
 1147. It is known that neither of these three chronolo- 
 gies is to be considered as strictly true, and the Church 
 has left with each individual entire liberty to choose which 
 he prefers. f But there are reasons why the preference 
 should be given to the Septuagint version on account of 
 its chronological relations. It is more ancient and is made 
 after a more correct text than any which we possess, as is 
 proved by Eusebius ; and especially, it is more favorable 
 to historic synchronisms with the annals of ancient nations. 
 Besides, it is sanctioned by the authority of the first Fa- 
 thers of the Church, who have all made use of this version 
 and of its chronology. | By adopting this chronology, all 
 the difficulties in the table of Egyptian dynasties by Ma- 
 
 * See Chap. III. of this second part, p. 90. 
 
 t We cannot too frequently remember, that the Church in adopting 
 the Vulgate version did not design to weaken the authority of the 
 original texts, nor of the ancient versions ; but it proposed simply to 
 give a version in a language more generally spread, which was, if 
 not always exact and perfect as possible, at least generally faithful, 
 exempt from all errors in regard to faith, in a word, a version which 
 might be read inoffenso pede, in the language of the schools. So the 
 discussion and collation of versions and texts, which form the object 
 of sacred criticism, has been conformed to the spirit of the Church, 
 and has in all ages occupied the most holy as well as the most learn- 
 ed men. 
 
 t One can consult on this subject, a work of Father Pezron, enti- 
 tled, V antiquité des terns rétablie et défendue contre les Juifs et 
 les nouveaux chronologistes (Paris, 1687, in 4to). The learned 
 
141 
 
 netho will vanish ; of these the first dynasties only, deprived 
 of all historic support, will be very naturally classed with 
 fabulous facts ; as the reigns of the gods, of the demigods, 
 of Hcpliaistos , etc. But though one should not be willing 
 to adopt it, it nevertheless remains true that the chronology 
 of Manetho (when properly understood), will not pass be- 
 yond limits admitted in biblical chronology. [See App. R.] 
 4. Finally (protesting, if we may so speak, against any 
 abuse of Manetho’s fragments), we may add, that there 
 is no real ground to fear such abuse. There is reason to 
 think, on the other hand, that the monuments which have 
 confirmed that part of Manetho’s authority which was con- 
 tested, will not allow of any application whatever to the 
 first periods of his history. The Champollions find that 
 the Pharaonic legends do not extend back in a satisfactory 
 manner beyond the seventeenth dynasty ; and it is im- 
 probable that any thing can be found to illustrate com- 
 pletely the sixteenth and those which precede.* * A very 
 satisfactory reason is assigned for this by a fact which 
 Manetho relates, and which is cited by Josephus ( Cont. 
 Ap. i. 14). The tyrannical reign of the dynasty of Hylc - 
 shos or Shepherds, which violently succeeded the sixteenth 
 dynasty, is characterized by devastations, which made 
 Egypt a field of desolation and ruin. These usurping 
 strangers, who were, like all barbarians, the enemies of 
 civilization and of the arts, destroyed cities and pverthrew 
 especially all the public monuments and the temples of 
 the gods. No edifices built by the earlier dynasties were 
 suffered to exist. A few ruins only remained, which were 
 used merely as materials in the edifices of the following 
 
 father of the Oratory supposes, and not without probability, that the 
 Hebrew text, as we have it, was altered by the Jews in the time of the 
 emperor Hadrian, on account of the interest they had, by shortening 
 the two first ages, to prove that Jesus Christ was not the Messiah. 
 
 * 2d Letter on the Turin Museum , pp. 8 et seq. 
 
142 
 
 acre, especially in those of Karnac, and which evidently 
 bear marks of the ancient Egyptian style. But the small 
 number of these precious remains, and their state of muti- 
 lation, forbid the hope of finding upon them any important 
 historic information ; and there is reason to believe that 
 the chronology of Manetho, deprived of support from the 
 most ancient monuments, will always remain very uncer- 
 tain in regard to whatever concerns the origin and early 
 periods of the Egyptian monarchy. 
 
 From the remarks which we have communicated to our 
 readers, we infer that there is no foundation for that fear 
 about the advance of Egyptian studies, which the religious 
 zeal of some estimable men has led them to cherish ; 
 neither is there any occasion to distrust the data trans- 
 mitted by the historian of the Pharaohs. Nothing can 
 authorize such a distrust. On the other hand, every thing 
 conspires to prove, at the present time, that the new dis- 
 coveries and their application to chronology, will disclose 
 more and more the truth and exactness of the historic 
 facts in Scripture. We believe that men are too apt to 
 form a judgment of systems when they hardly understand 
 them ; and perhaps they are too prone to forget that if true 
 faith is timorous, it is not distrustful, like the pride which 
 is connected with the vain theories of men; because it 
 views the basis, upon which the august edifice of divine 
 revelation reposes, as immoveable. Inspired with this 
 thought, we have adopted, from entire conviction, all the 
 satisfactory results elicited by the labors of the Champol- 
 lions ; and we wait, with impatience and with confidence, 
 the new developments which they promise, persuaded 
 beforehand that revealed religion cannot but gain from 
 them. 
 
 We here terminate this digression. Perhaps it has been 
 tedious; but it seemed to us a necessary appendix to 
 
143 
 
 our chronological observations. We shall now renew our 
 former labor, and attempt new applications of Egyptian 
 writings to the defence and interpretation of the sacred 
 books. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Egyptian name of the city of Heliopolis. City of Rameses. Land of 
 Rameses. Advantages to sacred learning from researches in the country 
 of Goshen. City of Taphnis. City called in the Hebrew text No- 
 Amon, etc. 
 
 The intimate connection of the history of the people 
 of God with that of Egypt, renders the geography of the 
 ancient land of Mizraim * very important to sacred criti- 
 cism. No one can doubt, but that the multiplied and 
 daily increasing means for the study of ancient Egypt, 
 must exert much influence upon this part of historic 
 science, and add to the fruits of geographical labor. 
 Already even, many facts which have been brought to 
 light by the new discoveries, when connected with certain 
 passages of the Bible, furnish new data on some parts of 
 
 * It is by this name that Egypt is usually designated in the text 
 of the Old Testament Its probable derivation is from the 
 
 son of Ham, who is called in the Vulgate Mesraim, the Hebrew 
 name of which is written like that of Egypt. In the Coptic language 
 
 this country is usually called Xhjuu (Hemi), and this name in 
 which may be found that of the second son of Noah, relates to the 
 expression Eft yftî* land of Ham, which is applied sometimes in 
 Scripture to Egypt (Psalms civ. 23, 27 ; cv. 22, et alibi). 
 
144 
 
 the biblical geography of Egypt, or afford new support to 
 certain opinions of critics, which heretofore could only 
 be regarded in the light of simple conjectures. It will 
 be our object to make applications of this kind in the 
 present chapter. 
 
 1. In the narrative of the marriage of Joseph, and of 
 the priesthood of his father-in-law (Gen. xli. 45), men- 
 tion is made of an Egyptian city, which is called in the 
 Vulgate, Heliopolis. The Septuagint in this passage 
 uses the same denomination, c HXiov nohg, which signi- 
 fies city of the Sun ; a name given to it likewise by the 
 profane writers of antiquity. There is reason to believe 
 that this name, which is entirely Grecian, passed from 
 the Alexandrine version into the Vulgate. But it could 
 not be found in the original text, because it was not until 
 many centuries after Moses, under the domination of the 
 Grecian kings who were the successors of Alexander, 
 that Egypt beheld the primitive names of all its cities 
 exchanged for new names given them, which were bor- 
 rowed from the language of the conquerors. The He- 
 brew gives to the city of Heliopolis the name of On , 
 which is written in two different ways, ‘ji* or “ptf. The 
 same name "Slv^ is adopted in another passage of the 
 Septuagint Version (Exodus i. 11), where it is enumera- 
 ted among the treasure-cities built by the children of 
 Israel. But this is an addition to the Hebrew text 
 which is not found in the Vulgate, but w^hich the Coptic 
 version adopts in preserving the name UJn 
 
 We can very easily perceive in this name as preserved 
 by Moses, and of which the Hebrew does not indicate 
 the signification, the old Egyptian name of the city now 
 in question ; and we may suppose with much probability 
 that the name city of the Sun, which w T as afterwards 
 given it by the Greeks, was but a literal translation 
 
145 
 
 of this primitive denomination. It was substituted with 
 a knowledge of its meaning, in a version which (having 
 been executed according to the orders of the king, and 
 by men who possessed so extensive means of being ac- 
 quainted with Egypt), seemed to promise much correct- 
 ness in this kind of details. Such a conjecture is sup- 
 ported by the Hebrew text of the prophet Jeremiah. In 
 a passage which has been generally understood as relating 
 to the city of Heliopolis (xliii. 13), he calls it rG, an 
 expression which the Vulgate renders literally by domus 
 solis, house of the sun, thus proving in our view, the 
 antiquity of this significant name. Champollion says 
 concerning the city of Heliopolis ; “ It is always designa- 
 ted in Coptic writings by the word UJn On , which the 
 Hebrew texts write In the Coptic version of the 
 
 Old Testament, Heliopolis is constantly called UJn or 
 
 UJn the city of On , or sometimes. On 
 
 which is the city of the Sun . This last passage seems 
 to indicate, that in the Egyptian language QUI signifies 
 sun ; and St. Cyrill, in his commentary upon Hosea, as- 
 sures us that " Slv ôé ’ftm xut’ avrovg 6 rjfaoç , On signi- 
 fies the sun among the Egyptians. There is in fact no 
 doubt that the word Clin has close and striking rela- 
 tions with the Egyptian roots OTtUn to open, to make 
 
 clear, OYCIUHE light, and OTCUH^ to appear, to 
 show itself, to manifest itself* 
 
 These conjectures (if so they must still be called), 
 which originated chiefly with the learned Jablonski,f 
 
 * See L'Égypte sous les Pharaons (tom. n. p. 41) ; a work which 
 we shall have frequent occasion to cite. 
 
 t See his Pantheon Ægyptiacum (part i. p. 137), and his Opus - 
 cula (tom. i. p. 184), a treasure of learning, which is very important 
 on many accounts in the study of ancient Egypt. 
 
 13 
 
146 
 
 are now confirmed by a fact we have already related^ 
 
 viz. the discovery of the Egyptian name 
 
 ( Pctephre ), which Champollion found upon a funereal 
 manuscript belonging to M. Calliaud. Whoever may be 
 the personage of ancient Egypt to whom this monument 
 is consecrated, it is certain that it exhibits the well known 
 name of the Egyptian father of Asenath and the father- 
 in-law of the patriarch Joseph, who is called in the Sep- 
 tuagint and Coptic versions UsTecpgri , 
 
 the orthography of each of these translations being strictly 
 identical with that of the papyrus. We are informed 
 in Gen. xli. 45, that this Pctephre or Putiphare as he 
 is called in the Vulgate [i. e. Potiphar], was the priest of 
 On , Heliopolis , or the city of the Sun. Now the ele- 
 ments of this Egyptian name, formed by a grammatical 
 analysis, signify literally, he ivho is, or who belongs to 
 Phre or Re, i. e. the sun. No more appropriate name, 
 then, could be assigned to a man who was clothed with 
 the priesthood of this divinity ; and we may suppose it 
 was given him as indicative of his functions, or at least 
 of his special devotedness to the deified sun. At all 
 events, the striking analogy between the name of the 
 priest and of the god, must convince us that the name 
 of given by the Hebrew text to the city where 
 
 Potiphar exercised his priesthood, is truly the primitive 
 name of this ancient Egyptian city, and that the authors 
 of the Greek and Latin versions have rendered correctly 
 in adopting the more modern Greek name c HXiov nôhç, 
 i. e. city of the Sun* 
 
 2. Among the labors to which the Hebrews were sub- 
 
 * Jablonsld reasons in a very similar manner ( Opusc. tom. i. p. 
 203) ; but Champollion has fortified his opinion by the authority of a 
 monument. 
 
147 
 
 jécted under the oppressive reign of Pharaoh (Ameno- 
 phis), who wished to make them less formidable by 
 weakening their numbers, Scripture enumerates the build- 
 ing of the cities of Pithom and Raamses or Rameses ; 
 fins-nfi} (Exod. i. 11). 
 
 We should wander from our subject, if we devoted 
 much time to an examination of the first of these cities. 
 We simply remark that the Septuagint calls it TL,6ü\u } 
 
 the Coptic Tiro cun and likewise Ilwuin, He- 
 rodotus and Stephanus of Byzantium ndxovpoç, and Cal- 
 met believes it to be the same city that the Paturni 
 mentioned by Pliny inhabited ; an opinion which is in- 
 volved in much difficulty. We add also, that d’ An ville* 
 and Champolliont find it in the place called Tlioum by 
 the Itinerary of Antoninus. 
 
 The city of Rameses has a more important bearing 
 upon the subject which now occupies us, and its well 
 determined position will serve, as we shall soon see, to 
 decide a question which is of high interest, especially at 
 the present time. The sacred books mention this city 
 in various other passages than that above referred to, 
 viz. in Exod. xii. 37. Num. xxxiii. 3. The Greek ver- 
 sion of the book of Judith, which is more extended than 
 the Vulgate version and perhaps more conformed to 
 the original Chaldaic,f names this city ( c PapEoarj), as 
 also many others which the Vulgate has not noticed, 
 among the nations who resisted the demands of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar king of Assyria (Judith i. 9). Pliny speaks 
 of a people called Ramisi (vi. 28), and Calmet admits 
 
 * Memoirs sur V Égypte, p. 118. 
 t L? Égypte sous les Pharaons, tom. n. p. 58. 
 t Jerome himself 3eems to authorize this opinion, when he avows, 
 in his preface to Judith, the liberty he has taken in translating this 
 book ; rather translating the sense from the sense than words 
 from words. 
 
148 
 
 the identity of the name with the inhabitants of Raineses. 
 This view of the subject we cannot now discuss. But 
 k is impossible not to recognize the ancient Raineses 
 of the Pharaohs, in a small village now called Ramsis , 
 a denomination that differs a little from that given in 
 Scripture, and which in the Egyptian language appears 
 
 to have been written P&JttCHC. This village, which 
 has been visited by many travellers,* still contains the 
 ruins of the old city upon the borders of a canal which 
 conducts the waters of the Nile into lake Mareotis. It 
 is situated about two leagues and a half northwest from a 
 town called Eshlime by d’ Anville in his chart of Modern 
 Egypt* an( t AshlimeJi by the Arabians ; it makes a part of 
 lower eastern Egypt, without the Delta. [See App. S.] 
 
 In his Egypt under the Pharaohs , Champollion de- 
 scribes the Rameses of Scripture as the Ramsis of the 
 Arabians. But at the time of this publication (in 1814), 
 he simply observes with respect to its denomination ; 
 “ The signification of this name is unknown.”! We 
 think that his own discoveries will enable him now to give 
 a very probable explanation of the reasons why the name 
 was given to this city. Indeed, we have seen that Pha- 
 raoh the oppressor of the Hebrews, he who obliged them 
 to construct the cities mentioned in Exodus , if he was not 
 the second of the Achencheres , whose father is named 
 Ramses in the hieroglyphic legends, must have been the 
 king who is called by historians and by the monuments 
 Rameses or Ramses Meiamoun. Now this name is strictly 
 the same with that of the city mentioned in Scripture, as 
 Champollion has observed and this conformity, far from 
 
 * Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabie, tom. i. p. 78 : Sonnini, Voyage 
 en Égypte , tom. n. pp. 146 and 147. 
 
 t Égypte sous les Pharaons, tom, n. p. 248. 
 
 t Précis du Syst. hierogl. p. 276. 
 
1 49 
 
 being purely fortuitous, seems to reveal a very plain and 
 plausible fact, viz. that Pharaoh, the founder of Rameses, 
 must have given to this city either his own name (if we 
 recognize this prince in Mciamoun) , or that of his father, 
 if we choose to attribute the name to Achencheres Man - 
 douei. Such a custom, which we observe among the 
 Greeks and Romans as well as among modern nations, is 
 too flattering to the pride of man, not to be found existing 
 in the highest antiquity ; and the sacred books furnish 
 examples of this usage, anterior to the period of the 
 eighteenth Egyptian dynasty. 
 
 3. Still farther application of the name Pharaoh Ram- 
 ses can be made. Besides the texts already noticed, in 
 which mention is made of the city of Ramescs or Raam- 
 ses , this name had been indicated in a preceding book of 
 Scripture, and the place upon which it was bestowed is de- 
 signated as making part of the country where Joseph, ac- 
 cording to the orders of Pharaoh, had established his 
 father and brothers when they came down to Egypt. Jo- 
 sephus verb, says the Vulgate version, patri et fratribus suis 
 dédit posessionem in Ægypto, in optimo terræ loco Ra- 
 mescs; i. e. and Joseph gave his father and brethren a pos- 
 session in the land of Egypt , in the best of the land , in 
 the land of Rameses ( Gen. xlvii. 11). The Hebrew 
 reads ; fnfiO ynfijrt Stitts in the best of the 
 
 land , in the land of Rameses. But at that time the city 
 of Rameses did not exist ; it was built more than a centu- 
 ry after this epoch, and this difficulty has given rise to a 
 question about which critics are divided. Most consider 
 the passage in Genesis, as an indication of the place 
 where the city of Rameses was afterwards built. Some, who 
 construe the passage literally, regard the land of Rame- 
 ses as a very different place from that where the city was 
 built in succeeding times by the children of Israel. 
 13* 
 
150 
 
 Among this number is the learned Jablonski, who at- 
 tempts to prove the existence of two distinct cities which 
 bear the name of Rameses . He labors to discover the 
 etymology of this name, and concludes that it is found in 
 a word, which in composition expresses the abundance of 
 pasturage in the country inhabited by Jacob. This is the 
 
 word Polity HIC, which he forms from PcUlAÏ man, 
 
 and UJuic shepherds ; which literally signify men-shep - 
 herds, and in a figurative manner, as he says, the dwel- 
 ling of shepherds * 
 
 Much might be said in regard to the grammatical and 
 philological difficulties which occur in this explanation, f 
 and in regard to the details which Jablonski gives to sup- 
 port the distinction of two cities by the name of Rameses. 
 We cannot stop here to discuss them at length ; but to 
 his etymology, which will appear forced to all our readers, 
 and of which the analogy may be merely fortuitous, we 
 shall oppose an explanation less learned, but more simple, 
 more natural, and more consistent with the orthography 
 of the text which we have already given. We have al- 
 ready shown that the name of Rameses belonged to an 
 Egyptian monarch, and that it was given by himself or by 
 his son to the place mentioned in the passages cited from 
 Scripture. Now since it is proved by the chronological 
 canon of Egyptian kings, that at the epoch of Joseph, no 
 one of the Pharaohs had yet borne the name of Rameses, J 
 
 * See Opusc. tom. n. pp. 136, 137. 
 
 t Jablonski appears here, and elsewhere, inclined to apply to the 
 Israelites what historians have informed us concerning the Hyk-shos 
 or Shepherds. But this opinion, which would confound the people 
 of God with a horde of brigands, is now generally disapproved, al- 
 though Josephus, led into a mistake by his national pride, has sought 
 to establish it in many portions of his writings. 
 
 t The first king of Egypt who bore the name of Rameses appeal's 
 to have been the eleventh king of the eighteenth dynasty ; he is so 
 designated by the monuments, but the fragments of Manetho call him 
 Ratholis or Athoris. 
 
151 
 
 it is a necessary consequence that in designating by this 
 name the country where Jacob and his family dwelt, ref- 
 erence was made in Genesis by anticipation, to the place 
 where in succeeding times a city should be built of this 
 name. Since this interpretation, far from presenting any 
 anachronism or absurd opinion, is on the contrary very 
 reasonable and perfectly admissible, it is sufficient to 
 prove that the city of Rameses, which was not built in the 
 time of the patriarch Joseph, must have existed when 
 Moses commenced writing the Pentateuch ; for then he 
 might have named it, even in relating facts anterior to its 
 construction. Profane writers, as well as the writers of 
 Scripture, furnish very many examples of similar designa- 
 tions. Now, as has been observed, we are informed in 
 Exodus that this city was built about the time when the 
 legislator of the Hebrews was born. 
 
 Enough has been said to support the opinion of critics 
 that there is but one Rameses described in Scripture, and 
 to authorize a translation of the passage in Genesis , like 
 that given by Father Carrière. He is not perhaps au- 
 thority in matters of erudition, but his brief paraphrases 
 inserted in the text, are generally founded upon opinions 
 of the best commentators. He has thus rendered the pas- 
 sage in question ; Joseph . . . placed his father and breth- 
 ren in possession of the place , where was afterwards built 
 the city of Rameses. 
 
 4. Our discussion leads us naturally, and in a manner 
 necessarily, to speak of the country which the children of 
 Jacob inhabited, and which is called in Scripture, Goshen , 
 1$$, ready (Gen. xlvii. 1, 4, 6, 27, et alibi). The 
 reader will allow us a brief digression here, on a point 
 which has at least some connection with our subject. 
 We know that learned men have discussed at great length 
 the situation of this country, and that different systems 
 
152 
 
 have been framed in order to determine it.* It is not our 
 intention to follow in this difficult path, and to discuss 
 here the greater or less probability of these various theo- 
 ries. We shall merely show that the geographical deter- 
 mination of the habitation of the Hebrews, follows as a 
 consequence of what has been said in the preceding in- 
 vestigations ; that is to say, if our remarks about the land 
 of Rameses are admitted as true, then we must assent to 
 the opinion held by many learned men, who regard the 
 city of this name as a part of the land of Goshen. 
 
 In fact, the Rameses of Genesis was the place where 
 Jacob and his children sojourned. It is designated as 
 the most fertile portion of Egypt, the best of the land 
 ( Gen. xlvii. 11). It is that portion of country, which is 
 elsewhere called in Scripture the land of Goshen ( Gen. 
 xlvii. 6). Rameses , moreover, is twice named as the 
 point of departure of the Israelites, when they directed 
 themselves towards Succoth , to go out from Egypt ( Exod. 
 xii. 37. Num. xxxiii. 3) ; and in the same manner, if 
 one would explain the successive stations of the Israelitish 
 camp, reference must be made back to the land from 
 which they went out.f Jablonski himself admits this 
 consequence, and he has a special chapter entitled, con- 
 cerning the land of Ramses , which teas Goshen itself. \ 
 But he avoids the application by distinguishing, as we 
 have remarked, two places called by the name of Rameses . 
 
 We believe that we have already sufficiently exposed 
 
 * An explanation of the principal systems on this subject can be 
 found in the first dissertation of Jablonski, De terrâ Gosen, Opusc. 
 tom. n. pp. 77 — 90. 
 
 t We do not pretend that the habitation of the Hebrews was al- 
 ways confined to the land of Goshen. It must have extended as the 
 people increased. But Goshen seems to have been the centre, and 
 the principle abode, during the time of Moses ( Exod. viii. 22 ; ix. 
 26). 
 
 { Opusc. tom. ii. p. 136. 
 
153 
 
 this opinion ; and if his two Raineses, instead of being 
 different, are one and the same ; if in the passage before 
 cited from Genesis, reference is made by anticipation to 
 the city which bears this name; it follows necessarily that 
 Rameses was situated in the land of Goshen. And since 
 it is found in the present village of Ramsis, we think it 
 possible, by means of this precious datum, to determine 
 very nearly the part of Egypt where Jacob and his family 
 dwelt, one important point of it being now known. 
 
 Perhaps the brevity with which we have discussed this 
 topic, has prevented a satisfactory exhibition of the above 
 result to our readers. It doubtless does demand more full 
 development than the limits of our Essay will permit us to 
 make ; but the probabilities to which we have alluded, will, 
 if we are not deceived, make this part of Egypt worthy the 
 special attention of travellers who go to explore the ancient 
 land of the Pharaohs. It seems to us that a well conduct- 
 ed examination of the environs of Ramsis, will furnish 
 results as important to religion as to science. When one 
 reflects that the children of Israel dwelt for more than two 
 centuries in the land of Goshen , is it to be deemed chime- 
 rical, that we view it as possible that some memorials of 
 their residence may there be found? We recollect to have 
 somewhere read that Bossuet and Leibnitz, foreseeing the 
 advantages which the monuments of Egypt might offer in 
 confirmation of Scripture facts, expressed a strong desire 
 to see them and to study them with a view to the interests 
 of religion. May we be permitted to renew the pious wish 
 of these great men ! With our established relations in 
 Egypt, with the present advance of archaeological studies, 
 and especially with the invaluable discovery of Champol- 
 lion, no age furnishes so powerful means as our own for 
 realizing such a desire. But we must return to the subject 
 which more directly occupies us. [See App. T.] 
 
154 
 
 5. In a period later than that to which our preceding 
 discussions refer, we find the prophets making mention of 
 an Egyptian city called Taphnis in the Vulgate version, 
 [and Tahpanhes in the English,] ( Jerera . ii. 16 ; xliii. 7, 8, 
 9; xliv. 1 ; xlvi. 14. Ezelc. xxx. 14 — 18). The Hebrew 
 text calls it and the Septuagint Tacpvdç. We find 
 
 it also, under the same name, in a passage already indicated 
 in the Greek version of Judith, where it figures among a 
 number of villages which refused to submit to the king of 
 Assyria (i. 9). Jeremiah and Baruch were carried there 
 by the Jews, who after the sacking of Jerusalem fled into 
 Egypt, notwithstanding the prohibition of these prophets 
 ( Jerem . xliii.). It was there that Jeremiah predicted the 
 evils, which the land of the Pharaohs would suffer from 
 the hands of Nebuchadzezzar [Jerem. xliii. 10 — 13). It 
 is pretended, but without any proof, that he was stoned by 
 the Jews. 
 
 We think, with Bochart and many other critics, that the 
 Taphnis or [ Tahpanhes ] of Scripture is evidently a village 
 described by many ancient profane writers. Herodotus 
 designates it by the name of Jdçpvcu n^lovaLai , Daphnœ 
 Pelusiæ; and he informs us that king Psammetichus kept 
 strong garrisons there to protect this part of Egypt from 
 the incursions of the Arabians and Syrians, to which 
 it was exposed (ii. 30). Stephanus of Byzantium, who 
 places it near Pelusium, calls it Jucpvrj. Finally the Itin- 
 erary of Antoninus renders this Greek name by that of 
 Daphnus , and fixes its position sixteen miles from Pelu- 
 sium. The analogy of names, in our opinion, makes the 
 identity of the city in Scripture and the city mentioned by 
 profane writers, very striking. The only perceptible differ- 
 ence, that of the n or T and the cannot occasion much 
 difficulty ; every educated reader knows very well that 
 these permutations of letters belonging to the same organ, 
 
155 
 
 as grammarians say, are easy and frequent in every tran- 
 scription of proper names, especially when they belong to 
 a foreign language. 
 
 But farther, our object in speaking here of the city of 
 Taphnis , is less to fix its position than to mark the rela- 
 tion of its name to that of an Egyptian divinity, which the 
 hieroglyphic legends have revealed to Champollion (for 
 she does not appear to have been known by the ancient 
 authors whose writings we possess). It is a goddess, who 
 in her numerous images is always represented with the 
 head of a lion, and who is called in the written monuments 
 X'tJn'TT (Tafnet or Tafne # ), daughter of Phre (the 
 sun), and twin sister of Sôouf with whom she represents 
 the constellation Gemini in many Egyptian zodiacs. Such 
 homonymes , i. e. conformities of name between cities or 
 individuals and the divinities to whom they were sacred, 
 were, as we know, very common in ancient times ; but 
 especially in Egypt, where names of individuals are very 
 often names of the gods, either in their simple form, or as 
 principal elements. This circumstance is another proof 
 of the eminently religious spirit which characterized even 
 the civil usages of the ancient Egyptians. The above 
 example authorizes the conjecture that the worship of the 
 goddess Tafne must have been a special usage, in the city 
 which bears her name. 
 
 We have already found the name of Tafne , bestowed by 
 the Hebrew and by the Vulgate upon an Egyptian prin- 
 cess, the wife of the Pharaoh who gave an asylum to the 
 Idumean prince Hadad (1 Kings xi. 19, 20) ; and the 
 same observations are applicable to that case, as apply to 
 the one just mentioned. 
 
 * See General Table, succeeding the Précis, No. 53, p. 6. 
 
 t The god Soon is represented elevating his arms to sustain the 
 heavens and his head is surmounted with a lunar disk. Champollion 
 names him Hercules Sunus. 
 
156 
 
 6. The prophetic books in which Egypt so often figures, 
 preserve the name, probably the primitive one, of a more 
 important city. It is called in Nahum (iii. 8) $0 
 
 (No-Ammon), but it is called by Jeremiah (xlvi. 25) *ji73N 
 fcbjq literally Ammon of No, and more simply No by 
 Ezekiel (xxx. 14 — 16). It is very evident that the denomi- 
 nation given to this city by Jeremiah, is but an inversion 
 of the name found in Nahum, and which is expressed in 
 a more abridged form by Ezekiel ; and that under these 
 three names which, with some differences, have intimate 
 relations, the prophets designated one and the same city. 
 [In all the above passages, the English version has simply 
 No, and not No Ammon as in Hebrew.] 
 
 The Vulgate has constantly rendered the above names 
 by the more modern name of Alexandria, and this inter- 
 pretation astonishes us the more, because in the Septuagint 
 (which refers to a name in use under the Greek domi- 
 nation, but which chooses the most proper one, as the 
 reader will soon see), the iô of Nahum is rendered 
 by the appellation of psglç ’A(juûv, literally the portion or 
 heritage of Ammon ; and the of Ezekiel is rendered 
 by the well known name of Diospolis, Aioanohq. Not- 
 withstanding the respect due to a version which the Church 
 approves as a whole, we cannot adopt the interpretation it 
 here gives of the sacred text ; for it is absolutely impossible 
 that the Scriptures intended to designate Alexandria in 
 the passages referred to, since this city was not then in ex- 
 istence. We know that it was not founded until a long 
 period after, by the conquering Macedonian who gave to 
 it his name. In the times of the prophets, the soil where 
 it afterwards stood was occupied by a village called Rha- 
 cotis, ‘Paxüziç, by historians, which village in succeeding 
 times became one part of the Greek city. The Copts de- 
 signated this city of Alexander by the following Egyptian 
 
157 
 
 name, which wants the termination added by the Greeks, 
 viz. P^KO^f-, Pakott. W e cannot then but 
 consider the anachronism that we have exposed, as an 
 inadvertence of the learned man to whom we owe the 
 Vulgate version, and who perhaps had adopted the tradi- 
 tions of the Jews whose Targums name this place Alex- 
 andria. Let us see now whether we can restore to the 
 city of the prophets its true name, either in the language 
 of the conquerors of Egypt, or in the ancient national 
 idiom. 
 
 We find that the Septuagint renders the name in the 
 text of Ezekiel by /hôvnohç, and this reading is admitted 
 by all critics. But we cannot determine positively the 
 location of the city mentioned in Scripture, from the Greek 
 name, because at the time when it was adopted, in the 
 reign of Alexander’s successors, it was common to three 
 different cities of Egypt ; and the question is, to determine 
 to which of these cities the passages in the prophets refer. 
 
 It cannot be the Diospolis parva of Upper Egypt ; the 
 epithet parva seems to indicate a village of at least mode- 
 rate extent ; but its position in the upper part of Egypt, 
 absolutely prevents our applying to it the character which 
 is attributed to No- Ammon by the prophets. 
 
 Might it not be another Diospolis parva , which was 
 situated in lower Egypt, and so far as we can judge, upon 
 lake Menzaleh? Many learned men have thought (and 
 with some probability), that this city is the only one of 
 the three, which by its position seems to correspond per- 
 fectly with the No- Ammon of Nahum. Nahum tells us, 
 “ that it was situate among the rivers , that it had the 
 waters round about it, that its rampart ivas the sea ” 
 (iii. 8) ; and this is in fact the situation of the second 
 Diospolis. But in another respect, he gives us the idea 
 of a populous, large, and powerful city, since in the same 
 
158 
 
 verse he compares it to the celebrated Nineveh, to which 
 he makes it at least equal, and he demands of the capital 
 of Assyria, whether it supposed itself superior to the 
 Egyptian city; “ Art thou better etc.?” Now such a 
 rank among cities, never could belong to this Diospolis 
 parva. 
 
 These reasons have determined other critics to consider 
 the city of Nahum, as an illustrious, large, and powerful 
 city, which was the centre of the strength, opulence, 
 civilization, luxury, and arts of Egypt, under the reign of 
 the Pharaohs. It is the city of Thebes, which also bore, 
 under the Ptolemies, the Greek name of Diospolis , and 
 its importance certainly gives it a rank at least equal to 
 that of Nineveh. Still there is a difficulty here in regard 
 to the position of Thebes, for it is not surrounded by 
 waters, nor is it situated near the sea. But perhaps it is 
 lawful to suppose, that in the figurative style of the 
 prophet, his topographical details apply less to this particu- 
 lar city than to entire Egypt, of which it was the capital : 
 a country that is washed by the sea, is intersected by a 
 large river and by numerous canals which were sources 
 of its prodigious fruitfulness, and whose navigation and 
 maritime commerce filled it with immense wealth. 
 
 This opinion about the No-Ammon of the prophets, 
 which is very probably correct, seems more confirmed by 
 the new discoveries that are made by a knowledge of 
 Egyptian writings. Champollion, who had already read 
 a surname of the city of Memphis, that of dwelling of 
 Plita written in part figuratively in a hieroglyphic inscription 
 on the Rosetta stone,* also found subsequently, in writing 
 
 wholly phonetical, the word HI, dwelling of 
 
 Ammon ; and in this word he recognizes a title which 
 
 General Table, No. 287, p. 36. 
 
159 
 
 was given to the city of Thebes* where the God Ammon, 
 whose magnificent temple still exists in a part of the vil- 
 lage of Karnac, was specially honored. f Now the words 
 N3 seem to express the same idea, viz. that of the 
 dwelling of Ammon. This appears to be the signification, 
 whether we look into the Hebrew text, where the second 
 word is very evidently the name Ammon , and the other 
 may be derived, according to many learned men, from the 
 verb î“na, which expresses the idea of habitation as well 
 as of repose ; or whether we regard this biblical name as 
 
 rendering the Egyptian name NA<5.j«.0Yn Naamoun, 
 from which it differs only by the vowels. This last name 
 literally signifies the things which are, or which belong to 
 Ammon ; but it perhaps is correctly translated by the pla- 
 ces of Ammon, the dwelling of Ammon ; in the same man- 
 ner as the Greek authors have rendered it by "Icreov and 
 the city of Isis, a phrase entirely analogous to the Egyp- 
 tian name Nc^HCI, the literal sense of which is the 
 things that belong to Isis.% 
 
 We may add, that the Greek name AiôguoIlç corres- 
 ponds perfectly with the above interpretation, and that it 
 is equivalent to the appellation yeçlç 5 A ypûv, portion of 
 Ammon, which the Septuagint also gives to this city. In 
 fact, it signifies the city of Zeus or Jupiter ; for we 
 know that the Greeks, who identified the divinities of 
 other nations with those of their own, where their attri- 
 
 * General Table , No. 288, p. 36. 
 
 t The names of Ammon and of those which are derived from it, are 
 more frequently repeated than any other upon funereal monuments 
 of all kinds. Champollion, who makes this observation, assigns as a 
 reason for it the great number of monuments taken from the tombs 
 of Quornah at Thebes ; and we see in this a proof of the devotion of 
 its inhabitants to the god Ammon (See Précis du Syst. hierogl. pp. 
 164, 165). 
 
 X Égypte sous les Pharaons , tom. n. p. 198. 
 
160 
 
 butes were analogous, gave to Ammon the name of Zevg 
 (the Jupiter of the Latins); as they called Athor, 
 ’^(fçodiri] (Venus); Phtaf HqcnoTog (Vulcan); Neith, 
 
 * A6r,vij (Minerva), etc. 
 
 We find in the Bible many other names of places in 
 Egypt, which were celebrated by the events or by the 
 prophecies of which they were the theatre or object. 
 Such are £*^73, Maydâka. Migdol (Exod. xiv. 2. Num. 
 xxxiii. 7. Jerem. xliv. 1 ; xlvi. 14) ; which must be the 
 Mayôâloç of Herodotus and of Stephanus of Byzan- 
 tium, and the U^tynruiX of the Coptic writers. 
 The city of j]3 is mentioned in Isaiah, xix. 13. Jerem. ii. 
 16; xliv. 1 ; xlvi. 14, 19. Ezek. xxx. 16; it is called 
 Pjb, Moph in Hos. ix. 6 ; a name which the Vulgate and 
 Septuagint likewise render by that of Memphis * The 
 city of D^riD, Patros or Phatros , is called by the Septua- 
 gint yv JJaôovQrjç f and by the Vulgate, terra Pathures , 
 land of Phature or Pliatros (Jerem. xliv. 1, 15. Ezelc. 
 xxix. 14 ; xxx. 14). This may represent the name of 
 Upper Thebai's, which Pliny (v. 9) calls Phanturites or 
 Phaturitis. Such also is Zoan *p!sfc which is very cele- 
 brated ( Num. xiii. 22. Psalm lxxviii. 12. 43. Isa. xix. 
 11, 13; xxx. 4). This name has a very perceptible 
 
 analogy with the Egyptian name Xahs (Sjani), of 
 which the Arabians have made Ssan, or Ssaan, and which 
 is very certainly, as the authors of the Septuagint and 
 Jerome have determined, the celebrated Tanis ; where, 
 there is reason to believe, many miracles were wrought by 
 the Lord for the deliverance of his people. [See on the 
 various names above mentioned, dissertations in the Excur- 
 sus in Stuart’s Course, of Hebrew Study, No. 1. Vol. II.] 
 
 These names afford occasion for very interesting geo- 
 
 * And so the English Version in Hos. ix. 6 . — Tr. 
 
161 
 
 graphical researches as connected with Scripture, and the 
 labors of learned men on this subject have already fur- 
 nished useful materials ; but the aim of our work pre- 
 cludes excursions of this kind, which are foreign to it, be- 
 cause the writings of Egypt do not yet afford any new data 
 respecting them. We must wait, then, for results which 
 we may be permitted to expect. While we are writing 
 these lines, the author of the invaluable discovery which 
 has revealed to us so many facts of which we were before 
 ignorant, is exploring the banks of the Nile, and studying 
 the land of the Pharaohs by searching through its cata- 
 combs and interrogating its monuments ; and when he 
 returns to his country, laden with treasures of anti- 
 quity which will enrich the knowledge of history, perhaps 
 then both the geography and history of the holy books, 
 may claim a renewed share of attention from the learn- 
 ed* 
 
 * Champollion has since returned and is understood to be preparing 
 a large work for publication. He has brought home with him more 
 fifteen hundred drawings of various kinds, made by himself and 
 other artists in his company, all relating to various objects of nature 
 and art in Egypt, and which will probably, with the advantage of 
 the hieroglyphical explanations attending them that he will be able 
 to decipher, command a higher interest in Europe than any work of 
 the like nature ever before published. — T r, 
 
 14 * 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ANSWER TO CERTAIN DIFFICULTIES OF INFIDELS. 
 
 Could Moses write the Pentateuch in the desert ? Magnificence of the tab- 
 ernacle and of other objects consecrated to the worship of the true God. 
 
 Silence of the sacred historians in relation to Sesostris. 
 
 Every one will agree that Scripture is not unfrequently 
 enveloped in obscurity, and that the reconciliation of texts 
 is sometimes involved in very embarrassing difficulties. 
 This is also true of most of the more recent oriental 
 writers, and of many ancient authors ; and one readily 
 perceives that the sublimity of doctrines, the extraordi- 
 nary nature of events, the diversity of manners, the few 
 details in certain narratives which were destined for a 
 peculiar people to whom the facts related were familiar, 
 and finally the genius of a language so different from 
 modern idioms and classical languages and which besides 
 is now dead, — all these circumstances have specially con- 
 tributed to render obscure some considerable portions 
 of the sacred books. In every period from the first ages 
 of Christianity, sacred criticism has been employed in 
 making the Scriptures easier to be understood, by the 
 collation and discussion of passages. The works of the 
 pious Fathers, are chiefly commentaries upon the divine 
 writings. But then the faith of Christians was not sha- 
 ken by the obscurities in question ; and for this reason, 
 the labors of commentators are not ordinarily of a polemic 
 character. The word of God was received with respect, 
 even when it was not entirely understood, and Christians 
 
163 
 
 labored to profit from the clear and lucid passages, which 
 it had pleased Providence to afford them. But it was not 
 so at a later period, and especially in the last century. 
 There arose a sect of unbelievers, who with an avowed 
 aim to overturn Christianity,* unceasingly attacked the 
 holy books, and attempted in every way to prove them 
 to be error, or an imposture, or a contradiction and 
 absurdity. Among these modern Titans, and conspicu- 
 ous above all, is the philosopher of Ferney, who poured 
 out his sarcasm and hatred upon truths which his frivolous 
 erudition was unable to shake. The great men of pre- 
 ceding centuries had brought their acquisitions to the aid 
 of religion, and to the illustration of the sacred books. 
 The sophists of this new school sought on the contrary 
 for arms to use against Christianity. Geology, astronomy, 
 geography, chronology, history, the knowledge of ancient 
 languages, and all branches of science were put in requi- 
 sition, in a perfidious attempt to decry the august claims 
 of our faith. 
 
 Providence likewise raised up for religion, learned and 
 zealous defenders. Bullet, Bergier, Guénée, and Deluc, 
 refuted with success these pretended philosophers ; and 
 their writings still form a barrier at all points against the 
 attacks of the adversaries of revelation. But recent dis- 
 coveries and new developments in the sciences, which 
 have been more diligently studied, furnish sacred criti- 
 cism now with new data , and enable it still more ably 
 
 * This circumstance is brought to light, by the correspondence of 
 Voltaire and his friends. The publication of their letters is a signal 
 service rendered to the religion which they wished to crush, although 
 their unskilful editors were far from proposing such an end. They 
 expose, in all its disgusting nakedness, the turpitude of these pre- 
 tended philosophers ; and it is an infallible means of Providence to 
 disabuse minds which have been seduced by their false theories, and 
 which have not yet entirely abjured good faith, honor, and probity. 
 
164 
 
 to defend revealed truths. It is desirable that the united 
 efforts of learned Christians should perfect the labors of 
 the defenders of the last century, and fortify them by all 
 which in the present state of human knowledge can be 
 added to the defence of the Scriptures. .Such a labor 
 would doubtless be long and toilsome ; but its real utility 
 is well adapted to excite zeal, and the authors of a well 
 executed work on the plan of that of Bullet, would possess 
 strong claims upon public gratitude. Our less extensive 
 undertaking is confined to the special resources offered 
 to sacred criticism in Egyptian studies, and we hasten 
 to enter upon our subject, and to describe to our readers 
 some applications of the new discoveries, in the solution 
 of objections which have been made by infidels against 
 the sacred books. 
 
 1. Some have doubted the high antiquity of the Penta- 
 teuch. It has been said that Moses could not be the 
 author ; and by torturing a very clear passage, it has been 
 attributed to the high priest Hilkiah, who, according to 
 the true sense of the Bible, found in the temple during 
 the reign of Josiah king of Judah, a copy of the Penta- 
 teuch, or perhaps only of Deuteronomy, which was writ- 
 ten hy the hand of Moses (2 Kings xxii. S. 2 Chron. 
 xxxiv. 14). To support the pretended impossibility that 
 the author was Moses, some have even advanced so far 
 as to assert that Moses knew not how to write. At least 
 it has been asked how he could have written the Penta- 
 teuch in the desert ; and what portable materials he could 
 have had in his situation to write a work of such extent ? 
 Finally, the objector has not forgotten to remark, that the 
 book of the Law must be reduced to very small dimensions 
 as to its material form, in order that it might be deposited 
 in the ark of the covenant. 
 
 A full reply has been given to the whole of this partly 
 
165 
 
 ridiculous objection. The true and natural sense of the 
 passage in the sacred text relative to Hilkiah, has been 
 exhibited. As they had foreseen the advantages which 
 would one day result from the monuments of Egypt, many 
 defenders of Scripture have appealed to the coffins of 
 mummies which contain painted inscriptions. In short, 
 innumerable ways, showing that Moses could have 
 written the Pentateuch even in the desert, have been 
 pointed out. The answer to the objection was very just, 
 very reasonable, and more than sufficient ; but the re- 
 searches of Champollion enable us to add the testimony 
 of monuments of a certain date, and to reply by stating 
 facts. 
 
 The Necropoleis * of ancient Egypt, which consist of 
 vaults, where, as is well known, many precious discove- 
 ries have been made about the history of this celebrated 
 country, furnish daily, among other spoils of past ages, 
 numerous manuscripts on papyrus. Some, filled with 
 hieroglyphics, and adorned with paintings of the divinities 
 of Amenti or the Egyptian hell, and with mystic scenes 
 of the passage of souls, f are only repetitions more or less 
 complete of a kind of funereal ritual. One of these manu- 
 scripts in the Turin Museum, occupies a space sixty feet 
 in length. Other manuscripts (and these are more rare 
 and more important to history), are traced usually in 
 hieratic writing. They present various kinds of acts 
 promulgated by Egyptian monarchs, and they bear the 
 
 * The name of Necropolis or city of the dead , is given to places 
 of sepulture among the old Egyptians, where are found mummies 
 and other funereal monuments. This denomination, which elsewhere 
 expresses a beautiful idea, applies literally to the vast extent of these 
 sepulchral excavations. 
 
 t Champollion has given in the Bulletin des sciences historiques , 
 tom. iv. p. 347, an explanation of the principal scenes painted 
 upon the Egyptian funereal papyrus. It has been separately pub- 
 lished. 
 
166 
 
 names and the dates of the reigns of these monarchs. To 
 this class belongs a series of papyrus fragments, which 
 remained for a long time unnoticed in the Turin Museum, 
 but which have now happily been recognized by Cham- 
 pollion. The series is very remarkable on account of 
 the number and variety of the pieces ; and it has led to 
 the conjecture, that it must have formed the entire archives 
 of a temple or of some other public deposit.* An im- 
 mense number of acts are there found, which belong for 
 the most part to the eighteenth dynasty, and of which 
 none are later than the nineteenth. But the most re- 
 markable of all, and very certainly the most ancient 
 manuscript known to this day, contains an act of the 
 fifth year of the reign of Thouthmosis III., the fifth king 
 of the eighteenth dynasty. This memorial is in itself 
 a sufficient answer to the assertions of infidels. 
 
 Behold then a proof that writing was known and prac- 
 tised in the days of this Pharaoh, and that the hieratic 
 writing was in use, which was much more easy and cursive 
 than the hieroglyphic. Behold a proof of the use of papy- 
 rus, which some learned men, on the authority of Varro, 
 have thought was not employed anterior to the foundation 
 of Alexandria.! Now Thouthmosis III. governed Egypt 
 at a later period, about the time when Joseph was carried 
 there as a slave ; and consequently, two centuries at least 
 before the time when Moses wrote the Pentateuch. It is 
 not then true, as Voltaire has pretended, that “ in the time 
 of Moses hieroglyphic writing only was in use, or that the 
 
 * Bulletin des sciences historiques, tom. n. p. 301. 
 
 t Pliny, who cites Varro (xii. 11), says (cap. 13), Ingentia quidem 
 exempta contra Varronis sententiam de chartis reperiuntur ; i. e. 
 striking examples are found which contradict the opinion of Varro 
 concerning charts. Caylus, according to Guilandin, cites also many 
 similar passages from the ancients. See his Dissertation sur le 
 papyrus , in tom. xxvi. of the Acad, of Inscriptions. 
 
167 
 
 art of engraving upon polished stone, upon brick, upon 
 lead, or upon wood, was the only manner of writing, and 
 that the Egyptians and Chaldeans wrote in no other w r ay.” 
 We demand in our turn, whether Moses, who was instruct- 
 ed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians , was ignorant of the 
 art of writing ? Could he have had much trouble in pro- 
 curing the thin and light substance so generally used in 
 Egypt, which we find employed by scribes more than two 
 centuries before him ? Finally, is it so very astonishing, 
 that the autograph of the legislator of the Hebrews, which 
 was an object of veneration to all the people, and which 
 was so long and carefully preserved in the ark, could have 
 existed until the reign of Josiah, that is to say, about nine 
 centuries after Moses ; when the hypogeums of Thebes 
 present us with papyrus, containing certain transactions 
 which were probably between private individuals merely, 
 and which extend back 3500 years and even more ? 
 
 2. The sacred Scriptures give a very circumstantial 
 account of the richness of the tabernacle, of the ark of 
 the covenant, of altars, of chandeliers, of vestments of the 
 high priests, of vases, and of all objects which were con- 
 secrated to the worship of the God of Israel. It informs 
 us of the quantity of skins and of colored tissues, of rare 
 wood, of gold, of silver, of bronze, and of precious stones, 
 employed in their completion, and gives us a high idea of 
 the ingenuity with which all the arts were unitedly put in 
 requisition worthily to honor the true God. We cannot 
 read what is said on this subject without wonder ( Exod. 
 xxv. — xxxi.) ; and we are forced to conclude that the art- 
 ists who presided over the execution of these magnificent 
 works, j Bezalecl and Aholiab, were men profoundly skilled 
 in the polished arts. 
 
 Modern infidels are not checked by the sentiment of won- 
 der which such magnificence naturally inspires. These 
 
168 
 
 details, even the minuteness of which seems to vouch for 
 their correctness, receive little courtesy from their disdain- 
 ful criticism. They wish to prove the sacred text im- 
 probable. They deny the possibility of such labors among 
 the Israelites in the desert ; and they suppose their asser- 
 tion to be established by the following positions; viz. (1) 
 They were too poor to sustain such expenses. (2) They 
 were too barbarous, too little acquainted with the arts, to 
 be able to execute of themselves works so labored and so 
 magnificent. 
 
 It is easy to refute the first part of this objection. It has 
 been proved that the children of Israel were not so misera- 
 ble as Voltaire is pleased to suppose ; that their industry 
 and their labors, in the country where they sojourned so 
 long a time, must have been lucrative ; and that having 
 carried with them their own acquisitions, which were 
 augmented by the spoils of the Egyptians, there is founda- 
 tion for the remark in Scripture ; He brought them forth 
 also with silver and gold (Psalm cv. 37). It is certain 
 that the philosopher of Ferney was in a striking error, 
 when he endeavored to deceive his readers, and represent- 
 ed the Hebrews in the desert as a people in ivant of all 
 things. 
 
 The solution of the second difficulty has been heretofore 
 less positive, although authorized conjectures w r ere surely a 
 sufficient reply to allegations wholly unsupported. Now, 
 we can overthrow all the objection by a single decided 
 fact, which we have observed as Egyptian studies advan- 
 ced, and especially from the readings of hieroglyphic in- 
 scriptions that are engraved upon monuments of all styles 
 and ages. 
 
 We have mentioned that Champollion, in the course of 
 his investigations, applied himself, with a special aim to 
 the history of art, to compare the monuments of Egypt, 
 
169 
 
 whose ages could be determined by means of royal car- 
 touches which figured in their legends.* The first conse- 
 quence of this examination, has been a truth which had 
 already been supposed, but which is now indisputable ; viz. 
 that the arts of Egypt, far from having been indebted for 
 their progress to the influence of those from Greece under 
 the domination of the Lagidae kings, reached, on the con- 
 trary, their highest perfection during the ages of a very 
 remote antiquity. A fact of much greater weight here, is 
 also made evident, viz. that the most brilliant epoch of 
 their splendor and glory, in the whole series of Pharaonic 
 ages, was beyond any doubt that during which the Diospo- 
 litan family reigned over Egypt, in the eighteenth epoch 
 of Manetho, to which period we owe the temples and 
 palaces of Luxor , of Karnac, of Quornah , of 3fedinetabou, 
 the Mcmnonium, the most beautiful obelisks of Egypt and 
 Rome, most of the colossal statues known, and a multi- 
 tude of small and remarkable monuments in the various 
 collections of Europe, etc.f 
 
 Now we know that this dynasty was cotemporary with 
 the sojourn in Egypt of the children of Israel, who came 
 there at latest, under its sixth king, after the reign of the 
 great Thouthmosis Mœris, and who left that country in the 
 reign of Ramses V., the seventeenth and last king. This 
 synchronism resolves the question in a decisive manner. 
 
 Moses, being educated by the daughter of Pharaoh, was 
 instructed , as we have often repeated, in all the wisdom of 
 the Egyptians. His people, who w T ere for so long a time 
 blended with the Egyptians and employed in their labors, 
 could not remain uninfluenced by the advance of the latter 
 in civilization. After the epoch of the Diospolitan family, 
 
 * See Chap. V. of our first part, pp. 89 et seq. 
 
 t Précis du syst. hierogl., p. 292. ls£ Letter on the Turin Mu- 
 seum , p. 4, etc. 
 
 15 
 
170 
 
 there is nothing remarkable in the state of the arts, among 
 the people who have been gratuitously taxed with igno- 
 rance and barbarism. The sumptuousness of the taberna- 
 cle and its dependencies, the casting of the vessel of gold, 
 and all the works executed by the children of Israel in the 
 desert, are perfectly consistent with what we learn from 
 the monuments concerning the ingenuity of Egyptian art- 
 ists during this epoch. Every thing conspires to render 
 the details on this subject in the sacred books, probable 
 and worthy of credit. It is unnecessary to recur to a 
 miracle or to supernatural inspiration for an explanation 
 of the Spirit of God, which operated upon the minds of 
 Tdezaleel and Aholiab and the skilful artists who labored 
 under their supervision. Scripture itself seems to explain 
 it by tlieir icisdom and understanding in all manner of 
 workmanship (Exod. xxxi. 3, 6), which, in a natural 
 manner, the Lord dispensed to them as he pleased; and 
 in the perfection of their works, we may recognize the 
 happy influence of the arts of Egypt upon the people of 
 God. Such was a necessary result of their prolonged 
 residence in the land of the Pharaohs. 
 
 3. We find then the new discoveries serving as auxilia- 
 ries in the defence of Scripture, and furnishing still more 
 positive and peremptory replies to difficulties which had 
 been already resolved in a manner more or less satisfac- 
 tory. We owe also to the same sources the elucidation of 
 a historical difficulty, which men have sought in vain to 
 answer, and upon which their efforts have terminated in a 
 conviction of its being inexplicable. 
 
 It is remarkable that sacred history, blended as it often 
 is with that of Egypt, is absolutely silent about the most 
 illustrious sovereign of the country where so many powerful 
 kings held the throne. We find in Scripture neither the 
 name of the famous Sesostris, nor any feature of his 
 
171 
 
 historical physiognomy by which we may distinguish him 
 among the various Pharaohs there mentioned. We may 
 justly be astonished at such an omission ; and infidels who 
 are accustomed to arraign before their tribunal the narra- 
 tives of the sacred books, have not failed in this instance 
 to demand a reason for their silence, and to found upon it 
 an objection to the correctness and even to the authenticity 
 of the divine writings. 
 
 The most reasonable and plausible reply seems to be, 
 an observation which we have frequent occasion to make 
 in reading the Scriptures, viz., that the history of the He- 
 brews, as it is transmitted to us, being essentially religious 
 and national, gives no account of a prince who did neither 
 good nor evil towards the children of Israel. But the 
 application of this general truth to the particular case 
 in question, might not appear very just, and it might 
 be thought inconsistent to regard the conquests of an 
 Egyptian monarch as entirely foreign to the history of 
 the people of God. According to Herodotus, Diodorus, 
 and other historians, Sesostris , in his expedition to Asia, 
 must have followed the Red Sea. He had subjected 
 Phenicia, and he must have traversed Palestine either as 
 an ally or as a conqueror. It was reasonable then to de- 
 mand what part the Hebrews took, whether they subjected 
 themselves to the yoke of the conqueror, or if not, by w hat 
 means they kept themselves free, when all nations were 
 shrinking before him, after a resistance more or less 
 vigorous? These circumstances surely, whatever might 
 have been their nature, deserved to be mentioned ; and 
 the silence of the sacred historians, therefore, about events 
 which concerned so nearly the people of God, seemed 
 inexplicable. The difficulty remained the same ; and the 
 only satisfactory manner of resolving it was, by determin- 
 ing the epoch of the reign of Sesostris. But here criticism 
 
172 
 
 could only exhaust itself in vain conjectures and cal- 
 culations, because no passage of the ancient historians 
 afforded any means of fixing this important date. Mar- 
 sham and some other chronologists, led into a mistake 
 by a passage of Josephus which they did not understand, 
 believed Sesostris to be the Shishak of Kings and of 
 Chronicles. This made an anachronism of five centuries; 
 and when it was perceived that such was the case, the 
 system was abandoned.* * * § Other attempts also were made, 
 until chronologists, discouraged by difficulties, gave up the 
 hope of success, and renounced the labor of finding the 
 date.f 
 
 The learned brothers to whom we are indebted for so 
 many precious materials, have been more fortunate than 
 previous investigators. Champollion the younger has found 
 the identity of the celebrated Sesostris , who is called also 
 by historians, Sethos, Sethosis, Sethon, and Humeses, with 
 a prince to whom may be justly given the name of Parié- 
 taire, an epithet which was used in antiquity to qualify the 
 name of the emperor Trajan. His royal name Ramses, 
 and his titles and surnames which sufficiently distinguish 
 him from other kings with the name of Ramses, of whom 
 we have spoken, are read more frequently than those of 
 any other Pharaoh. They are found upon a multitude 
 of all kinds of edifices in Nubia, at Thebes, at Abydos, 
 upon many obelisks at Luxor and at Rome,! upon colossal 
 statues which have been transported to Turin and to Lon- 
 don, and upon an infinite variety of monuments.^ They 
 
 * The reader cannot mistake the identity of Shishak with Sesonchis, 
 which we have established in accordance with Champollion. 
 
 t D’ Origny has conjectured that Sesostris was cotemporary with 
 Moses ; but he has not fixed the dates. See Chronologie des rois du 
 grand empire des Égyptiens, torn. i. p. 109. 
 
 X Précis du Syst. hierogl p. 271. 
 
 § 1st Letter on the Turin Museum, p. 67 seq., and 2d Letter, 
 p. 36 seq. 
 
173 
 
 are found also in Syria upon a bilingual inscription, 
 in hieroglyphics and in cuneiform characters;* and this 
 curious monument is an eloquent testimony to the warlike 
 expeditions of the conquering prince in question, the sixth 
 of his name, and chief of the nineteenth dynasty. Cham- 
 pollion Figeac, adding to the researches of his brother, has 
 devoted himself to determining the dates of this Pharaoh, 
 and by a calculation whose basis we have explained, he 
 finds that the Egyptian monarch succeeded his father 
 Ramses V. or Amenophis , in the year 1473 before our 
 era, and that he reigned over Egypt until the year 1418. 
 These dates call to mind a fragment of Diodorus, that is 
 preserved by Photius (Biblioth. cod. 1151), which makes 
 Moses cotemporary with Danaiis and Cadmus. Common 
 opinion, it is known, makes the Danaiis of the Greeks, 
 whom Manetho calls Arnai's, the brother of Sesostris , and 
 Sesostris himself their Ægyptus. 
 
 However this may be, the determination of the epoch of 
 Sesostris removes every difficulty ; since his accession to 
 the throne took place 17 or 18 years after the departure 
 from Egypt, which, with most chronologists, we have 
 placed in the reign of his father Ramses Amenopliis , about 
 the year 1491 before our era.f 
 
 It has been asked how the Hebrews could avoid the 
 yoke of the conqueror who invaded Palestine, or could 
 preserve themselves free from all contact with him ? It 
 was owing to the most simple of all circumstances which 
 can be desired as an explanation of the fact, a circum- 
 stance which authorizes us to presume that they remained 
 absolutely ignorant of the warlike expeditions of Sesostris. 
 
 * Précis du syst. hierogl., p. 272. 
 
 t Although the opinion we have advanced relative to the manner 
 and epoch of the death of Amenophis, should not he admitted, our 
 reply to the difficulties in question would nevertheless lose none of 
 its force. 
 
 15 * 
 
174 
 
 The people of God were not yet in possession of the land 
 of promise ; they were wandering in the deserts of Ara- 
 bia, and their pilgrimage extended to a long period after 
 the expedition of Sesostris, since its total duration was 
 forty years. Now in his march with a numerous army, 
 the conqueror must have avoided those arid deserts, where 
 they would have been exposed to perish from want of 
 food and water. We learn from another source, from 
 Manetho in a fragment preserved by Josephus ( Cont . Ap. 
 i. 15), that Sesostris at first took a direction towards the 
 island of Cyprus and Phenicia. On his arrival in Pales- 
 tine, he found only the primitive inhabitants ; and the 
 history of this idolatrous people, not being noticed in the 
 sacred annals, except when they are connected with the 
 people of God, their contests with the formidable monarch 
 were totally foreign to the object of the inspired w r riters. 
 
 But when Sesostris returned to Egypt, being called 
 back by the perfidious intrigues of his brother, he must 
 have taken a different route from that which he had be- 
 fore followed. Herodotus (n. 103) makes Thrace the 
 boundary of his conquests. Thrace then was his point 
 of departure on his return ; and in his haste to reach 
 Egypt, that he might counteract the machinations of his 
 rebellious brother, there is reason to believe that he pro- 
 fited by the fleet which he had in the Mediterranean, and 
 returned by sea. This seems to be indicated by the 
 historians Herodotus (n. 107), Diodorus (i. 57), and Ma- 
 netho as cited by Josephus ( Cont. Ap. i. 15), who all 
 agree in making him arrive at Pelusium. Finally, had 
 he taken his route by land and through Palestine, the 
 Hebrew's would not then have occupied this country ; be- 
 cause, as Diodorus relates (i. 55), the expedition of Sesos- 
 tris, which w’as undertaken at the commencement of his 
 reign, terminated in his ninth year. 
 
175 
 
 From the above explanation, founded as it is upon the 
 most positive authorities, it follows necessarily that dur- 
 ing the conquests of the Pharaoh in question, the He- 
 brews were preserved in a natural way from any connec- 
 tion with him, and that they could not have met him, 
 either in the holy land, where God had not yet brought 
 his people, or in the desert, which this skilful warrior was 
 careful not to penetrate. The silence of Scripture there- 
 fore, about Sesostris has been wrongfully imputed to it 
 as a reproach, and the fact needs no justification. 
 
 If it should be demanded now how Sesostris , after 
 returning to Egypt triumphant over his enemies, and 
 while at the height of his power, could permit a people 
 who were in a manner revolted from Egypt, to possess 
 the land of Canaan which his own arm had conquered ; 
 we reply, that the recent terror impressed upon Egypt 
 by the plagues which visited them from God, and perhaps 
 a knowledge of the promises of the Lord to Israel, were 
 sufficient to make him dread a people for whom the pro- 
 tection of the Almighty had wrought so many miracles, 
 and especially had opened a passage through the Red 
 Sea, an event not less miraculous than the passage of the 
 Jordan. But we insist particularly upon the following 
 observation ; which is, that the systems of war and of 
 policy in ancient times, resembled in no respect those of 
 modern times. Troops were not left behind to retain a 
 people in subjection, and to preserve invaded provinces ; 
 and warlike expeditions, which were often confined to 
 the taking of a certain number of captives, to the pillage 
 of flocks, or to the exaction of certain tributes, were 
 rather adventurous incursions than stable conquests. 
 This general remark, justified as it is by history, is par- 
 ticularly applicable to Sesostris, who, after having ex- 
 tended his empire almost to the limits of the then known 
 
176 
 
 world, appears not to have preserved any but his con- 
 quests in Africa. Justin, speaking of this Pharaoh and 
 of a king of the Scythians, thus describes the character 
 of these chivalric conquerors, as we might term them ; 
 Longinqua, non jinitima bella gerebant ; nec imperium 
 sibi , seel populis suis gloriam queer ebant ; contentique vic- 
 toria, imperio abstinebant (i. 1) ; i. e. they carried on 
 distant, not neighboring wars ; neither did they seek 
 power for themselves, but glory for their country ; and 
 content with victory, they abstained from dominion. 
 
 An author whom we have followed as our guide in the 
 present question, M. Cocquerel, goes much farther than 
 ourselves. He assays to prove that the Hebrew people, 
 during the epoch of the events which we have been con- 
 sidering, were in full peace and in relations of amity with 
 Egypt ; and he explains by the influence of Sesostris, 
 certain facts of secondary importance, which the Scrip- 
 tures connect with the period of the sojourn in the desert. 
 We refer to his interesting little work,* in which he gives 
 to this question the fullest development of which it is 
 susceptible. 
 
 We cannot conclude our remarks on the illustrious 
 chief of the nineteenth dynasty, without referring to the 
 recent discovery of a roll of papyrus, which was found by 
 Champollion in the rich collection of M. Sallier at Aix, 
 and which has aroused the curiosity of all the learned in 
 Europe. This manuscript, which is written in demotic 
 characters, and is a monument unique in its kind, is a 
 history of the campaigns of Sesostris Ramses. It is 
 filled with a circumstantial account of his conquests, of 
 the force and composition of his army, and it was written 
 in the ninth year of his reign, that is to say, according to 
 Diodorus, in the year of his return to Egypt. It is fol- 
 
 * Lettre sur le Système hiéroglyphique, pp. 32 — 46. 
 
177 
 
 lowed by another composition entitled ; Eulogium of the 
 great Icing Amcmnengon , a name with which we are not 
 acquainted, but which is related to the names of many 
 Pharaohs.* 
 
 Champollion, in his haste to embark on his voyage of 
 research in Egypt, could only take a rapid glance over 
 the papyrus of M. Sallier ; and his departure leaves us 
 still to regret a difference of opinion about the interpreta- 
 tion of this precious manuscript, concerning which the 
 most lively impatience is felt. It is thought that the dis- 
 covery will be of great interest to history ; and perhaps 
 the history of the people of God will be furnished from it 
 with new data. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EGYPTIAN ZODIACS. 
 
 Discovery of the zodiacs of Dendera and of Esne. Objections against bib- 
 lical chronology. Arrival in France of the planisphere of Dendera. 
 Contradictory systems about this monument. The date of this and of 
 other zodiacs ascertained by Champollion. Object of zodiacal rep- 
 resentations among the ancients. 
 
 Since the precious remnants of antiquity began to be 
 explored, no monument of ancient nations, not even ex- 
 cepting the admirable chefs d’ œuvres of Greece, has pro- 
 duced a sensation like that excited in our own day by the 
 famous zodiacs , which are sculptured upon the temples of 
 ancient Egypt. Doubtless, they were far from being un- 
 interesting in relation to the arts ; and considered as 
 
 Bulletin des sciences historiques , tom. x. p. 200. 
 
178 
 
 astronomical monuments, they seem worthy likewise of the 
 attention and study of skilful men. We may say, how- 
 ever, without fear of being charged with exaggeration, 
 that the importance with which they were honored, was 
 owing much less to their real merit, than to the strange 
 theories of which they have Been made the basis, and 
 especially to that prodigious antiquity which many learned 
 men have been pleased to assign them; an antiquity, 
 which extending back far beyond all known limits, has a 
 tendency to nothing less than utterly to overthrow the 
 chronology of the Bible. In this view, these monuments 
 enter necessarily into our design ; since they have been 
 opposed to the authority of the holy books, and since the 
 reading of hieroglyphics furnishes the only means of de- 
 termining their age with certainty, and of arranging them 
 in their proper order among the series of ancient monu- 
 ments. 
 
 1. It appears that these zodiacal representations were 
 not known before the close of the last century. At least, 
 travellers who had previous to this period visited Den - 
 dera and its temple 1 , never spoke of its zodiacs. But dur- 
 ing the campaigns of the French army in Egypt, a corps of 
 troops under the command of General Desaix, having as- 
 cended the Nile in order to penetrate the upper part of 
 the country, arrived at Dendera , the ancient Tcntyris , 
 
 which is called in the Coptic language NïTm^Uipï. 
 Some one soon discovered, among its ruins, the great 
 temple consecrated to the goddess Hath or (Venus) ; and 
 the aspect of this chef d’œuvre of Egyptian architecture, 
 struck with admiration the minds of all, even of the most 
 uncultivated soldiers. General Desaix immediately ob- 
 served the planisphere or circular zodiac , which in part 
 formed the ceiling of a hall situated upon the terrace of 
 the temple. He hastened to communicate the fact to the 
 
179 
 
 commission of learned men and artists, who made a part 
 of the Egyptian expedition. M. Denon took a copy of it, 
 which he inserted in his book of travels. Messrs. Jollois 
 and Devilliers afterwards sketched it; and their much 
 superior copy has been engraved in the magnificent Atlas 
 of the Description de V Egypte. In the same temple of 
 Dendera , a second zodiac was discovered, which likewise 
 adorned the ceiling of the portico. It is not circular like 
 the former, but it is rectangular and is sculptured upon 
 two parallel bands. Finally, the temples of Esne, the 
 
 Chh of Coptic writers, which seems to be the ancient 
 Latopolis, furnished the Champollions with two other 
 zodiacs, which are also rectangular ; but unfortunately the 
 most remarkable of the two has suffered much by mutila- 
 tion. The three last mentioned monuments are likewise 
 engraved, in the grand work on Egypt. 
 
 2. The zodiacs were immediately published and com- 
 mented upon with more or less good faith and decorum. 
 Science struck out into systems very bold ; and the spirit 
 of infidelity, seizing upon the discovery, flattered itself 
 with the hope of drawing from thence new support. It 
 was unjustifiably taken for granted, that the ruins of 
 Egypt furnished astronomy with monuments, containing 
 observations that exhibited the state of the heavens in the 
 most remote periods. Starting with this assumption, by 
 means of calculations which were represented as infallible, 
 but which were entirely hypothetical, a pretence was 
 made of demonstrating, that the celestial appearances as- 
 signed to these monuments extended back from forty-five 
 to sixty-five centuries ; that the zodiacal system to which 
 they must belong dated back fifteen thousand years, and, 
 must reach far beyond the limits assigned by Moses to 
 the existence of the world. Among those who upon this 
 subject stood forth in a manner more or less formal as the 
 
180 
 
 adversaries of revelation, the most prominent was the 
 famous author of U Origine de tous les Cultes .* 
 
 But systematic infidelity had ceased to be fashionable. 
 The altars that had been overturned, were rising again 
 upon their ruins ; and experience, which had been pur- 
 chased at the dear price of a bloody revolution, tended 
 daily to lead the mind to a divine religion, the only secu- 
 rity for individual or national peace and prosperity. The 
 sensation which the zodiacal systems produced upon the 
 world, was hardly felt beyond the very limited circle of 
 men specially devoted to study ; and although a few per- 
 sons, imbued still with the principles of a pestilential 
 school, applauded the pretended triumph of infidelity, yet 
 intelligent as well as pious men were grieved to find the 
 common belief of all Christian societies attacked in its 
 foundations. 
 
 Revelation however, though thus opposed in its primi- 
 tive claims, did not see its cause abandoned. It found 
 zealous defenders, among whom we must give the chief 
 rank to the celebrated antiquarian Visconti,! a man 
 whose name is of high celebrity in the arts, and to the 
 Abbé Testa, J secretary of the Roman chancery. These 
 able men fought upon the same ground with their oppo- 
 nents, that is to say, they considered the zodiacs, accord- 
 ing to the received opinion, as astronomical monuments. 
 But if on this account they failed to view the question in 
 its true light (which perhaps was impossible in the state 
 of knowledge at that period), at least they replied to their 
 
 * M. Dupuis. 
 
 t In a Notice sur les zodiaques de Dendera , inserted in the second 
 edition of Herodotus , by Larcher, tom. n. p. 567. 
 
 t We are ignorant of the date of the Memoir of M. Testa publish- 
 ed at Rome. The translation of this little work appeared in 1807, 
 under the title ; Dissertation sur deux zodiaques nouvellement dé- 
 couverts en Égypt. Paris, Leclere, 8vo. 
 
181 
 
 opponents by calculations equally conclusive with those of 
 the latter, and they reduced very much the exaggerated 
 antiquity which had been assigned to the zodiacal monu- 
 ments.* Discussions on this point soon ceased, and every 
 one was left to adopt chance opinions about a question, 
 which was much debated and but little explained. 
 
 But when (in 1821) a young and courageous traveller, 
 in spite of every obstacle, had succeeded in the bold at- 
 tempt to detach the planisphere of Dendera from the 
 ceiling which it adorned, and had performed the no less 
 difficult task of transporting it by main strength to the 
 sea ; when this celebrated monument was disembarked 
 at Marseilles, and in the following year was borne into 
 the capital, so to speak, in triumph, fit aroused to the high- 
 est pitch of curiosity, an age in which the influence of 
 knowledge was felt more and more. An object of inte- 
 rest to educated men, and of vanity to those who thought 
 themselves such, it could not remain unnoticed by the 
 multitude ; and classes of society who knew not even the 
 signification of the name zodiac , rushed in crowds to be- 
 hold it.J In the journals, in the saloons, the zodiac was 
 the only topic of discussion. Have you seen the zodiac ? 
 what think you of the zodiac ? were questions to which 
 every one was seemingly compelled to give a well inform- 
 ed answer, or to be degraded from a place in polished 
 society ; since fashion, that capricious mistress whose 
 
 * The abbe Testa gives to the zodiac of Dendera an antiquity of 
 300 years before the Christian era ; Visconti places its age from 12 
 years to 132 years before the same era. Visconti appears also, in his 
 Supplément à la notice, inclined to the Roman epoch. 
 
 t See the interesting JYotice sur le voyage de M. Lelorrain en 
 Égypte, par M. Saulnier fils. Paris, 1822, in 8vo. 
 
 t The zodiac was purchased by the king for 150,000 francs, and 
 was exhibited in the Louvre during a year. It is now in one of the 
 halls of the Library. 
 
 16 
 
182 
 
 sway is peculiarly powerful in France, awarded to a 
 monument of such antiquity the honor of a moment’s ad- 
 mission into her ever-changing empire. In a word, to 
 speak more gravely and more consistently with our sub- 
 ject, this fondness for the zodiac, whether real or affected, 
 exhibited to the eye of an observer who loved to study the 
 exciting scenes of the world, an enticing spectacle, and 
 inspired him with serious reflections. 
 
 4. The no less strong sensation which the zodiac pro- 
 duced among learned men, took another form, and gave 
 rise to the most important results. It became an object 
 of profound study, and immediately there appeared a 
 multitude of dissertations upon the nature, destination, 
 and age of this monument. 
 
 Mathematicians and astronomers, according to their 
 several systems, made constant scientific calculations, 
 whose results they endeavored to make correspondent with 
 the epoch of the world, when the heavens presented the 
 astronomical appearances which the zodiac was supposed 
 to represent. This undertaking was very difficult, not to 
 say fruitless. For in order to such a determination, as 
 Champollion has very justly observed ; “It is not suffi- 
 cient to possess exactly the learned theory of modem 
 astronomy ; there is wanting still a precise knowledge of 
 this science as it was understood by the Egyptians them- 
 selves, with all its errors and in all its simplicity. If he 
 does not know that Egyptian astronomy was essentially 
 blended with religion, and even with that false science 
 which professes to read in the state of the heavens the 
 future condition of the world and of individuals, the bold 
 speculator upon the monument of Dendera will find him- 
 self upon dangerous ground. He is exposed to mistake 
 an object of worship for an astronomical sign, and to con- 
 sider a representation purely symbolical, as the image of 
 
183 
 
 a real object.”* But preconceived notions made men too 
 forgetful of these just and natural sentiments, and there 
 was little hope of establishing the true point in question. 
 For this reason, all the diligence of the most able men 
 produced only theories which were wholly divergent, 
 though apparently they took their rise from the same 
 principles, and tended to the same end. On account of 
 their uncertainty, these theories are of no real utility to 
 science ; and their contradictions have singularly contrib- 
 uted to disparage the pretended astronomical authority of 
 the Dcndera monument. 
 
 Archaeology, in turn, viewed this subject under a dif- 
 ferent aspect. Men who were profoundly skilled in the 
 comparative study of ancient monuments, and who were 
 long accustomed to class them dexterously in the various 
 epochs belonging to the history of art, sought to apply to 
 the zodiac a similar kind of monumental criticism. Al- 
 though Egyptian studies were then very far from the 
 development which they have since received, yet it is 
 true that antiquarians exhibited much more skill than as- 
 tronomers. They generally agreed in attributing the 
 zodiac to the epoch of the Roman domination in Egypt. 
 But their judgment was in a manner influenced by that 
 nice tact in the arts, which perhaps tends more to organi- 
 zation than to deep and serious study ; and the princi- 
 ples upon which it was established, were of a nature too 
 delicate to be easily apprehended and generally appre- 
 ciated. On this account the modest opinions of archae- 
 ology were easily suppressed by the more pompous glitter 
 of the scientific terms which astronomy employed. 
 
 5. In the midst of these discussions, and of the grave 
 or gay reflections to which they gave rise in the world, an, 
 irreligious spirit fermented anew. Rash opinions were 
 
 * See Lettre au rédacteur de la Revue Encyclopédique. No. 
 August, 1S22. 
 
184 
 
 hazarded ; the infidelity of Dupuis was spread about by 
 means of small pamphlets ; and the zodiac became an 
 occasion of scandal, and in a sense, a political arena, 
 until a new Alexander arose to cut the Gordian knot which 
 men had vainly sought to untie. This was Champollion 
 the younger, armed with his discovery. In applying, as 
 we have seen, his phonetic alphabet to the various names 
 inscribed in royal cartouches upon Egyptian monuments, 
 he found upon the planisphere of Dendera , as it appeared 
 in its entire state, before it had been detached by M. Le- 
 lorrain, a title evidently Roman, that of AOTKPTP 
 AvToxQC(Tb)Q } emperor; which indicated, with sufficient 
 probability, Claudius or Nero , princes who, in their 
 Egyptian medals, are not often designated by any other 
 denomination. Pushing his examination still farther, he 
 read upon the grand edifice on whose ceiling the planis- 
 phere had been placed, the titles, the names, and sur- 
 names of the emperors Tiberius , Claudius , Nero , and 
 Domitian , and upon the portico of Esne y whose zodiac 
 had been judged to be many centuries older than that of 
 Dendera , he read the names of the Roman emperors, 
 Claudius and Antoninus Pius. 
 
 These monuments then, whose age has occasioned so 
 much discussion and given rise to so many systems, be- 
 long to the period of the Roman domination in Egypt, 
 and cannot extend back beyond the first or second cen- 
 tury of our own era. There is no more scope for vain 
 conjectures, or for calculations which, though learned, 
 fail of a definite starting point. The monuments speak 
 for themselves, and in a positive manner ; their testimony 
 is irresistible. No reply can be given to them, for in fact 
 there is nothing which can furnish an answer ; and rumor 
 only, with her vague whispers, can impugn the happy ap- 
 plication which Champollion has made of his ingenious 
 
185 
 
 discovery. The so long contested question will now 
 cease to agitate the minds of men, and the age of the 
 zodiacs must remain irrevocably fixed. 
 
 Thus has Providence designed, that the first important 
 result of one of the most beautiful discoveries of which the 
 human mind could ever boast, should be in favor of re- 
 vealed religion ; and that, so opportunely, the reading of 
 a simple name should suddenly repress the dangerous 
 errors of science, and the reprehensible hopes of the ene- 
 mies of Christianity. 
 
 6. One of the most excellent Hellenists, M. Letronne, 
 who for many years has explored with rare sagacity and 
 with complete success the Greek and Roman antiquities 
 of Egypt, has arrived in part to the same conclusions with 
 Champollion in a different way. About the same time 
 with the latter, he found inscriptions on the temples of 
 Esne and Dcndcra , which exhibited the names of the 
 emperors that were described also in hieroglyphic legends 
 of the same temples.* His collective results confirmed at 
 once and decisively the judgment of Champollion, or 
 rather of the monuments which he interpreted, in relation 
 to the age of the zodiacs ; and confirmed also Champol- 
 lion’s system of phonetic hieroglyphics. The skilful acade- 
 mician extended his labors on this subject. In a special 
 work which is full of erudition and interesting matter,! 
 M. Letronne, on finding a zodiac painted upon a mummy 
 coffin which belonged to the time of Trajan, labors to 
 demonstrate that ail representations of this kind traced 
 upon Egyptian monuments, date from the Roman domi- 
 nation and from the epoch of the emperors ; that they do 
 
 * See Recherches pour servir à, l'histoire de l'Égypte pendant la 
 domination des Grecs et des Romains. Paris, 1823, in 8vo., and the 
 work referred to in the following note. 
 
 t Observations critiques et archéologiques sur l'objet des repre- 
 sentations zodiacales qui nous restent d& l'antiquité. Paris, 1324. 
 
 16 * 
 
186 
 
 in no respect relate to astronomy, but that they are con- 
 nected with the idle phantasies of judicial astrology, and 
 are merely what adepts in this pretended science call 
 tlicmcs of nativity . He remarks also, that time would be 
 lost, and much difficulty would be incurred, in an effort 
 to make them subjects of scientific calculation, for they 
 can never be adapted to it ; and lastly he adds, that they 
 will in no case ever lead to any chronological result. 
 
 According to this system then, which is entirely satis- 
 factory, the zodiacs found in certain temples of Egypt 
 may be regarded as relating to the destinies of the empe- 
 rors who made or completed them. But the explanation 
 of their arbitrary signs, and the supposititious meaning 
 which has been given to them, has hitherto been unintel- 
 ligible, and probably will always remain so. Their ob- 
 scurity will never occasion very deep regret. 
 
 We terminate this chapter with the following reflection, 
 which we borrow from the work of M. Letronne already 
 cited : “The Egyptian zodiacs/’ says he, “thus deprived 
 of the high antiquity which had been so liberally assigned 
 them, and of the purely astronomical character which 
 they were supposed to have, lose nearly all their impor- 
 tance. They are nothing more than simple objects of 
 curiosity, which may furnish the artist and the antiquary 
 with the means of making a few collations, but which will 
 hereafter present no object for truly philosophical re- 
 search ; for instead of concealing, as was expected, the 
 secret of a science which had reached its perfection even 
 before the deluge, they are merely a representation of ab- 
 surd reveries, and a testimony still living of one of the 
 follies which have most disgraced the human mind.” 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 We come now to the conclusion of our undertaking'. 
 With the aid of the new discoveries in Egypt, we think 
 that we have shed some light upon various passages of the 
 sacred annals, and that we have resolved, in a more satis- 
 factory manner, certain difficulties which infidels opposed 
 to their veracity. We have attentively examined the re- 
 sources which the writings and monuments of Egypt afford, 
 in the interpretation and defence of a religion, whose lot 
 has been, in all ages, to meet with enemies, when it should 
 have found only admirers and disciples. But the researches 
 to which we have been attending very naturally, as we 
 think, give rise to a thought consoling to the Christian. 
 
 Providence, whose operations are so sensibly exhibited 
 in the whole physical constitution of the world, has not 
 abandoned to chance the government of the moral or intel- 
 lectual world. By means often imperceptible even to the 
 eye of the man of observation, and which seem reserved 
 for his own secret counsel, God directs second causes, 
 gives them efficiency according to his will, and make3 
 them serve, sometimes even contrary to their natural 
 tendency, to accomplish his own immutable decrees, and 
 to propagate and support that religion which he has re- 
 vealed to us. It is in this way that, consistently with his 
 own will, he delays or accelerates the march of human 
 intellect ; that he gives it a direction such as he pleases ; 
 that he causes discoveries to spring up in their time, as 
 fruits ripen in their season ; and that the revolutions which 
 
188 
 
 renew the sciences, like those which change the face of 
 empires, enter into the plan which he traced out for him- 
 self from all eternity. 
 
 Does not this sublime truth, which affords an inex- 
 haustible subject of meditation to the well instructed and 
 reflecting man, but which needs for its development the 
 pen of a Bossuet, — does it not apply with great force to 
 the subject that we have been considering ? 
 
 Since the studies of our age have been principally 
 directed to the natural sciences, which the irreligious 
 levity of the last age had so strangely abused to the preju- 
 dice of religion, we have seen the most admirable discove- 
 ries confirming the physical history of the primitive world, 
 as it is given by Moses. It is sufficient to cite in proof of 
 this fact, the geological labors of our celebrated Cuvier. 
 Now that historic researches are pursued with a greater 
 activity than ever before, and the monuments of antiquity 
 illustrated by a judicious and promising criticism, Provi- 
 dence has also ordered, that the writings of ancient Egypt 
 should in turn confirm the historic facts of the holy books ; 
 facts against which a systematic erudition had furnished 
 infidelity with so many objections that were unceasingly 
 repeated, though they had been a thousand times refuted. 
 We cannot doubt that human knowledge, as it becomes 
 more and more disengaged from the spirit of system, and 
 pursues truth as its only aim, will still attain, as it advan- 
 ces, to other analogous results. 
 
 Thus, as has been often said, revealed religion has no 
 greater foe than ignorance. Far from making it her ally , 
 as men who deny the testimony of all ages have not blush- 
 ed to assert, she cannot but glory in the advance of the 
 sciences. She has always favored them, and it is chiefly 
 owing to her influence, that they have been preserved in 
 the midst of the barbarism from which she has rescued us. 
 
189 
 
 Thus the progress of true science, the progress of light 
 (to use a legitimate though often abused expression), far 
 from being at variance with revealed religion, as its ene- 
 mies have represented ; far from being dangerous to it, as 
 some of its disciples have appeared to fear; tends, on the 
 contrary, each day to strengthen its claims upon all en- 
 lightened minds, and to prove, in opposition to the pride 
 of false science, that this divine religion, confirmed as it 
 is by all the truths to which the human mind attains, 
 is the truth of the Lord which endureth forever (Psalm 
 cxvii. 2). 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 [ A. p. 7. ] 
 
 Brief description of Anaglyphs. 
 
 The peculiarity in the anaglyphs referred to by our author 
 in this paragraph, is, that they are made to express ideas 
 purely conventional. Champollion calls them (p. 348, Précis) 
 “ extraordinary compositions or fantastic beings,” or even 
 “real beings which have no connection with each other in 
 nature, but which are related in a manner purely arbitrary.” 
 Letronne remarks of them (p. 426, Précis), that “they evi- 
 dently contain the most secret mysteries of theology, the 
 history of the birth or nativity, of the combats, and of the 
 various actions, of mythic personages of all orders. Some 
 express certain moral qualities attributed to God, the first 
 principle of all things, or communicated by him to man; 
 others are significant of physical phenomena.” The Greek 
 word ' avaylvyr] signifies raised carving or engraving; ex- 
 actly the has-relief of the French. The mythic symbols called 
 anaglyphs , were usually executed only in this way. Our 
 author adverts to them again, in the third chapter of the first 
 part of this work. 
 
 It may be proper to remark here, that those anaglyphs 
 which are so occult in their meaning as to be incapable of 
 explanation, are few in number, when compared with the 
 
192 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 other kinds of hieroglyphics (for most of the anaglyphs, as 
 Champollion observes, are attended by small legends in real 
 hieroglyphic writing which explain them) ; nor can they fur- 
 nish any support to the opinion which our author is combat- 
 ing. The general impression among ancient nations, that 
 Egyptian hieroglyphics tvere all a mystery, may have been 
 partly owing, as the Marquis Spineto observes (p. 48), to “ the 
 persuasion that Egypt was the parent of all the arts and 
 sciences, the storehouse of the most ancient records, and the 
 repository of all the mighty events which had so often 
 changed the face of the world.” All the wonderful inven- 
 tions of the Egyptians, and the profound awe inspired by the 
 ceremonies of Isis, contributed to give currency to this opin- 
 ion. These circumstances, however, though well calculated 
 to mislead the multitude, do not sufficiently account for the 
 general silence of ancient writers concerning hieroglyphics. 
 Our author soon alludes to this subject. 
 
 [ B. p. 9. ] 
 
 Chronological periods in Egyptian History. 
 
 From the histories of Egypt by Manetho, Herodotus, Dio- 
 dorus, Strabo, Plutarch and others, and from the discove- 
 ries of Champollion, chronologists have been led to divide the 
 Egyptian empire into five periods. They are described as 
 follows by the Marquis Spineto (p. 15 seq.) : 
 
 « The first begins with the establishment of their govern- 
 ment, and comprehends the time during which all religious 
 and political authority was in the hands of the priesthood, 
 who laid the first foundation of the future power of Egypt, 
 founding and embellishing the great city of Thebes, building 
 magnificent temples, and instituting the mysteries of Isis, 
 from Misraim to Menes. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 193 
 
 The second period begins at the abolition of this primitive 
 government, and the first establishment of the monarchical 
 government by Menes. From this time commences what is 
 generally called the Pharaonic age, and ends at the irruption 
 of Cambyses. This is doubtless the most brilliant period of 
 the Egyptian monarchy, during which Egypt was covered 
 with those magnificent works which still command our admi- 
 ration, and excite our astonishment ; and by the wisdom of 
 its institutions and laws, and by the learning of its priests, 
 was rendered the most rich, the most populous, and the most 
 enlightened country in the world. 
 
 The third epoch embraces [about] 200 years, and begins 
 from the overthrowing of the empire of the Pharaohs by Cam- 
 byses, 529 years before Christ, and ends at Alexander. 
 
 The fourth epoch embraces the reign of the Ptolemies. It 
 begins at the death of Alexander, or rather at the elevation 
 of Ptolemy Lagus to the throne of Egypt, 323 years before 
 Christ, and ends at the death of the famous queen, Cleopatra, 
 when that kingdom became a Roman province. 
 
 At this period, which precedes the birth of our Saviour by 
 two years only, the fifth epoch begins, and continues to the 
 time when, about the middle jof the fourth century, the Chris- 
 tian religion having become the religion of the country, the 
 use of hieroglyphics was forever discontinued, and the Coptic 
 characters were generally adopted.” 
 
 t C. p. 16. ] 
 
 Inscription at Rosetta * 
 
 A part of the decree is here sübjoined, that readers may' 
 have some idea of the singular language and extraordinary 
 titles assumed by the kings of Egypt. To understand the 
 accumulated allusions to the divinities of Egypt in connection 
 
 17 
 
194 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 with the name of Ptolemy Epiphanes, in whose favor the de- 
 cree was made, it may be necessary to premise, that the 
 theogony of the Egyptians originally admitted but one God, 
 the creator of the world, the Demiurgos, who was Ammon. 
 This god governed the world by means of his several attri- 
 butes, and these attributes in process of time seem to have 
 been viewed as distinct divinities, and by the Greeks were 
 made to correspond with, or rather furnished, the several 
 deities of their mythology. The Greek names of the divini- 
 ties appear in the following decree, instead of the old Egyp- 
 tian names, as the translation here presented is from the 
 Greek. It may be well to suggest here also, that the Egyptians 
 were accustomed to attribute the various successful acts of 
 "their sovereigns, to the special favor of those divinities, who 
 presided over the departments of action in which their agency 
 had been displayed. The following is a copy of the decree 
 on the Rosetta monument, as abridged by the marquis Spineto, 
 p. 58 seq. 
 
 “ In the ninth year, on the fourth day of Xanthicus, the 
 eighteenth of the Egyptian month Mechir, of the young king 
 who received the government of the country from his father, 
 lord of the asp-bearing diadems, illustrious in glory, who has 
 established Egypt ; the just, the beneficent, the pious towards 
 the gods ; victorious over his enemies, who has improved the 
 life of mankind, lord of the feasts of thirty years ; like Vulcan 
 the mighty king, like the sun, the mighty king of the upper 
 and lower countries ; the offspring of the parent-loving gods, 
 approved by Vulcan, to whom the sun has given the victory ; 
 the living image of love, the offspring of the sun, Ptolemy, the 
 ever-living, beloved by Vulcan, the god illustrious, munifi- 
 cent ; the son of Ptolemy and Arsinoë, the parent-loving gods ; 
 the priest of Alexander and the saviour gods, and the brother 
 gods, and the gods beneficent, and the parent-loving gods, 
 and the king Ptolemy, the god illustrious, beneficent, being 
 Aëtus the son of Aëtus ; Pyrrha, the daughter of Philinus, 
 being the prize-bearer of Berenice the beneficent ; Areia, the 
 daughter of Diogenes, being the bearer of baskets of Arsinoë 
 the brother-loving ; Irene, the daughter of Ptolemy, being 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 195 
 
 priestess of Arsinoë the parent-loving ; it was this day decreed 
 by the high-priests, the prophets, those who enter the sacred 
 recesses to attire the gods, the wing-bearers, and the sacred 
 scribes, and the rest of the priests who came from the tem- 
 ples of Egypt, to meet the king at the assembly of the 
 assumption of the lawful power of king Ptolemy, the ever- 
 living, beloved by Vulcan, the god illustrious, munificent, 
 succeeding his father; and who entered the temple of Mem- 
 phis, and said ; Whereas king Ptolemy, the ever-living, the 
 god illustrious, munificent, son of king Ptolemy and queen 
 Arsinoë, the parent-loving gods, has given largely to the 
 temples of Egypt,” &c. 
 
 Thus they enumerate all the warlike and benevolent deeds of 
 Ptolemy ; which they wish to remunerate by ordering, “ that 
 the honors at present paid to king Ptolemy be augmented 
 greatly ; that there shall be erected an image of king Ptolemy 
 the ever-living, the god illustrious and munificent, which shall 
 be called sacred to Ptolemy, studious of the prosperity of his 
 country ; to Ptolemy, who has fought for Egypt, and to the 
 image the greatest god of the temple shall offer the tro- 
 phies of victory, in each and every temple, in the most con- 
 spicuous place in the temple ; all which things shall be 
 arranged according to the custom of Egypt.” 
 
 Then follow the ceremonies which are to be observed, the 
 appointment of the time in which they are to be performed, 
 and of the priests who are to celebrate these ceremonies 
 “ with sacrifices, libations, and other honors ;” permitting 
 “ that the same festival may be celebrated with proper honors 
 by other individuals, and that they may consecrate, in like 
 manner, a golden shrine to the god illustrious and munificent, 
 with due respect, keeping it in their houses, observing the 
 assemblies and feasts, as appointed, every year ; which shall 
 be done in order that it may be made manifest that the in- 
 habitants of Egypt honor the god illustrious and munificent, 
 as it is just to do.” 
 
 The whole concludes by ordering that “ this decree shall 
 be engraved on a hard stone, in sacred characters , in common 
 characters , and in Greek; and be placed in the first tern- 
 
196 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 pies, and in the second temples, and in the third temples, 
 wherever may be the sacred image of the king, whose life is 
 forever.” 
 
 [ D. p. 21. ] 
 
 Hieroglyphic method of writing the name Ptolemy. 
 
 The hieroglyphic name of Ptolemy is contained in the 
 cartouche No. 1. (See Plate I.) The following are the signs 
 which Champollion supposes to correspond with and express 
 the letters of the Greek name TITOAMHS . The square , 
 with the Greek 77; the half circle , with the consonant T ; 
 the flower ivith the stem bent, or as it is sometimes called the 
 knop, with the vowel 0 ; the lion in repose , with the consonant 
 A ; the three sides of a parallelogram , with the M ; to the two 
 feathers he assigned the import of the Greek 77, considering 
 them as a complex character, formed by the doubling of a 
 single feather (the single feather representing E } two feathers 
 he supposes to be equivalent to EE, which is the same as the 
 Greek H ) ; and the crooked line he considered as represent- 
 ing the consonant 2. 
 
 [ E. p. 23. ] 
 
 Hieroglyphic method of writing the names Cleopatra and 
 Ccesar. 
 
 The hieroglyphic name of Cleopatra is contained in the 
 cartouche No. 2, upon Plate I. The signs there correspond 
 with the Greek letters in KAE OJIATPA. 
 
 To prove that the conjectures of Champollion were true, 
 the first sign in the name of Cleopatra should not be found in 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ni 
 
 the name of Ptolemy, because the letter K does not occur in 
 ÏITOAMJJ2. This was found to be the fact. The letter K 
 is represented by a quadrant. 
 
 The second sign (a lion in repose which represents the A ), 
 is exactly similar to the fourth sign in the name of Ptolemy, 
 which, as we have already seen, represents an A. 
 
 The third sign in the name of Cleopatra is a feather ; which 
 should represent the single vowel E, because the two feathers 
 in the name of Ptolemy represent double Epsilon , which is 
 equivalent to the Greek H. Such is its import. As Greppo 
 remarks in a note, and as has been fully proved by subse- 
 quent investigations of Champollion, the sign which resembles 
 two feathers, corresponds also with the vowels E } I } and with 
 the dipthongs AI, EL 
 
 The fourth character in the hieroglyphic cartouche of Cleo- 
 patra, representing a fioiuer with a stalk bent back (or a knop), 
 corresponds to the 0 in the Greek name of this queen. This 
 sign is the very same with the third character in the hiero- 
 glyphic name of Ptolemy, which there represents 0. 
 
 The fifth sign is in the form of a square. It here 
 represents the 77, and is the same with the first sign in the 
 hieroglyphic name of Ptolemy. 
 
 The sixth sign, corresponding to the Greek vowel A in 
 Cleopatra, is a hawk ; which of course ought not to be found 
 in the name of Ptolemy (as it has no letter A J } and it is not. 
 
 The seventh character is an open hand , representing the 
 T ; hut this hand is not found in the hieroglyphic name of 
 Ptolemy, where T, the second letter in that name, is repre- 
 sented by a half circle. The reader will see in Note G. why 
 these two signs stand for the same letter and sound. 
 
 The eighth character in the name of Cleopatra, which is 
 a mouth, and which here represents the Greek P, should not 
 be found in the name of Ptolemy, and it is not. 
 
 The ninth and last sign in the name of the queen, which 
 represents the vowel A, is the hawk, the very same sign 
 which represents this vowel in the third syllable of the same 
 name. 
 
 17 * 
 
198 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The name of Cleopatra is terminated by two hieroglyphic 
 symbolical signs, the egg and the half circle , which, according 
 to Champollion, are always used to denote the feminine gender. 
 
 Another example is here subjoined, of hieroglyphical pho- 
 netic writing in the name of one of the Roman sovereigns 
 of Egypt. It is that of the emperor Cœsar in the car- 
 touches a and b, No. 3. It is written in the Greek legends 
 Jvtoy.q(xtwq KuLchxqoç. The imperial title AYTOKPTJ1P 
 (with the second A suppressed), frequently stands in a car- 
 touche by itself, and is joined by a line or lines to another 
 cartouche containing the proper names of the emperors. Such 
 is the case in the example given in No. 3, a. AYTOKPTSIP 
 is thus explained. 
 
 The hawk is the vowel A ; the line curved to the left , which 
 somewhat resembles our numeral figure 9, is the Greek Y ; 
 the open hand is the T ; the curved line is also used to denote 
 the 0 ; the triangle surmounted hy a small parallelogram , is the 
 K ; the mouth is the P ; the open hand is the T as above ; 
 the line curved to the right is the SI ; and the lion is the P. 
 The word emperor is frequently written hieroglyphically, 
 with a suppression of more letters than in the present example, 
 and in different ways; e. g. AOTOKPTP , AOTKPTOP, 
 AOTAKPTP. 
 
 The proper name KAI2AP02 is thus explained (see 
 No. 3, b). The segment of a circle iviih a handle , is the letter 
 K ; the two feathers represent the H, or AI ; the two hori- 
 zontal sceptres facing each other, represent the 2 ; the hawk 
 represents the A ; the lion the P ; the 0 is suppressed ; and 
 the 2 is represented as before by two horizontal sceptres fa- 
 cing each other. All these signs united make KH2AP2 or 
 KAI2AP2. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 199 
 
 [ F. p. 34. ] 
 
 Distinction between the different kinds of hieroglyphics. 
 
 It is evident from the remarks which immediately follow 
 the quotation from Clement, that M. Greppo considers Clem- 
 ent’s third subdivision of symbolical hieroglyphics, as virtually 
 included under his second. The reference made to a third 
 method may confuse the reader unless he is aware that 
 Champollion includes it as a subdivision under his second 
 general division. 
 
 We shall perhaps better understand the correspondency 
 between Champollion and Clement, by attending to the for- 
 mation of ideographic signs. If the reader will consult the 
 Précis , pp. 333 — 338, he will find the substance of what is 
 said upon their formation, accompanied with copious illustra- 
 tions. 
 
 The essential principle of ideographic signs, is imitation . 
 The first process in their formation is a mere picture, more 
 or less perfect, of sensible objects. Thi3 imitation might do 
 well, in cases where there were no ideal objects to be expres- 
 sed, which no sensible forms of mere sensible objects could 
 represent. Now so far as ideographic signs imitate the forms 
 of objects the ideas of which are to be conveyed, they are 
 called figurative by Champollion, and signs of proper imitation 
 by Clement. The reader will take care to note here, that 
 figurative , thus employed, does not mean tropical (as it does 
 in treatises of rhetoric) ; but figurative expresses simply the 
 idea, that the sign so called is an imitation of the figure , 
 shape, or form of some sensible object, or of one supposed to 
 be so. 
 
 Next, in order to express ideographic ally abstract ideas and 
 intellectual forms , the Egyptians painted objects, which had 
 relations to these ideas and forms more or less distant, real or 
 supposed, until at last they came to make use of forms for the 
 expression of ideas, which corresponded to objects that had 
 
200 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 in fact no quality or attribute in common with the idea to be 
 denoted, other than that which was arbitrarily and absque 
 naturâ assigned to them. All signs of this class Champollion 
 designates by the general name of symbolical. This corres- 
 ponds with the name of tropical given them by Clement, 
 which Champollion frequently uses as synonymous with sym- 
 bolical. 
 
 When the process of symbolically expressing ideas went 
 so far, as that the objects represented had in fact no attribute 
 or quality in common with the ideas to be expressed, but the 
 relation of the former to the latter was entirely imaginary and 
 conventional, then the signs made use of are what Champol- 
 lion denominates purely symbolical , or allegorical. Such seems 
 to be the true origin of anaglyphs ; and Champollion’s desig- 
 nation of these, appears to correspond with the allegories 
 expressed by certain enigmas , as Clement has expressed it. 
 
 Hence the nature of anaglyphs, which, says Spineto, “ seem 
 to be an enlargement of the use and meaning of symbolical 
 hieroglyphics,” may be more fully understood. All symbolic 
 signs of pure convention, it would appear, are proper ana- 
 glyphs, or at least the bases of them. Such, for example, is 
 the scarabee, to signify the male nature or paternity ; the 
 vulture, the female nature or maternity ; a mouse, destruc- 
 tion ; a hare, openness, &c. Signs like these are called by 
 Champollion true enigmas , or enigmatic symbolic signs ; and 
 by Spineto they are named, signs of pure convention. 
 
 Among anaglyphs must also be classed many signs which 
 are used to represent Egyptian gods and godesses, such for 
 example as, 
 
 1. Those which represent divinities under a human figure, 
 connected with the head of the animals which were conse- 
 crated to them. 
 
 2. Those which leave out the figure of the divinities, and 
 represent the entire figures of animals which were sacred to 
 them, accompanied by some of the insignia which belong to 
 the divinities of whom they are the emblems. 
 
 3. Those which exhibit an inanimate object or parts even 
 of animated objects to designate divinities symbolically, as an 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 201 
 
 eye for the symbol of Osiris ; a nilometer, of the god Phtha ; 
 an obelisk, of Jupiter Ammon. 
 
 Letronne, after enumerating some of the recluse and 
 abstract ideas frequently conveyed by anaglyphs (some of 
 which are quoted above in Note A.), adds the following 
 remarks, which support the classification here made of all 
 signs of pure convention under the head of anaglyphs. “ The 
 images of the gods,” says he, “ which are exhibited in the 
 temples, md the human figures with the heads of animals, 
 or animals with human members, [such, for example, as the 
 body of a lion with the head of a man,] are but letters of this 
 recluse writing by means of anaglyphs , if indeed we may 
 give the name of writing to pictures which express collective 
 ideas (ensembles d’idees), without any very close connection 
 with each other. It is in this sense, probably, that the priests 
 of Egypt gave to the ibis, to the hawk, &c., the name of 
 letters [yoa^aara], because they were true elements of a 
 kind of allegorical writing.”* So Champollion says ; “ Ana- 
 glyphs to a certain extent may be considered as a kind of 
 writing, which, if you please, may be called symbolic ivriting, 
 but it does in no respect resemble the pure hieroglyphic 
 writing, which is entirely distinct. In proof of this, it is suf- 
 ficient to say, that most of the figures which compose the 
 anaglyphs, are accompanied by small legends in true hiero- 
 glyphic writing, which explain them.”f 
 
 As a further explanation of this subject, Champollion adds ; 
 u Very many of the symbolical images employed in anaglyphs, 
 appear in the hieroglyphic texts ; not for the purpose of there 
 combining among themselves and forming scenes and tablets, 
 [a purpose which they answered when thus combined by the 
 Egyptian priests, and peculiarly appropiated to the formation 
 of anaglyphs,] but as simple tropical signs of an idea, like 
 characters of a true writing. Thus employed, they are 
 blended and put in a line with other characters, which are 
 of an entirely distinct nature in regard to their mode of ex- 
 pression.”]: 
 
 v-t 
 
 Précis, p. 427. 
 
 t Ibid, p. 349. 
 
 X Ibid, p. 349. 
 
202 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Letronne comes to a similar conclusion. “ Anaglyphs pro- 
 perly so called or allegorical tablets,” says he, “though com- 
 posed in general of monstrous images, were nevertheless 
 directly connected with pure hieroglyphic writing. Sacred 
 texts and anaglyphs exhibited a certain number of common 
 characters ; as for example, the symbolic signs , which occu- 
 pied the place of [i. e. expressed] the proper names of differ- 
 ent divinities, and which were introduced into hieroglyphic 
 texts as representatives (so to speak) of the characters of 
 mythic beings.”* 
 
 Anaglyphs, when devoted by the priests to their special 
 and abstract use, viz. to express mysterious systems of psy- 
 chology, cosmogony, philosophy, &c. were combined together 
 so as to represent a series of peculiar scenes ; and when it is 
 considered that a great proportion of the symbolic signs called 
 anaglyphs , were reserved for these special uses only, and never 
 appeared in the ordinary hieroglyphic ivriting , a reason will be 
 seen why they are classed separately, and why they are so 
 difficult to be deciphered. On the other hand, when it is 
 considered that anaglyphs, when used in the pure hieroglyphic 
 writing, were not combined together to represent the peculiar 
 mysteries of the priests, but were used separately as single 
 characters, i. e. letters or signs, thrown in indiscriminately to 
 express ideas tropically , — in this point of view, a reason per- 
 haps may appear, for the distinction made in respect to their 
 diverse uses. 
 
 The following example of an anaglyph, which was found by 
 Champollion among the monuments in the Turin Museum, 
 may serve somewhat to illustrate their nature. We copy an 
 account of it from Spineto, who had seen the original descrip- 
 tion by Champollion in his letter to the Duke of Blacas. 
 
 “ On a block of black granite, which represents a throne, 
 there are two royal personages, one male, and the other fe- 
 male, with a long inscription, by which it appears that the 
 name of the Pharaoh was Horns, and the name of the woman 
 was Tmauhmot , his daughter, who succeeded him in the king- 
 
 Précis, p. 430, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 203 
 
 dom. On each side of this throne there is a curious basso-re- 
 lievo. The one on the side of the throne towards queen 
 Tmauhmot , presents a curious specimen of anaglyphs. It 
 consists of a female sphinx, of a peculiar sort ; it has a human 
 head, as usual, and it is sitting ; but instead of a paw, it has 
 an arm, raised in the attitude of protection. From the shoul- 
 ders of the animal issue two large wings, half unfolded, and 
 its tail rises perpendicularly and falls almost in the same di- 
 rection, with a large tassel at its end. On the head there is 
 a round bonnet, peculiar to queens and goddesses, at the top 
 of which there is a bunch of flowers, rather elegantly arranged. 
 On the ears of the monster hang large round rings, similar to 
 those worn by other females painted on coffins or mummies, 
 and round its neck there is a collar, the medallion of which, 
 instead of falling on the breast, projects forward, and remains 
 suspended in the air. 
 
 This most extraordinary figure, perfectly Egyptian, rests 
 on a low basis, and has before its right hand an oval sur- 
 mounted by the solar disk, standing in the middle of two 
 enormous feathers. The interior of this oval contains six 
 characters, altogether forming the name of Tmauhmot. The 
 female figure is merely figurative and emblematical. And to 
 conclude the whole, below the animal are thirteen plants, or 
 rather flowers of lotus, arranged in two different lines. 
 
 This is a perfect anaglyph. The sphinx, we know, was 
 the emblem of strength and wisdom ; inasmuch as it consisted 
 of the body o a lion with the head of a man, and conse- 
 quently was symbolically used to represent some of the gods 
 and goddesses, who are reasonably considered as possessing 
 these two attributes in an eminent degree. But on this occa- 
 sion, the oval which exhibits the name of queen Tmauhmot evi- 
 dently proves that we must look for the person, which this 
 basso-relievo intends to honor, not amongst the celestial, but 
 the terrestrial goddesses. This is not, indeed, the first time 
 in which the sovereigns of Egypt have been figured under 
 the fantastic form of a sphinx, with or without wings. This 
 exhibition, therefore, must be considered as a symbolical 
 image of queen Tmauhmot herself, and the flowers of lotus, 
 
204 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 which are evidently, though emblematically, taken for the 
 Nile, and for the whole country of Egypt, produce one of 
 those anaglyphs, which, under appearances very often mon- 
 strous, contained the praises of the Egyptian monarchs. The 
 signification therefore of the whole, seems to be, a monument 
 raised to the memory of queen Tmauhmot , styled the Guardian 
 and Protectress of the land of Egypt, by her wisdom and 
 strength .” (Lect. xiii.) 
 
 [i would add merely to the preceding view of anaglyphs, 
 that the whole subject of division appears somewhat obscure 
 and involved, not only in the passage of Clement of Alexandria, 
 but in Letronne, Champollion, and even in Greppo. An ob- 
 vious general division of hieroglyphics, and one which is intel- 
 ligible to every reader, is the following ; viz. 
 
 (1.) Hieroglyphics alphabetic ; i. e. hieroglyphics which 
 stand simply for alphabetic letters. Such are those exhibited 
 in Plate I. in Nos. 1, 2 and 3, at the end of this volume. 
 When thus employed, they are neither more nor less than 
 proper letters of an alphabet. 
 
 (2.) Hieroglyphics figurative ; i. e. hieroglyphics which, ac- 
 cording to a remark made above, are simple imitations or 
 likenesses of sensible objects, or such as express the figures of 
 sensible objects. Such are a circle for the sun, a crescent for 
 the moon, an arch painted blue for the sky, the proper figure 
 of an ibis to designate the bird itself ; and so of all other ob- 
 jects that are actually sensible, or supposed to be so. 
 
 (3.) Hieroglyphics tropical. In order to understand this 
 designation, we must go to rhetoric, from which it is borrow- 
 ed, and inquire there for its meaning. It is there employed 
 to designate the meaning of a word which is not employed in 
 its literal or primaiy sense, but in a secondary one, viz. one 
 which is turned (r£rç>07rcüç) from its original and primitive 
 meaning. Thus when we say, God is our shield, the word 
 shield here is not to be taken in its primary and literal sense, 
 but in a secondary and tropical one ; so that the meaning is, 
 ‘ God is our defender.’ 
 
 Now if we call (as we may here do for the sake of illus- 
 tration) hieroglyphics figurative by the name of hieroglyphics 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 205 
 
 proper (answering therefore to words literally to be under- 
 stood ) ; then we may easily understand what is meant by 
 hieroglyphics tropical. All hieroglyphics proper are simple 
 imitations, more or less perfect, more or less entire, of the 
 objects which they signify or represent, just in the same 
 manner as pictures among us are ideographic signs, i. e. they 
 stand for the objects of which they are the resemblances. 
 
 Altogether different from this is the case, when hiero- 
 glyphics are the signs of ideas of things that are not objects of 
 sense ; or when they are the signs of objects very different in 
 appearance from the forms of the hieroglyphics which desig- 
 nate them. In all cases where hieroglyphics designate either 
 of these, they are tropical , i. e. the designation is not a matter 
 of imitation or of proper likeness or picture ; but one which 
 merely has some analogy, real or supposed, imaginative, con- 
 ventional. Thus when the figure of a lion is drawn to signify 
 strength, of a fly to represent impudence , of a tree to designate 
 an obedient people , etc., these are tropical hieroglyphics. A 
 great multitude of these are virtually exhibited on the coats of 
 arms in modern times, among Europeans, on seals, on public 
 monuments, in pictures, etc. The Egyptians employed a 
 large number of hieroglyphics in this way ; and intermixed 
 them with the hieratic writing, as well as with the alphabetic 
 hieroglyphic writing. Being ideographic signs in their own 
 nature, they would often be employed in the way of abridge- 
 ment in writing ; and especially on monuments, where abridge- 
 ment is so generally practised. 
 
 Different from these common tropical hieroglyphics (not in 
 nature, but in degree and use), were the anaglyphical ones, 
 which were employed as stated above. For the most part 
 in these, the resemblance between the form of the writing 
 (if it may be so called) and the object or idea designated, was 
 altogether imaginary, or remote, fantastic, and therefore ob- 
 scure. In other words, it was a tropical writing of the most 
 obscure species. Thus an eye to represent Osiris ; the head 
 or some part of an animal consecrated to other gods or god- 
 1 desses, to represent them ; a Nilometer to designate Phtha ; a 
 | vulture to signify maternity , etc., are all signs which may 
 
206 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 enter into the component parts of an anaglyph. When a 
 combination of these is drawn together, without the intermix- 
 ture of alphabetic hieroglyphics or of hieratic letters, then 
 these obscure and fantastic tropical hieroglyphics, are called 
 anaglyphs , as above stated. But if these fantastic forms are 
 used singly , and intermixed (as they often are) with the 
 proper alphabetic hieroglyphic, or the hieratic writing, then 
 the same signs are no longer called anaglyphs, but tropical 
 hieroglyphics. In this latter case, they are, for the most part, 
 very easily understood, by any one conversant with hiero- 
 glyphic writing. But when signs of this sort stand in mere 
 combinations with each other, without any alphabetic text 
 intermingled, they are difficult indeed to be understood ; and 
 they could not have been generally understood among the 
 Egyptians themselves, but only by the hierophants or priests, 
 whose business it was to be acquainted with them. 
 
 I merely repeat here, in order to complete this view, what 
 has been before said, viz. that anaglyph (draylvcpy) means, a 
 carving or engraving in bas-relief, i. e. in raised or swelled 
 figures ; and that the groups of anaglyphs were usually on the 
 bases of monuments, ete., carved in this way, employed at 
 once as ornament and as significant of some object to which 
 the monument itself was consecrated. 
 
 Tropical hieroglyphics , then, according to the above repre- 
 sentation, may be subdivided into those which are plain , and 
 constitute parts of written texts ; and those which are obscure, 
 and stand only in combined symbolical pictures. The latter 
 division may be surnamed anaglyphs. M. S.J 
 
 [ G. p. 35. ] 
 
 Various alphabets of the Egyptians. Comparison of 
 Egyptian and Chinese characters. 
 
 On Plate II. the reader will find an exhibition of a few of 
 each of the three species of writing employed by the Egyp- 
 tians, the hieroglyphic pure or alphabetic, the hieratic , and the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 207 
 
 demotic. They are copied from the alphabet of Champollion, 
 entitled Alphabet Harmonique. The resemblance between 
 the forms here copied of the several letters in the different 
 alphabets, is somewhat striking ; and this fact furnishes indu- 
 bitable proof, that they were all taken from the same original, 
 or, in other words, that they were all at first proper imitations 
 of the same objects. But as in forming an alphabet, the 
 proper imitation of objects would be too long and tedious 
 a process, the mere outlines would next be given ; then gradu- 
 ally, with more and more abbreviation, marks would be adopt- 
 ed which were partly figurative and partly conventional ; un- 
 til finally, alphabetic signs would become almost entirely ar- 
 bitrary, though still a general correspondence with their orig- 
 inals might in many cases be preserved. On some such prin- 
 ciples as these, Spineto grounds his theory with regard to the 
 formation of an alphabet — a theory which makes its formation 
 the result of the progressive improvements, made in process 
 of time, and by a succession of individuals. His details on 
 this subject are curious and interesting ; see Spineto, Lect. 
 vin. ix. For doubts in regard to this subject, and for some 
 striking remarks relative to it, see Champollion, Précis , p. 
 356, § 17 seq. 
 
 [There are some striking resemblances between the Chi- 
 nese signs employed in writing, and the Egyptian hieroglyph- 
 ics ; so striking, that some have been led to suppose, that one 
 of these nations must be a colony of the other. It i3 now 
 well known that the original written characters of the Chi- 
 nese, were imitative or figurative (like the figurative hiero- 
 glyphics spoken of above in Note F.), and that they were few 
 in number. These have, in process of time, been modified 
 and changed, both as to form and use, so that scarcely a 
 vestige now remains of their original appearance ; and in 
 some cases, of original usage. All the Chinese writing was 
 originally ideographic ; i. e. it resembled the figurative and 
 tropical hieroglyphic method of the Egyptians. But now, as 
 stated by that excellent Chinese scholar, Abel Remusat, in his 
 Chinese Grammar , p. 4, at least one half of the Chinese char- 
 acters are merely phonetic , or alphabetic in the sense of 
 
208 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 syllabic. These the Chinese call Hing-Ching, i. e. represent- 
 ing sound. 
 
 In the next place, the Chinese have an order of characters, 
 which they name Hoei-i and Kia-tsiei , which are designed 
 to express abstract and intellectual ideas. These resemble 
 of course (not in form but as to use), the tropical hieroglyph- 
 ics of the Egyptians. 
 
 But on the other hand, there are some striking differences 
 between the hieroglyphic system of writing and that of the 
 Chinese. The Chinese characters are divided into primitive 
 or simple, and derived or composite. Of the first, called 
 Siang-hing, which make the elements of all their writing, 
 there are only about two hundred (Remusat’s Grammar, p. 1, 
 note 2) ; while the Egyptian hieroglyphics amount to more 
 than eight hundred [Précis, p. 267). 
 
 The derived or composite characters of the Chinese, are 
 exceedingly numerous ; and in these are combined two or 
 more simple characters. The combination oftentimes is very 
 complex, and not a little difficult for a learner to decipher. 
 These are called Hoei-i. On the contrary, in Egyptian, the 
 combination of proper hieroglyphics is very rare ; indeed it 
 scarcely ever takes place, and when it does, it is in such a 
 way, that the elements of the combination are preserved 
 entirely separate ; as for example, in the anaglyphs above 
 described. 
 
 These striking points of difference serve to show, that 
 although the figurative hieroglyphics of the Egyptians and 
 the Siang-hing or original simple characters of the Chinese, 
 were alike (for such must be the case inasmuch as both were 
 pictures or imitations of sensible objects) ; yet in the course 
 which the two nations respectively chose, in order to repre- 
 sent abstract and intellectual ideas, there was a great diver- 
 sity. Hence the tropical characters of the Chinese, com- 
 pounded of the simple ones and diversified to an almost 
 endless extent, are very different from the tropical characters 
 of the Egyptians, which continued to be simple in their 
 structure, and in general incapable of combination. 
 
 That light may yet be cast on the invention of proper 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 209 
 
 alphabetic signs, from a diligent and extensive collation of 
 Egyptian and Chinese characters, and a better understanding 
 of the true nature and history of each, every lover of litera- 
 ture will continue to wish and to hope. M. S.] 
 
 [ H. p. 37. ] 
 
 Number of Hieroglyphics. 
 
 The following table exhibits the number and classification 
 of hieroglyphic signs, as made by Champollion. They are 
 divided into eighteen different classes, according to the nature 
 of the objects of which they are the images. 
 
 1. Celestial bodies, 10 
 
 2. Human figures in various positions, . . . 120 
 
 3. Human limbs, comprising hands, and arms, 
 
 which are separate from the body, ... 60 
 
 4. Wild quadrupeds, 24 
 
 5. Domestic quadrupeds, 10 
 
 6. Limbs of animals, 22 
 
 7. Birds and parts of birds, 50 
 
 8. Fishes, 10 
 
 9. Reptiles and parts of reptiles, 30 
 
 10. Insects, 14 
 
 11. Vegetables, plants, flowers, and fruits, . . 60 
 
 12. Buildings of various kinds, 24 
 
 13. Furniture and objects of art, 100 
 
 14. Coverings for the feet and legs, head- 
 
 dresses, sceptres, ensigns, and ornaments, 80 
 
 15. Tools and instruments of various sorts, . . 150 
 
 16. Vases, cups, and the like, 30 
 
 17. Geometrical figures, 20 
 
 18. Fantastic forms, 50 
 
 18 * 
 
 Total, ... 864 
 
210 
 
 APPENDIX* 
 
 Doubtless further investigation will disclose still more, and 
 correct the estimate of some which have been classed as 
 above. Not a few of the figures are occasionally so indis- 
 tinct, that one can hardly be certain of making a correct 
 classification. 
 
 [ I. p. 41. J 
 
 Mexican Hieroglyphics. 
 
 In discussing the question about the origin of hieroglyphics,, 
 and to prove that “ the first mode invented by mankind to 
 communicate their knowledge to posterity,, or to absent per- 
 sons, was a plain and simple representation of the things 
 themselves by pictures,” Spineto adduces several examples 
 of this kind of primitive writing by painting. Among the 
 rest, he describes a specimen which he saw in the Library 
 of the Escurial, and which was imported to Europe by a 
 Mexican, who translated it into Spanish. The title of the 
 book is, “ History of the Empire of Mexico , luith Notes and 
 Explanations . ” An account of it, taken from Lect. vii., is 
 here subjoined. 
 
 “ The translation is divided into three parts. The first is 
 a history of the Mexican empire, containing the biography 
 and conquests of not less than eleven kings ; the second is a 
 regular roll of the several taxes, which each conquered prov- 
 ince or town paid to the royal treasury ; and the third a 
 digest of their civil law, the largest branch of which was of 
 their common law or jus p atrium. 
 
 In each of these pictures, every king is represented by 
 different characteristics ; the length of his reign is marked 
 by squares round the margin, which, when the reign happens 
 to be extremely long, fill the four sides of the picture. In 
 each square there is a small circle to signify the year, a mark 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 211 
 
 which they repeat according to its number till they reach 
 thirteen, after which they begin over again to count one ; and 
 under these small circles there is a kind of hieroglyphic 
 figure, which is repeated in every fourth square. 
 
 In all the pictures that exhibit the reign of each king, there 
 is a figure which shows the nature of his government, and, 
 therefore, vary according to the circumstances and the events 
 that took place during his reign. In this picture it is a shield 
 or a target, crossed by four lances, which means that this 
 king subdued, by force of arms, four towns or people ; they 
 are expressed by four rough drawings of a house, to which a 
 symbol, or hieroglyphic figure, denoting the name of each, 
 has been attached. In the first, we have a tree ; in the 
 second, another tree of a different sort ; in the third, a 
 kind of basket ; in the fourth, a sort of box,, with two baskets. 
 These exhibitions I am unable to explain, but they no doubt 
 were perfectly intelligible to the people ; and perhaps might 
 have had a reference to the natural productions of the sub- 
 dued provinces* 
 
 To mark the beginning of the reign, and the different 
 epochs in which a king performed any of the actions men- 
 tioned in the picture, or even his death, they painted the 
 figure of the king, with his characteristic emblem, which 
 denotes his name, opposite to the year in which the event had 
 taken place. Thus, in this picture, the king’s name is said to 
 be AcamapicktU , and his figure is repeated twice ; opposite 
 the first square, which marks the beginning of his reign, and 
 opposite the eighth square, which shows, that in the eighth 
 year of his reign he put to death the chiefs of the four towns 
 he had conquered. This circumstance is expressed by four 
 heads placed before him, distinguished by the same hiero- 
 glyphical characters which mark the towns or provinces over 
 which they reigned. Across the figure of the king there is 
 a kind of sash, with a knot on his shoulder, which, by its 
 length and breadth, means the number of wives and children 
 he had. In the present instance it seems not to be deficient 
 in either of these dimensions. I am told that there is another 
 mark to express the quality and number of children, whether 
 
212 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 male or female ; but, to confess my ignorance, I could never 
 discover it ; although I have observed all the pictures of the 
 several reigns recorded by this curious piece of history, with 
 every possible attention. 
 
 To the picture of each reign, a second picture was invaria- 
 bly attached, which indicated the other actions of the sove- 
 reign as a politician, and the other events that had distinguish- 
 ed his government. The whole account given by Purchas 
 is curious, and highly amusing. 
 
 In recording the tribute, or taxes, which each town had to 
 pay, as it was paid in kind, it seems that the Mexicans had 
 adopted the plan of drawing the figure of the object. Thus, 
 to represent a basket of cacao-meal, or of any other sort of 
 corn, they drew the figure of a basket containing the ears of 
 corn, or the meal extracted from the fruit of that tree, or 
 plant. To represent suits of military clothing, armor, or 
 shields, they exhibited their respective figures ; the different 
 sorts of mantles, whether of feathers or of other materials, 
 were signified by their respective figures, differently colored. 
 The number of each article was expressed either by circles, 
 each of which signified ten, or by a kind of pine-apple, which 
 meant five, painted at the top of the basket, or by the side of 
 each individual article ; and if their quantity was so great as 
 to amount to a burthen, or a load, this was expressed by 
 another mark, which had the same signification. The like 
 must be said of their paper, their cups, pots of honey, cochi- 
 neal, wood, planks, beams, timber, loaves of salt, hatchets, 
 lumps of copal, refined and unrefined, shells, wool, stones, 
 canes to make darts, eagles, skins of animals ; in short, of 
 every thing which each town had to pay, for the maintenance 
 of the state. 
 
 It would be impossible for me to give a minute account of 
 their civil and religious institutions, which form the third, 
 and by far the largest department, in this most extraordinary 
 picture. Every trade, every office, every employment, is dif- 
 ferently delineated. The rites attending the several ceremo- 
 nies of burial, marriage, and baptism (for they certainly had 
 some sort of baptism), are minutely set down. But, above all, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 213 
 
 it seems that the education of children, from their infancy to 
 manhood, had attracted the greatest attention of their legisla- 
 ture. The quantity of food, the quality of labor, the differ- 
 ent pursuits attached to each distinct age, the various pun- 
 ishments decreed for the different faults, are stated with a 
 precision and clearness which is quite astonishing. The age 
 of the child can always be made out from the number of cir- 
 cles placed above its head. The figure of the mother, and 
 indeed of any woman, by her kneeling posture, and sitting on 
 her legs ; while the figure of the father, the priest, the teach- 
 er, and indeed of all men, besides the different attributes, 
 which designate the employment, is always represented either 
 standing, or sitting on a low stool, with his knees to his 
 breast.” 
 
 Spineto here introduces as a specimen, a table, which rep- 
 resents all the following ceremonies of a marriage. 
 
 “ This [the marriage] was generally brought about by an 
 old woman whom they call Amantesa , that is, a marriage 
 broker, who was to carry the bride on her back to the house 
 of the bridegroom, at the beginning of the night, accompanied 
 by four women bearing torches of pine tree. When arrived 
 at the house, the bride and the bridegroom were seated near 
 to the fire, on a mat, the woman, as usual, sitting on her legs, 
 the man on a stool. There they were tied together by the cor- 
 ner of their garments, after which they offered to their gods a 
 perfume of copal ; two old women, and two old men, being 
 present as witnesses. This ceremony over, they were allow- 
 ed to dine, upon two different sorts of meat, and some pulse. 
 Thus, not only the dishes to be used were marked, but also 
 the cup out of which they were to drink. The witnesses 
 were allowed to dine after the newly married couple, which 
 circumstance is expressed by their being seated at the four 
 corners of the mat, which served for a dining table. The 
 sign which is added to the mouth of these four witnesses, 
 signifies, that before they retired, they had the right to give, 
 and in fact they gave, to the married folks, good counsel, 
 how to behave themselves, that they might live in peace and 
 happiness. The position of one of the women, holding up her 
 
214 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 right hand, means that the portly matron is already making 
 use of the privilege allowed, to give a little exercise to her 
 tongue ; while the folded arms of the remaining witnesses 
 prove that they are waiting for their turn. 
 
 In the punishment of their children, the Mexicans seem to 
 have been ingeniously cruel. Most of the chastisements I 
 find marked down, consist in unmerciful castigations ; in driv- 
 ing into the hands, and arms, and legs, and into the body of 
 the culprit, thorns and prickles. Sometimes they singed his 
 head with fire, at other times they tied him down to a board, 
 and threw him into a bog ; and occasionally they held the 
 head and nose of the unfortunate child upon the smoke of a 
 particular wood, which they called axi. 
 
 The crimes, for which they inflicted punishments so severe 
 and so cruel, are the same with those which are condemned 
 by the laws of the most civilized nations of Europe, and can- 
 not but inspire us with a very favorable, nay, exalted opinion, 
 of the moral notions of the Mexicans. They seem even to 
 have gone beyond us, for the sake of preserving proper habits 
 of industry and morality among the people ; for they not only 
 punished drunkenness with death, but also idleness ; for if 
 drunkenness, said they, renders a man capable of committing 
 a crime, idleness exposes him to drinking and to bad company. 
 This law, however, lost its power with men and women as 
 soon as they reached the age of seventy ; they were then 
 allowed to pass their lives in idleness, and to get drunk, both 
 in public and in private. The reason assigned for this extra- 
 ordinary regulation is, that as they could no longer work, and 
 had but a short time to live, the law indulged them with the 
 enjoyment of what seems to have been considered by the 
 Mexicans, as one of the greatest pleasures of life. 
 
 Such is the short account that I can give of this most sin- 
 gular mode of expressing ideas by pictures, which is, I think, 
 an exemplification of the first mode of writing by hieroglyph- 
 ics. It is, besides, one of the most interesting monuments by 
 which we can arrive at the knowledge of the history of 
 Mexico. For it is evident, that, from the wisdom of their 
 regulations, from the quantity of taxes which, as is recorded 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 215 
 
 in these pictures, were levied upon the different towns and 
 nations, from the minuteness of the details, and from the pic- 
 tures themselves, which show some knowledge of perspective 
 and drawing, the Mexicans had made no inconsiderable pro- 
 gress in knowledge, in civilization, and in the cultivation of 
 the arts.” 
 
 [The whole of the above symbols much more resemble the 
 anaglyphs of the Egyptians, than they do the common hiero- 
 glyphics, figurative or tropical. That they are totally diverse 
 from phonetic hieroglyphics, need not be said. The combi- 
 nation of so many symbols, some of which have no resem- 
 blance but a merely conventional or imaginary one, is a trait 
 altogether of a nature similar to the predominating quality of 
 the anaglyphs. 
 
 There is some special interest attached to the subject now 
 before us. In connection with what has been before said, it 
 shows that three of the most distinguished nations, of three 
 different continents, viz. the Chinese in Asia, the Egyptians 
 in Africa, and the Mexicans in America, have all hit on the 
 like expedients to transmit their ideas to posterity. In all 
 these facts, too, we may see the infancy of alphabetic writing, 
 the germ from which this tree sprung, whose leaves are for 
 the healing of the nations. M. S.] 
 
 t J. p. 43. ] 
 
 In regard to the peculiar class of symbolic signs referred to 
 by M. Greppo, Spineto has the following remarks (p. 258). “ It 
 is from this third mode of writing, and from the custom of 
 expressing the qualities of things by the picture of visible' 
 objects, that scholars have experienced the greatest, if not 
 the whole difficulty of understanding hieroglyphics ; and this 
 
216 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 difficulty is not wholly removed by the recent discoveries ; 
 for, indeed, we are not yet sufficiently acquainted with the 
 natural history of ancient Egypt, or with the prejudices and 
 notions of the people, to be able to ascertain how they could 
 find any similarity between two objects, in which we find 
 none. Thus, for instance, he who had borne his misfortunes 
 with courage, and had at last surmounted them, was signified 
 by the picture of a hyena, because the skin of that animal was 
 supposed to make the wearer fearless and invulnerable.” 
 
 The symbolical images enumerated by Horapollo in his 
 Hieroglyphica , confirmed as many of them are by the tes- 
 timony of inscriptions, have given to this writer a peculiar 
 authority in whatever concerns the meaning of recluse hiero- 
 glyphics. The particular period in which he wrote, is not 
 known ; but his work, which is written in Greek, is in itself a 
 very curious and entertaining book, and I have translated 
 from it indiscriminately a few pieces, which may probably 
 afford some gratification to the inquisitive reader. They are 
 as follows : 
 
 How the Egyptians signify eternity. 
 
 To signify eternity, they paint the sun and moon, because 
 they are eternal elements. But when they wish to express 
 eternity after another manner, they paint a serpent, whose 
 tail is folded and concealed under a part of his body. The 
 Egyptians call him in their language Ur crus , but the Greeks 
 call him Basilisk. They [the Egyptians] place a golden 
 image of this same serpent, about the images of the gods. 
 They say that this animal signifies eternity for the following 
 reason ; because since there are three species of serpents, 
 this species only is immortal, the rest are mortal ; inasmuch 
 as this serpent kills all other animals merely by its breath, 
 and without even stinging them. Hence, since it possessed 
 the power of life and death, it was deservedly placed upon 
 the heads of the gods. 
 
 How they signify knowledge. 
 
 To indicate knowledge, they paint the heavens shedding 
 
APPENDIX* 
 
 217 
 
 down dew, signifying 1 that as falling dew is diffused over all 
 plants, and makes soft and pliable only those which in their 
 own nature are capable of being softened, but upon those 
 which are in their own nature hard it exerts no influence ; 
 so knowledge is diffused in common among all men, but only 
 those who are born with a happy genius seize and imbibe 
 the dew, but those who are destitute of the faculty of genius 
 remain strangers to its influence. 
 
 How they signify à child. 
 
 To signify a child, they paint a chenalopex. This animal 
 has a peculiar fondness for its young. If at any time they 
 are pursued by the hunters, and their young are with them, 
 both the father and mother voluntarily surrender themselves 
 to the pursuers, in order that their young may be preserved. 
 For this reason the Egyptians worshipped this animal. 
 
 How they signified impudence. 
 
 To denote impudence, they painted a fly, because this 
 creature, being more frequently than any other driven away 
 by force, still persists in returning. 
 
 How they denote a grateful mind. 
 
 To denote a grateful mind, they paint a cucupha , [a little 
 bird supposed to be a houp, or lapwing,] because of all dumb 
 animals this is the only one which, after it has been nurtured 
 by its parents, treats them with affection and favors them 
 when they are grown old. In the place where it was nour- 
 ished the cucupha builds a nest for its parents, when their 
 wings are decayed, and administers to them Food, until, be- 
 coming new-fledged, the parents are able to take care of 
 themselves. Wherefore the cucupha, among the Egyptians, 
 was made a sign and ornament of the divine sceptres. 
 
 How they denoted an impossibility. 
 
 They painted the feet of a man walking in the water, 
 to denote an impossibility, and sometimes they painted a man 
 walking without a head, either of which things are in the 
 
 19 
 
218 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 class of impossibilities, and therefore are well selected to 
 denote them. 
 
 To denote strength , they paint the foreparts of a lion, 
 because these are the strongest members of his whole body. 
 
 An armed man hurling arrows, signifies a tumult Two 
 men adorned with the insignia of magistracy signify con- 
 cord. When they wish to represent a woman who troubles 
 her husband , they paint a weasel. An abandoned man , they 
 represent by a hog, because the natures of both are alike. 
 To signify an old man who is a musician, they paint a swan, 
 because when growing old it sings most sweetly. 
 
 JVhat they signify by painting a hawk. 
 
 When they wish to denote God, or sublimity, or humility, 
 or excellence, or blood, or victory, they paint a hawk. They 
 use it as a symbol of the Deity, because this animal is fruit- 
 ful and long lived, and because more than any other bird it 
 seems to be an image of the sun, since, by a certain peculiar 
 and secret power of its nature, it can keep its sight fixed 
 upon the rays of the sun. And hence it arises, that physi- 
 cians use hawk-weed to cure diseases of the eyes. Hence 
 also, when they sometimes paint the sun as the author and 
 ruler of sight, they make use of the form of a hawk. But 
 they use this bird to denote sublimity, because, while all 
 other birds when they attempt to rise into the air advance 
 obliquely and cannot rise straight up, this bird only soars per- 
 pendicularly aloft. They use this bird, moreover, to denote 
 humility or dejection, because while other birds in their de- 
 scent from the air move transversely and with windings and 
 turnings, and do not move perpendicularly, the hawk only 
 takes a direct course downwards. They use this bird to 
 denote excellence, because this bird seemed to excel all other 
 birds. They used the hawk to denote blood, because they 
 say this bird drinks blood, and not water. They used this 
 bird to denote victory, because it seemed to conquer all other 
 birds. For when the hawk sees itself oppressed by the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 219 
 
 power of a stronger animal, it will turn its belly upward 
 in the air, so that its talons are directed upward, but its 
 wings and the posterior parts of its body are directed 
 downwards ; in this situation its opponent, when coming to 
 attack the hawk, cannot meddle with it, and the hawk 
 easily puts its enemy to flight, and gains the victory for 
 itself. 
 
 They used a serpent to signify a mouth , because a ser- 
 pent has no member, except a mouth. The finger of a man 
 denotes measurement. When they wished to denote a 
 woman who is betrothed , they paint the circle of the sun, ac- 
 companied by a star, the disk of the sun itself being 
 divided into two parts. When they wish to represent a man 
 ivho rejoices in dancing and in the sound of flutes , they paint 
 a turtle bird, for this is also captivated with the flute and with 
 dancing. When they~wfsh to denote an old man who per- 
 ishes ivith hunger , they paint an eagle with a crooked beak. 
 The beak of this bird, when it grows old, becomes crooked, 
 and it perishes with hunger. 
 
 [The reader will take the deeper interest in these extracts, 
 when he recognizes the fact, that Horapollo the author of 
 them, was himself an Egyptian ; in all probability an Egyp- 
 tian priest. He is called by his Greek translator JVsilœoç, 
 i. e. of Nile. The meaning of this is, doubtless, of the city of 
 ]\ r elXoç ; for Neiloç was not the exclusive name of the river 
 of Egypt, but also of a city and of a temple. So says Heca- 
 tssus, in Stephanus De Urbibus. 
 
 The name Horus Apollo or Horapollo , as it comes to us, 
 one can scarcely refrain from believing, is a compound of the 
 Egyptian Horus , and the Greek Apollo ; which latter was 
 only the Greek name of the Egyptian god Horus. 
 
 When the writer lived, cannot be ascertained. But his Greek 
 translator, Philippus , seems, from his style, to have lived in 
 an age when the Greek had greatly declined, as his book is 
 full ofbarbarisms ; e. g. oqSivov for the Latin ordo , mxTQwv a 
 for patronus, etc. But imperfect as our critical information 
 
220 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 is, in respect to the origin of the book and the time when it 
 was composed, still, it cannot but be a matter of great curi- 
 osity, to see the explanation of hieroglyphs and anaglyphs, 
 by a native Egyptian. That the translation of Philippus is 
 quite literal, there is every probability from its appearance. 
 
 I add merely, that the edition before me of Horapollo, was 
 printed at Paris in 1647, and edited by N. Caussinus (Caus- 
 sin) e Societate Jesu. It contains 87 quarto pages, one half 
 of which is a Latin translation. Notes are added by the 
 editor, which are of some value, but not very important. 
 
 M. S.1 
 
 [ K. p. 45. ] 
 
 Choice of forms in Hieroglyphic Writings 
 
 A striking feature of hieroglyphics, is the great number of 
 different signs which were employed to express the same 
 letter. The letter S, for instance, is expressed by fourteen 
 different signs ; the letter O, by twelve ; the letters L or R, 
 by ten ; the letter K, by eleven ; the letter T, by eleven, &c. 
 This circumstance and the occasional use of the same signs 
 to express different letters, would seem at first sight to 
 involve the subject of hieroglyphics in much perplexity, 
 and to render vain all attempts to decypher their certain 
 meaning. 
 
 On pp. 370 and 371 of his Precis , Champollion has ex- 
 pressed his ideas on this subject, and has given illustrations 
 of them. His views are in the main as follows. 
 
 He says ; “ It was the object of the Egyptians to symbolize 
 an idea by means of characters ivhich should themselves repre- 
 sent the first sound of words , which were a sign of this idea 
 in the spoken language. Consequently, to write the princi- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 221 
 
 pal sounds and all the articulations of a word, they could 
 choose from among the various homophonous characters which 
 they were at liberty to employ, those which by their form 
 represented physical objects, that had a direct or conventional 
 relation to the idea which these characters were to express.” 
 
 To distinguish each letter of a word, the Egyptians em- 
 ployed those objects the names of which began with that veinj 
 letter. Thus the hawk was called in Egyptian ahé ; it was 
 therefore taken to represent the letter a : thus the mouth was 
 called ro ; it was therefore taken to represent the letter r, &c. 
 If the reader will remember this, he will understand the 
 following illustrations which Champollion gives of the remark 
 we have already quoted from him. 
 
 “ To express the Coptic word si or sê, which means a son , 
 a child , an offspring , the Egyptians, from among all the signs 
 of the letter s , employed in preference either an egg (in the 
 Egyptian language souh), or a seed (in Egyptian siti), or a 
 grain of wheat (in Egyptian souo). 
 
 The lion, which among all people who are acquainted with 
 this superb animal, is a figurative sign of power and courage, 
 is found in the names and titles of the Lagidæ and of the 
 Roman sovereigns, to express the letter L or R.” The reader 
 will observe that it is also employed in the name of Ptolemy 
 to express the letter L, and it is there used also as a symbol 
 of the courage and power of a king. 
 
 “In the cartouches of Tiberius Claudius , engraved upon 
 the portico at Esne, which was consecrated to the god 
 Chnoubis, the B of the word Tiberius is represented by a 
 ram, an animal which was the proper symbol of this principal 
 god of the temple ; while the letter B of the same word 
 Tiberius, is expressed by very different signs in the engra- 
 vings of the temple at Dendera, which was consecrated to 
 the goddess Athor, the Egyptian Venus. In the word 
 6uaioç, which means august , venerable, adorable , the letter 
 B is usually represented b}r a box of frankincense, which was 
 employed in performing adorations. The letter A, in many' 
 of the names and titles of the Roman emperors, is represented 
 19 * 
 
222 
 
 APPEND rx. 
 
 by an eagle [in Egyptian akhorn ], which was a Known symbol 7 
 of Roman power.” 
 
 The subject of this note can perhaps be made still more 
 intelligible, by the following illustration. 
 
 Suppose we wished to write the name AMERICA hiero- 
 glyphically ; then for an alphabet we should have various 
 objects, the first letters of which would represent the several 
 letters of the word America. For example, the letter A 
 might be represented by the figure of an anchor , or of an 
 ant, or of an alligator , or of an arch ; the letter M by the 
 m figure of a mountain, or of a man, or of the planet Mercui'y , 
 of the moon , or of a mouth ; the letter E by the figure of an 
 eye, or of an ear, or of an eagle, or of an edifice f the letter R 
 by the figure of a rabbit, or of a rattlesnake, or of a reaping- 
 hook, or of a rudder ; the letter I by the figure of an infant, or 
 of an Indian, or by the mark of infinity ; the letter C by the- 
 figure of a circle, or of a cat, or of a cannon, or of a column, or 
 of a coffin , or of a chair ; the letter A again, if repeated, might 
 be represented by the same figure as before. 
 
 Now to write the letters of the word AMERICA by signs 
 which should also be symbols of ideas, from among all the 
 hieroglyphic signs of the letter A, we might perhaps prefer 
 the figure of an anchor, to convey the idea of a vessel, 
 and thus of commerce which contributes so largely to our 
 wealth, and of a navy which affords us protection and security 
 from foreign aggression. For the letter M, we might select 
 either a mountain, as symbolical of the lofty heights so fre- 
 quent in our country ; or a mouth, which signifying figura- 
 tively freedom and boldness of speech, might convey some 
 idea of the nature of our government. For the letter E we 
 should prefer the figure of an eagle, which appears on every 
 American standard, as a towering emblem of our country.. 
 Again, for the letter R we might choose a reaping hook, as 
 significant of the gathering in of corn and grain and other 
 crops, and thus a symbol of agriculture, in which so large a 
 part of the population of our country are employed. For the 
 letter I, we might take either the image of an infant, which 
 being emblematical of the first age of anything, might repre- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 223 
 
 sent our yet early existence as a nation ; or the image of an 
 Indian, which would convey an idea of the primitive inhabi- 
 tants of the American continent, and the associated idea of our 
 forefathers, whose contact with them was so frequent and 
 often so fearful. For the letter C we might choose a circle 
 as an emblem of duration, or a cannon , as an emblem of past 
 conflict, or of preparedness to defend rights which were pur- 
 chased at the expense of blood. The last A it would be 
 unnecessary to repeat, or if repeated the same figure might 
 be used as before. In this way the word AMERICA, written 
 hieroglyphically, would be represented by an anchor , a moun- 
 tain or a mouth , an eagle , a reaping-hook , an infant or an In- 
 dian, and lastly a circle or a cannon . 
 
 [ L. p. 49. ] 
 
 Grammatical Forms,. 
 
 Some of the hieroglyphics which represent the most impor- 
 tant grammatical forms, are here subjoined. They are copied 
 from Spineto (Lect. v_). 
 
 “ The marks of the genders are, — a square, either plain or 
 striated, for the masculine, and half a circle, for the feminine. 
 The plural is almost invariably expressed by a simple repeti- 
 tion of the [hieroglyphical] units ; to these units sometimes is 
 added a quail ; all of these stand for the syllable noue , or oue , 
 which is the termination added to the plural. For instance, 
 the word soten signifies king, and by the addition of noue we 
 have so-tenoue kings ; noyte god, noytenoue gods ; and the like. 
 
 In regard to the genders, it seems the Egyptians also ex- 
 pressed them by employing the pronouns of him , of her ; and 
 these pronouns were represented by the figure of an undulating 
 line over a serpent, or over a broken line. In the first in- 
 
224 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 stance the group represented the pronoun his, or of Mm, 
 which, in Coptic, was nev or nef ; in the second instance, the 
 group stood for the pronoun her's, or of her, which in Coptic 
 was called nes .” These terminations, or an abbreviation of 
 them, if added to hieroglyphic expressions, would make them 
 either of the masculine or feminine gender. “ For example, 
 the chenalopex, that is the goose, or the egg, are the phonetic 
 hieroglyphics expressing the ward child, — for both of them 
 represent the letter S, which is an abbreviation of the word 
 se or tse, son, child. Therefore if to the bird or to the egg 
 we add the figure of the serpent, or the broken line, we shall 
 have, in the first instance, the group signifying son of him , or 
 his son ; and in the second, son of her, or her son* 
 
 The genitive case is expressed mostly by an undulating 
 line added to a group. This hieroglyphic stands for the let- 
 ter N, and on those occasions is taken as an abbreviation of 
 the syllable nen, which is the invariable termination of the 
 genitive case in the Coptic language. 
 
 The Egyptians distinguished the third person singular of 
 the present tense in the same way as we do in the English 
 language, by adding the letter s to the word — such as he does, 
 he writes. The figure of the serpent which stands for the 
 letter S, is a mark of the third person singular of the present 
 tense.” Champollion has found a number of other hiero- 
 glyphics which exhibit the inflections of verbs, but they are 
 not yet all accurately determined. “The passive participle 
 was represented by two hieroglyphics, the horn, and the half 
 circle. The pronoun this, was exhibited by a vase and a per- 
 pendicular line. The pronoun ioho or ivhich, is represented 
 by a vase and half a circle. Such are some of the principal 
 and most important grammatical forms or phrases.” 
 
 [ The importance of understanding these to such as intend 
 to read hieroglyphic inscriptions, is sufficiently plain. No 
 connected discourse can be made out, without a familiar 
 knowledge of them. M. S.] 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 225 
 
 [ M. p. 61. ] 
 
 Brief notices of the Egyptian Mythology. 
 
 The origin of the world from a dark primitive chaos, is a 
 dogma belonging not only to almost all the Oriental nations 
 and to many of the Greek schools, but it was fully believed by 
 the ancient Egyptians. Mind and Matter were supposed by 
 them to have co-existed from all eternity, and it was the in- 
 fluence of Mind upon Matter, which reduced the latter to 
 form, and brought it forth from darkness to light. The an- 
 cient Egyptian philosophers all represent this Mind as infinite 
 and eternal ; as presiding over all other gods, both spiritual 
 and material ; as having given origin to the world, and as 
 governing and penetrating through all nature. This supreme 
 Mind, was the Demiurgos of the Egyptians, their god Am- 
 mon. 
 
 It would be interesting here, to trace out the analogy be- 
 tween the philosophy of the Greeks and Egyptians, about the 
 origin of the world and of the souls of men. But we can only 
 advert, at present, to a few traits. The theory of Orpheus 
 about an immense egg of matter, from which, by the fiery 
 nature of Spirit, the world was hatched, was borrowed from 
 the Egyptians, and was carried by him from Egypt into 
 Greece, where it became the basis of the Stoical system of 
 active and passive principles. Again, that belief in the spir- 
 itual origin of the soul, which may be traced in much of the 
 philosophy of Greece, sometimes in a pure form, and some- 
 times more or less adulterated, was also an important dogma 
 of the Egyptians, though by them it was blended with the 
 doctrine of metempsychosis. Jablonski, after collecting 
 strong evidence of this fact from ancient writers, thus de- 
 scribes the views which the Egyptians had of the soul ; 
 “ Nempe Anima, secundum Ægyptios, erat to ôeïov, Divini- 
 tas , vel Essentia Divina, quæ a sede suâ veluti delapsa, ali- 
 
226 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 quamdiu per homines et animalia transibat, donee ad-pristi- 
 num locum rediret.” (Pantheon Egyptiacum , p. 32.) 
 
 All the animated part of creation being distinguished by 
 sexes, and the Egyptians regarding nature as productive and 
 animated, they were thus led gradually to transfer their 
 notions of gender to Ammon, who generated all things. In 
 one point of view, however, they acknowledged both a male, 
 and female principle in this supreme god of their theogony. 
 One of the symbols made use of to represent Ammon was the 
 head of a ram, or a ram holding between his horns a circle.* 
 Wherever either of these symbols occurred, this deity was 
 called Nef JYouv , or Chnouphis, f JYoub or Chnoubis ; all which 
 appellations are proved, by Champollion and by M. Letronne, 
 to signify one and the same attribute of Ammon, viz. his male 
 nature. In this form, Spineto remarks, that “he was con- 
 sidered as one of the modifications or rather an emanation, of 
 the great Demiurgos, the primitive cause of all moral and 
 physical blessings. He was then called the Good Genius ; 
 the male origin of all things ; the spirit which, by mixing 
 itself in all its parts, animated and perpetuated the world.” 
 Virgil describes him very well in his Æneid, Lib. vi. 726 : 
 
 Spiritus intus alit, iotamque infusa per artus 
 Mens agitat molem, et toto se corpore miscet. 
 
 He is sometimes symbolically represented by a large 
 serpent, which designates him as the spirit who flows through 
 the whole earth. It is this spirit to whom Horapollo refers in 
 the following passage. c 'Outm ttuq avroiç zê navioç to 
 ôit[xov soil Tivev pot. (Hieroglyph, Lib. i. cap. 64.) In this 
 form he is called Agathodœmon by the Greeks. 
 
 The female principle in nature was represented by the 
 goddess Neith, another emanation from the Demiurgos. 
 “ This goddess,” says Spineto, “ occupied the superior part of 
 the heavens, inseparable from the first principle, and was 
 
 * The names of all the divinities whom we shall mention, are rep- 
 sented phonetically, figuratively, and symbolically. We shall select 
 only now and then from these representations. 
 
 t Chnoupbis in the old Egyptian language signifies good. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 227 
 
 considered also as presiding over the moral attributes of the 
 mind. Hence wisdom, philosophy, and military tactics, were 
 departments that had been attributed to her, and this con- 
 sideration persuaded the Greeks to look upon her as their 
 Minerva , who was regarded as equally the protectress of wise 
 men and warriors.” 
 
 The similarity between the Egyptian JYeith and the Minerva 
 of the Greeks, is indeed very striking, and goes far to prove 
 that the Greeks derived their goddess from Egypt. Besides 
 the identity of their offices, both presiding over philosophy 
 and war, the origin of both is similar. The Neith of the 
 Egyptians was an emanation from Ammon, their supreme 
 god ; the Minerva of the Greeks sprung from the brain of 
 Jupiter, the supreme god of the Grecian mythology. Accord- 
 ing to St. Croix, Egyptian colonies from Sais carried over 
 the ceremonies of Neith to Athens, where she became the 
 ’AdrjvT] of the Greeks (the Minerva of the Latins). At the 
 period when she was introduced into Athens, the partisans 
 of Neptune suffered severe persecution, and Neptune was 
 entirely supplanted by Neith. This fact gave rise to the 
 fable about the contest between this goddess and Neptune. 
 
 The goddess Neith was symbolically represented by a vul- 
 ture, which is the usual image of maternity. Her peculiar 
 place of worship was in the city of Sais, where she had mag- 
 nificent temples, one of the propylæums of which, on account 
 of the enormous size of the stones and colossal statues, is said 
 “to excel every thing of the kind before seen in magnificence 
 and grandeur.” The following inscription in hieroglyphics 
 upon one of her temples, is very remarkable both “ as giving 
 a sublime idea of the creating power of nature,” and as pre- 
 senting a striking correspondence with the idea given in 
 Scripture of the Supreme Being. It is thus interpreted by 
 Champollion : “I am all that has been, all that is, all that will 
 he. No mortal has ever raised the veil which conceals me ; and 
 the fruit I have produced is the sun.” Jablonski establishes the 
 fact, that the priests of Sais regarded Neith, as the priests of 
 Memphis and of Thebes regarded Ammon Chnouphis, viz., as 
 
228 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the mens aeternn ac opifex .* To this Spirit was attributed the 
 origin and manner of all existences, and to its decree and 
 ordination every thing was referred, as to its cause. To this 
 Spirit too, the reader will recollect, was attributed an exist- 
 ence from and through all eternity, and a dwelling in the 
 upper world far above and beyond the vision of men. The 
 correspondence then between the two first phrases of the 
 inscription at Sais, and the following passages employed in 
 Scripture to designate the Deity, will appear very striking. 
 Which was, and is, and is to come (Rev. iv. 8). The same 
 yesterday, to-day, and forever (Heb. xiii. 8). I am that I am 
 (Exod. iii. 14). JYo man hath seen God at any time (John i. 18). 
 Who only hath immortality , dwelling in the light which no man 
 can approach unto ; ivhom no man hath seen or can see (1 Tim. 
 vi. 16). While upon this subject we cannot but notice another 
 description of the Supreme Being, analogous to that in Scrip- 
 ture. It occurs in the sacred books of the Hindoos, called the 
 Vedas. Speaking of Vishnoo the supreme god of the Hindoo 
 mythology, it is said “All which has been, all which is, and all 
 which will be, are in Vishnoo. He illuminates every thing, as 
 the sun illuminates the world. f Amid the gross and materi- 
 alizing views which pervaded many of the religious systems 
 of the ancient world, it is pleasing to find some at least recog- 
 nizing the spiritual existence of one Infinite Mind. This seems 
 very evidently to be the case with the system of the Hindoos ; 
 and among the Egyptians, though material gods and goddesses 
 emerged from the sun and moon, the zodiac, and whole plane- 
 tary system, to throng their mythology ; though they conjec- 
 tured that various divine personages emanated from Ammon 
 himself, and this in the gross way of heathenish conceit ; still 
 they had some pure conceptions of a Supreme Deity. Such 
 facts go far to prove something like a religious instinct in 
 man, a nature which, however degraded he may be, implants 
 the conviction of an exalted Power, and leads him to express 
 
 * Pantheon Egyptiacum. Lib. i. cap. iii. 
 t See Recherches du Paganisme , by de Sacy. Vol. n. De Trip 
 lid Theologia mysteriisque commentatio. p. 45. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 229 
 
 bis views of it by some dim and imperfect emblems. But we 
 must proceed to notice other gods of the Egyptian mythology. 
 
 The god PhthcL, whose image Champollion has found always 
 sculptured near the image of Ammon Chnouphis, on the bas- 
 reliefs of Thebes, Ipsamboul, Edfou, Ombos, and Philoe, be- 
 longed to the family of Ammon, and was the son of Ammon 
 Chnouphis. He is symbolically represented by a human form 
 with the head of a hawk, by a peculiar cap or head-dress, and 
 sometimes simply by a hawk holding an emblematical head- 
 dress. His functions are thus described by Spineto (p. 129). 
 “He was the god to whom the priests attributed the organi- 
 zation of the world, and consequently, the invention of philoso- 
 phy, the science which exhibits the laws and conditions of 
 the very nature he had organized. He was considered as the 
 founder of the dynasties of Egypt [in the fabulous age of 
 Egyptian history], and the Pharaohs had consecrated to him 
 the royal city of Memphis, the second capital of the empire, 
 where he had a magnificent temple superbly embellished, in 
 which the grand ceremony of the inauguration or installation 
 ©f the Egyptian kings was splendidly performed ; and he was 
 also considered as their protector, by the titles they had as- 
 sumed of Beloved of PMha , Approved of Phtha , and the like. 
 Under one form, in which Phtha is called Socari , he is con- 
 nected with the Egyptian Amenti . 
 
 Phtha was assimilated by the Greeks, to their " Hcpaiurog 
 (Vulcan). Spineto thinks he was “a very superior being to 
 this blacksmith.” But there is an evident resemblance in 
 their functions. Diodorus Siculus states, that the Egyptian 
 priests regarded Phtha as the inventor of fire, and, as ha 3 
 been already remarked, he was the great artist of the earth. 
 So Vulcan was regarded by the Greeks, as the god who pre- 
 sided over fire, and as a great artist, whose forges were situa- 
 ted in various parts of the earth. Champollion remarks, “that 
 many passages in ancient authors attest the fact that one of 
 the principal gods in Egypt, who was likened by the Greeks 
 to their c ' Hepuicnog, bore the name of Phtha in the language 
 of Egypt.” Among other evidence of this fact, he cites the 
 Rosetta inscription, and an old Theban Coptic homily, com- 
 20 
 
230 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 posed by S. Schenouti , which designate " Hcpoucrzog andPhtha 
 as the same god (Précis p. 149 — 151). 
 
 The divinities whom we have now described, were among 
 the principal of those who inhabited the upper world, and who 
 are ranked in the first class of Egyptian gods. But the Egyp- 
 tians supposed the earth itself to be subject more directly to 
 the power of gods, who were visible. The most important 
 among these was the sun, which luminary, on account of its 
 being the source of so many blessings, has among almost all 
 heathen nations been worshipped as a god. Its influence in 
 promoting the alternation of day and night, and the change of 
 seasons, in reanimating nature, and in maturing the products 
 of the earth ; its appearance in the heavens, being the most 
 brilliant luminary upon which the eye of man is fastened ; — 
 all these circumstances led the Egyptians to consider the sun 
 as the deity who presided over the physical universe, and as 
 “ the eye of the world.” One manner in which he was hiero- 
 glyphically represented was by a globe, which was usually of 
 a reddish hue, and stood upon the head of a hawk. He was 
 called in the Egyptian language Re or Ri, and derived his 
 origin from Phtha, whose son he is often called, and whom 
 he succeeded, according to the priests, in the government of 
 Egypt. “ In consequence of this belief,” says Spineto, u all 
 the Egyptian kings, from the earliest Pharaohs to the last of 
 the Roman emperors, adopted, in the legends consecrated to 
 their honor, the pompous titles of ‘ offspring of the sun , son of 
 the sun , king like the sun of all inferior and superior regions .’ 
 and the like.” This last title is fully explained in the letter 
 from Champollion (translated in note N. below), from which 
 we learn that the double destiny of the soul was symbolized 
 by means of the march of the sun in the upper and lower 
 hemispheres. Splendid worship was performed in honor of 
 the sun, in Egypt, and Heliopolis [i? Xiov nôhç, i. e. city of 
 the sun ] was particularly consecrated to him. We might ex- 
 hibit here some analogies between the Re of the Egyptians, 
 and the Phœbus or Apollo of the Greeks and Latins. But we 
 must leave these, and also the consideration of other plane- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 231 
 
 tary divinities, in order to describe a few more important 
 personages in the Egyptian Pantheon. 
 
 Inscriptions are frequently found which contain the names 
 of divinities, written both in Egyptian and in Greek. In this 
 form occurs the name of a goddess called Sate, who was 
 assimilated by the Greeks to their u Hqa (the Juno of the 
 Latins). She is a goddess of the first rank, and she is repre- 
 sented as the daughter of the sun, and as partaking with her 
 father in employments that have respect to the physical uni- 
 verse. “ She seems to have been,” says Spineto, “ the pro- 
 tectress of all the Egyptian monarchs and especially of the 
 Pharaohs of the eighteenth dynasty — a dynasty which reckons 
 among its members the greatest kings that ever reigned over 
 Egypt; a Mœris, an Amenophis II., an Ousirei, a Ramses 
 Meïamoun, the grandfather of Ramses Sethosis, so well known 
 by the ancients under the name of Sesostris.” The image of 
 this goddess occurs in many temples of Upper Egypt, and 
 of Nubia ; in the temple at Elephantina she is exhibited as 
 receiving offerings from Amenophis II., and presenting this 
 prince to Ammon Chnouphis who sits upon a throne. The 
 frequent occurrence of her image near to that of Ammon, to 
 whom she is in this way addressing some service, proves that 
 she was an important personage in his family. Her emblems 
 and titles are very splendid. The following is an example of 
 the latter ; “ Sate, the living goddess, the daughter of the sun, 
 the queen of the heavens and of the earth, the ruler of the 
 inferior region [which here designates Lower Egypt, accord- 
 ing to Spineto], the protectress of her son, the lord of the 
 world, the king of the three regions [Upper, Middle, and 
 Lower Egypt, according to the same], son of the sun, Phta- 
 men Ousirei.” Champollion describes her characteristic em- 
 blem as the upper part of a head-dress , called Psheut, adorned 
 with two long horns. This is placed upon the head of an 
 image, which represents a woman with the sign of divine life 
 in her hands. 
 
 Sme is another goddess of the first rank among Egyptian 
 divinities, whose employment seems chiefly to have been in 
 the Egyptian Amenti. Spineto thus describes her ; “ She 
 
232 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 was called by the Greeks ’AXtjÔsioc, and answers to Themis, 
 the goddess of justice and truth. These attributes evidently 
 show her to have been another representation of the infinite 
 Power, who continued to influence and to act upon the des- 
 tinies of men, even after death, in a future life ; for we find 
 this goddess almost invariably represented on the monuments 
 exhibiting the ceremony of funerals, perpetually leading the 
 soul to the balance, where the deeds and actions of his life 
 were to be weighed, previous to its being introduced to Osi- 
 ris. She is figuratively represented by the image of a woman, 
 holding the sign of divine life, and having her head decorated 
 with a feather, which is the peculiar distinction of all her 
 images. Symbolically, she was exhibited by the great ser- 
 pent, who was the emblem of immortality and of wisdom.” 
 (Lect. iv.) 
 
 Such are some of the principal gods and goddesses in the 
 Egyptian Pantheon. The most important of the second rank, 
 are the goddess Isis, and her brother and husband Osiris, to 
 whom, following the selection of Spineto, we shall devote a 
 few details. 
 
 Osiris was the chief god of the Egyptian Amenti , answer- 
 ing to the Pluto of the Greeks and Latins. By some, Osiris 
 is said to have been the Sol inferus, that is the sun when 
 it passed into the lower hemisphere, and through the au- 
 tumnal and wintry signs of the zodiac, in opposition to the 
 Sol suptrus , or sun when it passed through the upper hemi- 
 sphere, and through the summer signs of the zodiac. Jab- 
 lonski attempts to establish this supposition, though he errs 
 in confounding the name of Serapis with Osiris* But 
 whether this was the case, or whether Osiris is to be regard- 
 ed as an entirely distinct divinity, we have not now the 
 means of determining ; it is sufficient for our purpose, to 
 know where his dominion was exercised. This was over the 
 souls of men after their decease — a fact which is revealed by 
 almost every legend and painting relating to the dead. We 
 shall furnish our readers, in the sequel, with a description of 
 
 " Pantheon Egypt. Lib. 11, cap. v. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 233 
 
 n representation of this kind. Osiris was phonetically exhi- 
 bited, according to Spineto,* * * § “ by a sceptre, with the head of 
 a species of wolf, which denotes the vowel O ; the crooked 
 line, S ; the oval, an R ; the arm, an E, or an I, which gives 
 Osre, the abbreviation of Osire, or Osiri .” 
 
 Isis , according to Jablonski,f represented the moon, and as 
 the Egyptians adored a Sol superus and Sol inferus , so they 
 worshipped a Luna supera and inféra , or Isis cœlestis and ter- 
 res Iris. Besides officiating in the Egyptian Amenti, she was 
 recognized in a variety of capacities ; among others, as 
 the inventress of agriculture, the divinity who contained 
 within herself the seeds of productive nature,^ and as the in- 
 ventress of sails and of navigation^ She seems to have been 
 the prototype of quite a number of Grecian divinities, among 
 the rest of Proserpine and Ceres ; particularly of the latter, 
 ■whose adventures and mysteries her own strongly resemble. || 
 She was symbolically represented by a throne, a half circle, 
 and an egg, which last sign denoted her gender as feminine ; 
 figuratively, by a disk and a pair of horns. 
 
 The Amenti of the Egyptians, corresponding to the Hades 
 of the Greeks, and to the Tartarus of the Latins, was the 
 place of the dead . It was governed by Osiris as chief, and by 
 many subordinate divinities. Thç following quotations from 
 Spineto,H will show where the souls of men were distributed 
 after death. 
 
 “ The Egyptians divided the whole -world into three zones. 
 The first was the earth, or the zone of trial ; the second was 
 the zone of the air, perpetually agitated by winds and storms, 
 and it was considered as the zone of temporal punishment ; 
 and the third was the zone of rest and tranquillity, which was 
 above the other two. Again, they had subdivided the first 
 
 * Lect. iv. p. 141. 
 
 t Pantheon Egypt . Lib. hi. cap. i. and ii. 
 
 t Plutarch de Iside. p. 372. 
 
 § The elevation of a ship formed one feature in her mysteries. 
 Spineto, p. 140. 
 
 |J See Recherches du Paganisme, by De Sacy. Vol. i. p. 150 seq. 
 IT Lect. iv. 
 
 20 * 
 
234 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 zone or the earth, into four regions or departments ; the 
 second or the zone of the air, was divided into two only ; the 
 first of these was subdivided into four regions, and the second 
 into eight, making twelve altogether ; these being added to 
 the four regions of the first zone, made sixteen ; and, lastly, 
 the third zone of the tranquil atmosphere contained sixteen 
 more regions ; so that the sum total of the regions in which 
 the souls of the dead were to be distributed, was in fact 
 thirty-two.” 
 
 There is an evident variation between the divisions made 
 by Spineto, and those made by Champollion in his letter quo- 
 ted in note N. below. It would seem more probable that 
 there were twenty -four principal zones, corresponding to the 
 twenty-four hours of the day — twelve for the upper hemisphere 
 through which the sun passed during the twelve hours of 
 light, and twelve for the lower hemisphere through which the 
 sun passed during the twelve hours of darkness. But the 
 subordinate zones may have been more or less numerous,* 
 and hence arises the variation between Champollion and Spi- 
 neto. This circumstance, however, would not affect the di- 
 vision of the world into the three general portions, which 
 Spineto announces, and as the minor divisions are compara- 
 tively unimportant, we shall continue to quote from this 
 author. 
 
 “ The god Pooh was supposed to be a perpetual director — 
 a sort of king of the souls, who, after having parted from the 
 body, were thrown into the second zone, to be whirled about 
 by the winds through the regions of the air till they were 
 called upon either to return to the first zone, to animate a 
 new body, and to undergo fresh trials in expiation of their 
 former sins, or to be removed into the third, where the air 
 was perpetually pure and tranquil. It was over these two 
 zones, or divisions of the world, situated between the earth 
 and the moon, that the god Pooh exercised the full extent of 
 his power. He had for his counsel the god Thotli , who 
 presided over that portion of the second or tempestuous zone, 
 which was divided into eight regions, and was only a tempo- 
 
 * Champollion makes seventy-five zones in the lower world. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 235 
 
 rary dwelling of the dead. This was, in fact, nothing else 
 but the personification of the grand principle of the immor- 
 tality of the soul, and the necessity of leading a virtuous life ; 
 since every man was called upon to give a strict account of 
 his past conduct, and, according to the sentence which Osiris 
 pronounced, was doomed to happiness or misery ; for, gener- 
 ally speaking, it seems that the Egyptians had assigned to 
 their principal gods and goddesses most closely connected 
 with their Demiurgos, two different characters ; the one pre- 
 siding over, or assisting in, the creation of the universe ; the 
 other performing some duties, or exercising some act of au- 
 thority in the Amenti , as was the case with the god Phtha, 
 the goddess Sme, and others.” 
 
 Spineto after describing the manner of embalming the 
 dead, as practised at Memphis, gives the following brief ac- 
 count of a cemetery near to that city, “ which was the largest 
 and most frequented of any in Egypt and also narrates the 
 principal ceremonies performed on occasion of a burial. We 
 quote the whole, as it shows from whence an important part 
 of the Greek mythology was derived. 
 
 “ The common place of burial was beyond the lake 
 Acherjsia , or Acharejish , which meant the last state , the last 
 condition of man , and from which the poets have imagined 
 the fabulous lake of Acheron . On the borders of this lake 
 Acherjsia sat a tribunal, composed of forty-two judges, whose 
 office, previous to the dead being permitted to be carried to 
 the cemetery beyond the lake, was to inquire into the whole 
 conduct of his life. 
 
 If the deceased had died insolvent, they adjudged the 
 corpse to his creditors, which was considered as a mark of 
 dishonor, in order to oblige his relations and friends to re- 
 deem it, by raising the necessary sums among themselves. 
 If he had led a wicked life, they ordered that he should be 
 deprived of solemn burial, and he was consequently carried 
 and thrown into a large ditch made for the purpose, to which 
 they gave the appellation of Tartar , on account of thé 
 lamentations that this sentence produced among his survi- 
 ving friends and relations. 
 
236 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 This is also the origin of the fabulous Tartarus, in which 
 the poets have transferred the lamentations made by the 
 living to the dead themselves who were thrown into it. 
 
 If no accuser appeared, or if the accusation had proved 
 groundless, the judges decreed that the deceased was entitled 
 to his burial, and his eulogium was pronounced amidst the 
 applauses of the bystanders, in which they praised his educa- 
 tion, his religion, his justice, in short, all his virtues, without, 
 however, mentioning any thing about his riches or nobility, 
 both of which were considered as mere gifts of fortune. 
 
 To carry the corpse to the cemetery, it was necessary to 
 cross the lake, and this was done by means of a boat, in 
 which no one could be admitted without the express order 
 of the judges, and without paying a small sum for the con- 
 veyance. This regulation was so strictly enforced, that the 
 kings themselves were not exempt from its severity. 
 
 The cemetery was a large plain surrounded by trees, and 
 intersected by canals, to which they had given the appella- 
 tion of elisout, or elisiœns, which means nothing else but rest. 
 And such again is the origin of the poetical Charon and his 
 boat, as well as of the fabulous description of the Elysian 
 Fields. 
 
 The whole ceremony of the interment seemed to have con- 
 sisted in depositing the mummy in the excavation made in 
 the rock, or under the sand which covered the whole of the 
 elisout, to shut up its entrance by a large stone ; then it 
 seems that the relations of the deceased threw three handfuls 
 of sand on the tomb, as a sign to the workmen to fill up the 
 cavity, and then departed, after uttering three several cries, 
 as three distinct farewells. 
 
 To express, therefore, the circumstance, that the deceased 
 had been honored with the rites of burial, and with the 
 proper and legitimate lamentations of his friends, they ex- 
 hibited on the mummy, or engraved round his tomb, the 
 figure of a horse of the Nile ; which the Greeks mistook for 
 a dog, who, by his fidelity and attachment, deserved to be- 
 come the symbol of friendship and affection ; and as they 
 at all times wished to add something of their own to the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 237 
 
 institutions of other nations, in order to .express the three 
 cries, or farewells, they represented this same dog as having 
 three different heads. To this emblem, or hieroglyphic, the 
 Egyptians gave the appellation of Oms ; and the Greeks, in 
 consequence of their mistaking it for a dog, that of Cerber , 
 from the Egyptian Ceriber , a word that means the cry of the 
 tomb , and from which originates the Cerberus of the Grecian 
 mythology.” 
 
 We come now to the description of a picture which repre- 
 sents the most important divinities of the Egyptian Amenti in 
 the performance of their several functions, and “ the trial and 
 judgment which the Egyptians supposed the soul of a man to 
 undergo, before he was allowed to enter the region of rest 
 and happiness.” A very elegant plate of it may he found in 
 Table 5, in the work of Spineto, accompanied by the following 
 explanation.* 
 
 “It is taken from a curious manuscript existing in the Vati- 
 can library, of which Angelo Mai, a Milanese, has given a 
 description. Although I have not been able to obtain the 
 original work, yet in German there is a translation by Louis 
 Bachmann, in three distinct numbers, one of which I have 
 seen. 
 
 The whole scene is represented to take place in the prœ- 
 torium of the Amenti. The frieze at the top contains a con- 
 tinued series of different emblems, among which the most 
 prominent is the Urœus , the serpent who was considered as 
 the symbol of the goddess Sme , or Tme , preceded or followed 
 by the feather, which is also another ornament, or attribute, 
 of this same goddess. For this is the place where she, as the 
 goddess of truth, must exclusively preside. She seems herself 
 to stand in the middle, with her arms extended, covering two 
 hieroglyphical legends, exhibiting the symbols of the sun and 
 of the moon, to denote the Providence that rules over the 
 universe. To the right and left of this architrave we find the 
 god Thoth, under the shape of a cynocephalus, or an ape ; he 
 is also often called Apis, or Api. 
 
 Lect. v. 
 
238 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 In the chapel, we observe Osiris sitting on a throne, with 
 all the symbols that belong to him, — the whip and the sceptre, 
 to denote his power over time ; the Pshent , or the royal hel- 
 met, from the front of which issues the serpent, the emblem 
 of eternity and wisdom, and on which is engraved the symbol 
 of Phre [or Re], to signify his prudence and his justice. Over 
 his head we have an inscription in hieroglyphical characters, 
 which contains his titles, and the meaning of which seems to 
 be, ‘Osiris, the beneficent god; lord of the living, the supreme 
 god, everlasting lord ; the ruler of the inferior region, king of 
 the gods.’ Before him stands a basket, out of which issues a 
 stick, or a pole, on which hangs the skin of a panther, which 
 persuaded the Greeks to assimilate him to their Bacchus. 
 
 Before this chapel there is an altar, on which lies an offer- 
 ing of bread, fruit, and flowers of the lotus, and by its side 
 stand two bunches of the same plant, not yet open. They 
 were considered as containing the water of the Nile, without 
 which no sacrifice or libation could be made. 
 
 On a pedestal before this altar rests a horse of the Nile, 
 which the Egyptians called Oms, the faithful guardian of all 
 burial places, and which the Greeks have transformed into 
 their Cerberus. Over its head there is an inscription in hiero- 
 glyphical characters, the import of which is, ‘ Oms, the ruler 
 of the inferior region;’ and just above him there is a god 
 called Sciai, and his wife Rannet , as it appears from the pho- 
 netic characters over their heads ; they both were attendants 
 on Osiris. 
 
 Further back on the sceptre of Osiris is seen a small figure 
 in a sitting posture holding a finger on his lips, to whom the 
 Greeks have given the appellation of Sigalion, the Haiyocrates 
 of the Romans. 
 
 In the opposite corner, we have a group of three persons. 
 The first is the goddess Sme ; she appears with all the attri- 
 butes of her office and power ; the long sceptre in her right 
 hand, and the sign of divine life in her left, to signify, that 
 through her alone a man can pass to immortality and happi- 
 ness; and lastly, she has her head surrounded by a sort of 
 diadem, surmounted by a feather, her peculiar distinction; 
 
appendix. 
 
 239 
 
 and over it we find the legend which characterizes her as 
 < Sme, the goddess of truth, the daughter of the sun, for ever 
 living, and benevolent, ruler of the inferior region.’ 
 
 On account of her double character, the Greeks have com- 
 pared this goddess to Themis and Persephone, that is, 
 Proserpine. As the goddess of justice she is Themis, as a 
 companion of Osiris, and queen of the Amenti, she is 
 Persephone.* 
 
 Next to Sme, we find another figure in the common dress 
 of the Egyptians, who evidently is the person of the de- 
 ceased. His name is engraved over his head, and signifies 
 ‘ the Osirian, Nesimandu deceased, son of JYuabendi , de- 
 ceased and next to this legend there is another, which 
 seems to be a petition which he presents to the goddess Sme, 
 entreating the permission of being allowed to enter the place 
 of rest and tranquillity. 
 
 The last figure I do not exactly know how to describe, for 
 I cannot exactly make her out. She seems, however, to be an 
 attendant of Sme, as if introducing Nesimandu to her. 
 
 The middle part of this curious monument is occupied by 
 a large balance. In one scale there is an urn, containing 
 the actions of the life of Nesimandu ; in the other, by way 
 of weight, the image of Sme, the goddess of truth. The 
 scale on which lies the urn, is attended by Horus, whose 
 symbolical name is engraved over his head. The other, 
 which contains the image of the goddess, is watched over 
 by Anubis. Above his head there is an inscription, of which I 
 cannot entirely make out the meaning ; but from what I can 
 make out, it appears to be 4 a declaration by Anubis, that 
 
 * In performing the mysteries of Isis, during the ceremony, an 
 Egyptian priest addresses Isis according to prescribed formulas, and 
 she replies. Among other attributes she is called “ the governess 
 of the multitudes in Tartarus,” and in her reply she styles herself 
 “ queen of the manes.” Hence it would seem more probable, that 
 the Greeks borrowed their Persephone from Isis. The circum- 
 stance we have referred to is mentioned by Apuleius, who was born 
 in Africa, and who w r rote many books. He i3 quoted as authority 
 by De Sacy and St. Croix. See Apul. Metamorph. Lib. xi. 
 p. 226 .— Tr. 
 
240 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 these are the proofs of the life and actions of Nesimandu, 
 deceased.’ 
 
 In front of the balance we have the god Thoth, holding a 
 tablet in his left hand, on which he notes down with a reed 
 which he has in his right hand, the result of the weighing 
 of the life and actions of Nesimandu, approving of the result, 
 and recommending that he should be introduced to Osiris. 
 
 The middle compartment represents two rows, containing 
 forty-two figures, in two distinct lines of twenty-one each. 
 They are the emblematical figures of the forty-two judges, 
 who upon earth tried the merits and the demerits of every 
 dead person, to see whether he deserved the distinction of a 
 burial. This trial, which even kings were obliged to undergo, 
 formed the most remarkable feature in the Egyptian religious 
 code, and, no doubt, arose from the belief, that in the next 
 world, the same ceremony took place, before the soul of the 
 dead was allowed to be presented to Osiris, in order that he 
 might, according to the life he had led, be sent to the ap- 
 propriated region of greater or less happiness or misery. 
 
 To signify that the judges were perfectly impartial, and 
 that the deceased was tried according to the strictest rules 
 of justice, the judges were represented under the human 
 form, with the heads of the different animals which were the 
 symbolical characters of the several gods or goddesses ; or, 
 in other and more appropriate expressions, the represen- 
 tation of the several attributes and emanations of the great 
 Demiurgos. 
 
 To render the whole picture more striking, it seems as if 
 the sentence of the forty-two judges was carried down to the 
 goddess Sme by her attendant, while she received the peti- 
 tion of Nesimandu at the time that the god Thoth was regis- 
 tering, on the tablets of fate, the result of the weighing, 
 which Horus and Anubis had made of the whole of his life, 
 against the image of the goddess of truth. 
 
 The whole of this representation seems, no doubt, to have 
 been executed in honor of Nesimandu, as a proof of his 
 having been admitted to the funeral honors which the Egyp- 
 tians granted to all persons who had led a virtuous life.” 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 241 
 
 Representations of a contrary kind, exhibiting the pun- 
 ishment in the Amentia of souls whose bodies were denied 
 burial in this world, Spineto thinks must have been common 
 in ancient times, but only a few have been yet discovered. 
 Among these, says Spineto, “ is a monument in which the 
 urn, containing the soul or actions of the deceased, could not 
 balance the weight of the image of Sme. In consequence of 
 this deficiency, on a flight of stairs which formed the com- 
 munication between the Amenti and the world, the deceased 
 was represented under the form of a dog, with his tail be- 
 tween his legs, running away from the god Anubis, who was 
 pursuing and driving him back again into the world. This 
 representation confirms the opinion, that the Egyptians ad- 
 mitted the doctrine of the metempsychosis, and believed that 
 the souls of men for particular crimes, were condemned to 
 return to life under the shape of some animal, to atone for 
 their past sins.” 
 
 In comparing the Egyptian Amenti with the Hades of the 
 Greeks and with the Tartarus of the Latins, Spineto briefly 
 adverts to some points of assimilation, as follows ; u Upon 
 the whole, the first seems to have been the prototype and the 
 origin of the two last. Orpheus, who had been initiated into 
 all the secrets of the mysteries of Egypt, carried into Greece 
 these mysteries ;* and the Greeks soon so altered the whole, 
 as to render them no longer cognizable. Osiris became 
 Pluto ; Sme, Persephone [or rather Themis simply] ; Oms, 
 Cerberus ; Thoth, Mercurius Psychopompos ; Horus, Apis, 
 and Anubis, the three infernal judges, Minos, Æacus, and 
 Rhadamanthus. To conclude the whole, the symbolical heads 
 of the different animals under which the forty-two judges 
 were represented, being deprived of their primitive and sym- 
 bolical meaning, were changed into real monsters, the Chi- 
 meras, the Harpies, and the Gorgons, and other such unnatu- 
 ral and horrible things, with which they peopled their fantas- 
 
 * Any one who will take the trouble to compare the mysteries of 
 Isis and Osiris with those of Ceres and Proserpine, with those of 
 Venus and Adonis, and with those of Bacchus, will discover many 
 striking resemblances. — T r. 
 
 21 
 
242 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 tic hell ; and thus the Amenti of the Egyptians, as indeed the 
 greater part, if not the whole of their religion, became, in the 
 hands of the Greeks and Romans, a compound of fables and 
 absurdities.” 
 
 [ N. p. 65. ] 
 
 Brief sketches of the Arts and Architecture of Egypt , 
 
 It is proposed in the following note to furnish the reader 
 with a compendious account of some of the arts, as exhibited 
 in the monuments of Egypt. Before describing, however, 
 any particular object, we copy from Spineto an extract from 
 one of the letters of Champollion, which was published in the 
 English Literary Gazette. This letter exhibits a general 
 view of the Egyptian drawings, “ and serves as an illustration 
 of the high degree of civilization of the ancient Egyptians.” 
 The tenor of it is as follows. 
 
 “ Amongst the tombs at Beni-Hassan, Champollion has 
 found drawings highly interesting, which give such full par- 
 ticulars of the progress that the Egyptians had made in the 
 different professions, arts, and manufactures, as to make us 
 acquainted with the smallest detail of the mode they pursued 
 in agriculture, in the several arts and trades, iq their military 
 education ; in singing, music, and dancing ; in the rearing of 
 their cattle ; in ichnography, i. e. portrait painting ; in games, 
 exercises, and diversions ; in domestic justice, and household 
 economy ; in historical and religious monuments ; in naviga- 
 tion and zoology. 
 
 The drawings belonging to agriculture , exhibit the tilling 
 of the ground either with oxen or by hand, sowing, treading 
 the ground by rams, and not by hogs, as Herodotus says ; 
 five sorts of ploughs, the use of the pick-axe, the reaping of 
 wheat, the gathering of flax, the putting these two kinds of 
 plants into sheaves, the carrying to the mill, the threshing, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 243 
 
 measuring, storing in the granaries, which, as it appears from 
 the drawings, were made on two different plans ; the flax 
 carried by asses, the gathering of the lotus, the culture of the 
 vine, the vintage, the carrying of the grapes, two different 
 sorts of presses, one worked by the hand, the other by mech- 
 anism ; putting the wine into bottles or jars, the gathering of 
 figs, the cultivation of onions, irrigation of the land, and other 
 such exhibitions, containing explanatory hieroglyphic inscrip- 
 tions. 
 
 In arts and trades , Champollion has already formed a col- 
 lection of pictures, for the most part colored, in order to de- 
 termine the nature of the objects, and representing the sculptor 
 in stone, the carver in wood, the painter of statues, the painter 
 of architecture, furniture, and cabinet-work of all kinds ; a 
 painter with his easel painting a picture ; scribes and clerks 
 of all descriptions ; waggons conveying blocks of stone ; the 
 art of pottery, with all the operations ; the cutting of wood, 
 makers of oars, cabinet-makers, carpenters, sawyers, curriers ; 
 the staining of common leather and morocco ; shoe-making, 
 spinning, weaving, the glass-worker and all his operations ; 
 the goldsmith, jeweller, smith, and the like. 
 
 In military education and tactics , the collection is equally 
 splendid. It consists of several drawings, exhibiting all their 
 gymnastic exercises, represented in above 200 pictures show- 
 ing all the positions and attitudes of two wrestlers, attacking, 
 defending, retreating, advancing, standing, and thrown down ; 
 and by them, say3 Champollion, ‘ you will see whether the 
 Egyptian artists were contented with figures in profile, the 
 legs joined, and the arms pinioned against the side.’ Be- 
 sides copying the whole of these soldiers wrestling together, 
 this indefatigable Frenchman has also copied sixty figures, 
 representing soldiers of all arms, a siege, a field of battle, the 
 tortoise, the ram, the military punishments, the preparations 
 for a military repast, and the manufacture of lances, bows, 
 arrows, clubs, battle-axes, &c. 
 
 The collection belonging to singing , music , and dancing , 
 consists of pictures representing a concert of vocal and in- 
 strumental music ; a singer, accompanied by a musician on 
 the harp, is supported by two chorusses, one of four men, the 
 
244 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 other of five women, the latter beating time with their hands. 
 It is a complete opera ; players on the harp of both sexes, 
 players on the German flute, flageolet, on a sort of shell ; 
 dancers, forming various figures, with the names of the steps 
 which they dance ; and the female dancers of ancient Egypt, 
 dancing, singing, playing at tennis, and performing various 
 feats of strength and address. 
 
 The drawings representing the rearing of cattle , exhibit 
 herdsmen, all kinds of oxen, cows, calves, milking, making 
 cheese and butter, goatherds, ass-drivers, shepherds with 
 their sheep, scenes relative to the veterinary art ; poultry 
 yards, containing numerous species of geese and ducks, and 
 a kind of swan, which was domestic in ancient Egypt. 
 
 The drawings relative to games , exercises , and diversions , 
 are particularly curious. Among them there is the exhibi- 
 tion of the morra , the game which is so popular in Italy, par- 
 ticularly in Naples ; the drawing of straws, a kind of hot- 
 cockles ; the mall, the game of piquets planted in the ground, 
 the hunting of the fallow-deer, a picture, representing a grand 
 chase in the desert, in which are depicted between fifteen 
 and twenty species of quadrupeds ; pictures of the return 
 from the sport, game carried, dead or alive ; several pictures 
 of catching birds with nets, or with snares ; drawings relative 
 to fishing, with angling-rod, with the trident, or bident nets, 
 and the like. 
 
 The pictures exhibiting the exercise of domestic justice , 
 consist of fifteen drawings of basso-relievos , representing of- 
 - fences committed by servants, the arrest of the offender, his 
 accusation and defence, his trial by the intendants of the 
 household, his sentence, and the execution, which is confined 
 to the bastinado, the account of which is delivered, with the 
 documents of the proceedings, into the hands of the master, 
 by the intendants of the household. 
 
 Domestic economy , is divided into ten different heads ; and 
 the drawings which represent them are very curious. The 
 first division consists of pictures of several houses, more or 
 less sumptuous ; the second of vases of different forms, uten- 
 sils, and movables, all coloured, because the colors invariably 
 indicate the materials of which they are composed. The 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 245 
 
 third division contains the drawing of a superb palanquin. 
 The fourth a kind of room, with folding doors, carried on a 
 sledge, which served the great men of Egypt, in former days, 
 for carriages. The fifth consists of pictures of monkeys, cats, 
 and dogs, as well as the dwarfs and other deformed individu- 
 als, who, more than 1500 years before the Christian era, 
 
 . served to dispel the spleen of the Egyptian noblemen, as well 
 as they did that of the old barons of Europe 1500 years after 
 the Christian era. The sixth division exhibits the officers of 
 a great household, intendants, secretaries, &c. The seventh , 
 servants both male and female, carrying provisions of all sorts. 
 The eighth , the manner of killing oxen, and of cutting them 
 up for the use of the family. The ninth , a series of designs 
 representing cooks preparing various kinds of provisions ; and 
 the tenth , the servants carrying dressed meat to the master’s 
 table. 
 
 The collection of drawings exhibiting historical and reli- 
 gious monuments , consists of inscriptions, basso-relievos , and 
 monuments of every kind, bearing royal legends w T ith a date 
 expressed, as well as the images of the various deities. 
 
 The department belonging to navigation represents the 
 building of vessels and boats of various kinds and sizes, and 
 the games of the mariners, which, Champollion observes, ex- 
 actly resemble those that take place on the Seine during the 
 great holydays. 
 
 The last division belongs to zoology , and exhibits a series 
 of quadrupeds, birds, insects, reptiles, and fish, designed and 
 colored with the utmost fidelity. This collection already 
 amounts to more than two hundred specimens, and is ex- 
 tremely interesting. The birds, Champollion says, are splen- 
 did, the fish painted with extreme perfection ; there are ^bove 
 fourteen different species of dogs, such as house-dogs, hotmds, 
 &c. from the harrier to the spaniel.”* (Lond. Lit. Gazette.) 
 
 The ruins of Thebes exhibit some of the most magnificent 
 
 * The reader will recollect, that Champollion has recently returned 
 from Egypt, with a collection of fifteen hundred drawings, which 
 in magnificence and variety will probably far excel what has here 
 been depicted. 
 
 21 * 
 
246 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 edifices, colossal statues, splendid tombs, with paintings, 
 sculptures, mummies, sarcophagi, «fee. that are to be found in 
 Egypt. A description of one of the temples, one of the 
 tombs, and some of the statues, will suffice to give the reader 
 an idea of the nature of Egyptian architecture, sculpture, 
 paintings, «fee. 
 
 Among the temples, the palace called by Champollion 
 the Ramesseion, is selected, which is one of the most beauti- 
 ful. Previous to its being visited by Champollion, its name, 
 under the contending titles of the Memnonium and the tomb 
 of Osymandias , had given occasion to much controversy. 
 But Champollion read its name every where upon the bas- 
 reliefs, the architraves, and in the legends, which adorn it. 
 This name, he says, is Ramesseion ; which it bears, because 
 Thebes was indebted for it to the munificence of Ramses the 
 Great. 
 
 The following account of it is taken from the narrative of 
 Dr. Richardson, as abridged by the author of the Modem 
 Traveller, and from a letter of Champollion, dated Thebes , 
 June 18, 1829.* 
 
 The words of the narrative follow : u Having retraced our 
 steps along the ancient avenue to the edge of the rocky flat, 
 we turned southward, and in a few minutes reached the 
 [Ramesseion]. This beautiful relic of antiquity looks to the 
 east, and is fronted with a stupendous propylon, of which 234 
 feet in length are still remaining. The propylon stands on 
 the edge of the arable soil; but the area for the dromos be- 
 hind it, is floored with the solid rock, on which the rest of the 
 temple is erected. Great part of the eastern wall has fallen 
 down, and both ends are greatly dilapidated. Every stone in 
 the propylon appears to have been shaken and loosened, as if 
 from the concussion of an earthquake ; for no human violence 
 seems adequate to produce such an effect in so immense a 
 mass. A stair leads from each end to the top of the propylon, 
 from which passages go off into a number of chambers ; but 
 
 * The letters from Champollion which we have occasion to quote 
 in this note, were translated, some time since, for the ‘ Journal of 
 Humanity.’ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 247 
 
 they are so broken and filled up, as hardly to admit of exam- 
 ination. No devices can be obtained from the eastern wall, 
 and very little from the doorway. The sculpture on the west 
 end of the latter, presents merely the figure of a hero with 
 the globe and serpent over his head. In his right hand, he 
 holds the lotus-headed sceptre, and the sacred Tan in his left ; 
 his standard is reared beside him on his right, and the bird of 
 victory is hovering over it. Here, the tale of the sculpture 
 breaks off ; the work on this side of the passage has not been 
 completed, and the ravages of desolation prevent us from 
 reading the other side, which has fallen down. The western 
 side of the propylon has also suffered much, but still contains 
 some specimens of the art of sculpture not unworthy of atten- 
 tion. Round the door is a scene of repose : the figures are 
 seated, and hold sceptres and sacred Taus in their hands, 
 with offerings before them. Passing over to the right, the 
 eye is immediately caught by the appearance of a gigantic 
 hero* in a war chariot. His head is crowned with the globe 
 and serpents ; the sacred bird hovers above, but only the 
 wings remain ; the tyings of his cap stream out behind ; he 
 stands in a determined attitude, his bow bent, and the shaft 
 ready to fly ; there is no charioteer, — the reins are tied round 
 his waist ; and he is rushing into the midst of his falling and 
 flying foes. The havoc of his arrows is seen in the heaps of 
 wounded and slain.f The combatants on the side of the con- 
 
 * This hero is Ramses the Great. 
 
 t The Author of “ Scenes and Impressions” thus describes this 
 curious piece of ancient sculpture. “ It is rudely cut in on the close- 
 joined stones, and, though roughly executed, full of fire. The hero 
 (as compared with the rest of the figures) is of a giant size ; he stands 
 erect in his chariot, his horses on their speed, — a high, cloud-pawing 
 gallop ; his arrow drawn to the head ; the reins fastened round his 
 unmoved loins: you have the flight of the vanquished, the headlong 
 fallings of the horse and the chariot ; you have the hurrying crowd 
 of the soldiers on foot ; a river ; drownings ; the succoring of war- 
 riors on the opposite bank ; and, in a compartment beyond, you have 
 a walled town ; a storm, the assailants climbing ladders ; the defend- 
 ers on the parapet; the upheld shield; the down-thrust pike ; — a sad, 
 but yet a stirring picture, bringing to your mind many a historic 
 scene alike memorable and melancholy.” p. 95. 
 
24S 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 queror are dressed in short kirtles like the ancient Egyptians; 
 and many of them are entirely naked. Those on the side of 
 the vanquished are habited in a long and pretty close-fitting 
 robe to their ankles. They are armed indiscriminately with 
 square shields rounded at the top, and carry swords or clubs, 
 or an instrument resembling the reaping-sickle now in use, 
 which they seem to have employed as a hook to bring their 
 antagonist within their grasp, when seizing him by the hair, 
 they plunged their dagger into his breast. The chief of the 
 fugitive party is fleeing in his chariot before the conqueror. 
 His greater distance and diminished power are represented 
 by his inferior size, as well as that of his chariot and horses. 
 His shield-bearer is struck with an arrow in his back, and is 
 turning round as if to ward off a second attack. His com- 
 panion in the chariot, who appears to have been in the act 
 of fitting an arrow to his bow, alarmed at the disaster, looks 
 round towards the victorious hero with a countenance strongly 
 expressive of rage and apprehension ; evincing a higher state 
 of the art than we find exhibited in any of the tombs, and 
 which we could hardly conceive to have existed at so early a 
 period in the history of the art of sculpture as that in which 
 this is believed to have been executed. There is a fortress 
 in the rear of the fleeing army, with a ladder applied to the 
 wall, on which the assailants are mounting ; while the besieg- 
 ed are pushing them off and throwing down stones upon 
 them. In the compartment above this, the fort seems to be 
 in possession of the assailants, who are aiming their darts at 
 those below, to make them surrender. Some of them are 
 represented hanging over the wall, wishing to drop and make 
 their escape, but, perceiving they must fall into the midst of 
 their enemies at the bottom, they are afraid to let go their 
 hold. The horror of their situation is admirably depicted. In 
 the highest tower, a number of soldiers are raising up their 
 hands in joyous acclamation at their success. Beside them 
 is an instrument like a catapulta, containing a number of 
 arrows undischarged : with this, our view of the combat is 
 terminated. 
 
 Passing northward from the gateway, along the same 
 front of the propylon, the representation of a captured town 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 249 
 
 meets our view, exhibiting all the dreadful acts of riot and 
 outrage that too frequently characterize this hideous method 
 of glutting the vengeance of a savage conqueror, by giving 
 up a town to be sacked. Towards the middle of the piece, 
 Ramses is seen on a throne, which is surrounded with the 
 flowering lotus, the sacred plant of the Egyptians. The 
 tyings of his head-dress flow down upon his shoulders. In 
 his left hand he holds a sceptre, and with his right points to 
 a procession below. Two banners are erected behind him. 
 Near this great personage, another v/arrior seems as if just 
 alighted from his chariot : his horses are held by three attend- 
 ants, — a long tablet of hieroglyphics runs along their backs. 
 This figure may be intended to represent the chief of the ad- 
 verse party : he stands with a submissive and disconsolate air, 
 and seems solicitous to attract the attention of the throned 
 personage, who is entirely occupied with a procession of indi- 
 viduals advancing towards him, each with a roll in his hand. 
 On the upper part of the wall are represented some smart 
 skirmishings about a round tower, which is totally abandoned ; 
 or rather, it appears to have been left unfinished. In different 
 places, over the town and round about it, prisoners with their 
 hands tied over their heads, are undergoing flagellation, or 
 are led on with ropes about their necks, or their hands tied in 
 the same posture ; while their brutal conquerers are pulling 
 their beards, beating them with clubs, and treating them Avith 
 every species of indignity. Others of the victors are solely 
 intent upon plunder, and laying their spoil upon beasts of 
 burden. Several toavs of hieroglyphics intervene, after which 
 the sculpture again commences ; but the wall is so shattered 
 and bedaubed Avith mud, that it was impossible to under- 
 stand it. 
 
 There are fifty-six paces between the propylon and the 
 front of the temple.” “This space,” says Champollion, “is 
 encumbered Avith the enormous ruins of the largest and most 
 magnificent colossus that the Egyptians ever elevated ; I refer 
 to the statue of Ramses the Great. The inscriptions upon it 
 remove all doubt to whom it belongs. The royal legends of 
 this illustrious Pharaoh appear in grand and beautiful hiero- 
 glyphics, high upon the arms, and are many times repeated 
 
250 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 upon the four faces of the base. This colossus, though in 
 a sitting posture, is no less than fifty-three feet in height, 
 leaving out of account the base, the second block of which is 
 about thirty-three feet long by six in height.* One cannot 
 but admire both the power of the people who erected, and the 
 dexterity and diligence of the barbarians who destroyed, this 
 stupendous work.” 
 
 Dr. Richardson continues the description as follows : — 
 “ The front w all of the temple is greatly dilapidated, and what 
 remains of it does not indicate that imposing grandeur and 
 profusion of ornament that generally characterize the façade 
 of an Egyptian temple. Passing round, however, to the inside 
 of the wall (for it is impossible to enter by the door- way, 
 which has been thrown down), the walls are seen adorned in 
 the usual manner, and the eye meets the horrors of another 
 battle scene equally terrible with that on the propylon.” 
 
 Champollion thus describes this battle scene. “ Towards 
 the extremity of the tablet, on the left of the spectator, a 
 chariot bearing king Ramses is seen rushing through the 
 midst of the field of battle, w r hich is strewn with the dead and 
 the dying. The king hurls his arrows among his defeated 
 enemies ; behind the chariot, upon the ground which the con- 
 querors have just left, the carcasses of the slain lie heaped 
 up, near which in great confusion are the horses of the chief 
 of the enemy, called Torokani, who is himself wounded by an 
 arrow in his shoulder, and is leaning over his broken chariot. 
 Under the feet of the king’s coursers lie, in various positions, 
 the bodies of Torokato, chief of the soldiers from the country 
 of Nakbéson, and of many other illustrious warriors. The great 
 Bactrian chief, Schiropasiro, is seen retiring from the banks 
 of the river, while the arrows of the king have already pier- 
 ced Tiotouro and Simairrosi, as they are escaping in the plain 
 and directing their course to the village. The chiefs flee 
 towards the river, into which the horses of the warrior Krob- 
 
 * “ The colossus is unfortunately broken in pieces, but every frag- 
 ment of it still excites admiration. The head and shoulders are 20 
 feet long, and the breadth of the chest is 22 feet ; the little toe of the 
 foot is three feet long.” Henniker , p. 128. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 251 
 
 schatosi plunge, bearing him wounded along with them. 
 Many, among whom are Thotaro and Mafénina, the allies of 
 the wound of Schéto (the Bactrians), are brought up before the 
 village to suffer death upon the bank of the river, which some 
 of the enemy, among whom is the Bactrian Sipapheco, are 
 represented as having passed in safety, and they are seen 
 securely standing upon the opposite bank among the crowd 
 who had run together to watch the event of the battle. 
 Amidst this gathered crowd of people is seen a group of in- 
 dividuals earnestly striving to resuscitate a chieftain, and 
 slowly withdrawing from the river where he was drowned ; 
 they hold him suspended in the air with his head down, and 
 seem attempting to force out the water which has strangled 
 him and to recall him to life. His long hair is streaming 
 down his neck, and he appears to experience no advantage 
 from the careful efforts of his friends ; his physiognomy and 
 the movements of his attendants sufficiently indicate that this 
 is the case. Above the group these words are written. 
 
 1 The chief of the dangerous race of the country of Schir- 
 besch, who was separated from his warriors while fleeing 
 from the king on the banks of the river.’ ” Here the wall is 
 destroyed, and prevents us from pursuing the story any far- 
 ther. 
 
 Dr. Richardson thus continues. “ The columns in front of 
 the wall, forming the piazza, are adorned in the usual fashion, 
 with representations of heroes and deities, — Isis, Osiris, Men- 
 des, the hawk-headed and dog-headed deities, holding scep- 
 tres, and receiving offerings of lotus-flowers, and goblets, 
 with numerous tablets of hieroglyphics. That on the right 
 shoulder of the large broken statue occurs frequently, and is 
 nearly the same with that of the heroic personage whose 
 achievements are sculptured along the wall. He is seated 
 on a throne ; his face, limbs, and chair are painted blue, like 
 the figure of Osiris on the tombs. The front of these columns 
 is formed into statues, representing Osiris with his hands 
 crossed over his breast, holding the crook and scourge ; the 
 lower limbs closed up in the shape of a mummy, a row of 
 hieroglyphics passing down the front. Four of these statues 
 are still remaining on the east side of the pronaos : they con- 
 
252 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 sist of seven stones each, and are about twenty-two feet high. 
 Facing these, at the distance of thirty-four paces, are four 
 other columns, exactly similar. In all of them, the greater 
 part of the head is wanting ; the lower part of the face and 
 beard alone remain. There have been four on each side of 
 the door of the pronaos , fronting an equal number on the 
 opposite side of the court, that is, sixteen in all ; while the 
 northern and southern sides of the area, have been bounded 
 by two rows of columns, forming, with the sixteen Osiris 
 columns, a magnificent piazza all round the court. Only two 
 of these columns now remain on the northern side, and three 
 on the southern : they are reeded at the base and at the top, 
 and are twelve feet in diameter, standing upon the solid rock, 
 which is strewed over with a slight covering of sand. In the 
 rear of the eastern row of these statues, there are fragments 
 of many statues of black granite. One of them has the head 
 punched off, which is much injured by the fall : the nose is 
 broken, but the ears are entire, the eyes open, but not per- 
 forated ; and the whole expression of the countenance is re- 
 markably placid and benign, such as is not to be seen in the 
 statuary of any other country. On the back of one of the 
 statues, besides the hieroglyphics, there is sculptured the 
 figure of a man, with the right hand extended, and a staff in 
 the left. These are on the north side ; but the row of statues 
 appears to have been continued through the whole breadth of 
 the temple, for, on the south side, there are also many frag- 
 ments of statues. Here we see the remains of the body and 
 pedestal of that noble head which is noAv in the British Mu- 
 seum, under the appellation of the Young Memnon. On each 
 side of the pedestal is represented the elegant device of two 
 men tying the lotus round what has been called the stalk of 
 a table, but which appears to me to resemble the instrument 
 which the Roman augurs called ligula , with which they 
 examined the entrails of the victims. This device is also 
 exhibited on the pedestal of the statue which is generally con- 
 sidered to be the real statue of Memnon, and on that of his 
 ancient companion. The device is by no means rare, as we 
 have seen it on the monolithic niches at Deboode and Philoe, 
 and many other places. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 253 
 
 Advancing about eight or ten paces from these venerable 
 fragments, we come to another wall, which, on the east side, 
 is covered with representations of Osiris, Mendes, the sacred 
 bull, crowned hawks, hawk-headed deities, processions of 
 priests, and people on their knees presenting offerings. On 
 the other side, we are again presented with a battle scene, 
 which has many circumstances in common with those already 
 described : the hero is the same, and the object of attack is a 
 fortified tower, as in the others. 
 
 Between this ruined wall and the next, is an area thirty- 
 five paces in length, which is filled up with a stupendous 
 colonnade of eight rows of columns, six in each row, twenty- 
 eight of which are still remaining, covered with sculptured 
 figures and hieroglyphics. The two middle rows are higher 
 and larger than the others, and have fine spreading capitals, 
 resembling lotus leaves. The ceiling consists of large flat 
 stones, ornamented with the sacred bird and tablets of hie- 
 roglyphics. The further wall is equally ornamented with 
 sculpture and hieroglyphics, with processions and representa- 
 tions of Osiris and Isis : the latter holds in her hand a 
 graduated staff, which rests on a crocodile, which rests on 
 * a globe. This wall is ornamented, on the other side, with 
 processions of sacred boats and offerings to the several 
 deities. Here, we find another colonnade of twenty columns, 
 two in a row. The ceiling is ornamented with stars and 
 boats, a figure of Nephthe, and two crocodiles. The next 
 wall is ten paces distant ; and here, among other allegorical 
 devices, we perceive portrayed, the hero of the contests, 
 seated on a throne, beneath a wide spreading tree, his head 
 adorned with the tutulus , surmounted with serpents and 
 feathers, and a square, plaited beard beneath his chin : his 
 left hand is folded across his breast, and holds the sceptre 
 up to his shoulder ; in his right, he grasps the sacred Tau , 
 which rests on his knee. Numbers of men are performing 
 genuflexions before him, and grasping his throne with their 
 hands. Before them stands the great goddess Isis, with a 
 pen in her hand, which she is about to withdraw from the 
 last letter of a hieroglyphic inscription on the cordate fruit 
 
254 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 of a tree, apparently the Thebaic palm. Behind her, an 
 ibis-headed deity (Thoth?) has just completed another tablet 
 of hieroglyphics on another fruit of the same kind ; and be- 
 hind the hero, Horus has just concluded the same operation. 
 On examining these tablets, they are found to he the same 
 that accompany the hero through all the battles. Among 
 the animals sculptured upon this wall, we observed the 
 cameleopard standing over water, with an eye above him 
 and a sword behind him. Beyond this, there had been 
 another chamber with another colonnade, of which only four 
 columns now remain. This side of the wall is also extremely 
 interesting for its sculptures and hieroglyphics. In one 
 place, a deity is exhibited in the dress of a mummy, his arms 
 crossed, and his hands holding the sceptre of Osiris, bound 
 round with the lotus ; a square tablet, of curious workman- 
 ship, like a breast-plate, is suspended by a chain round his 
 neck. Before him is an offering, consisting of three ante- 
 lopes and other ingredients ; a priest stands with a censer 
 in his hand, and another is pouring a libation from a vase 
 shaped like the sacred Tau, upon the lotus flowers, over 
 which the incense is burning. The other wall that bounded 
 this chamber, is entirely destroyed. 
 
 We have now passed completely through this noble and 
 most interesting ruin, of which only a skeleton remains. It 
 has been about 200 feet wide, and 600 feet long. It con- 
 tained six courts and chambers, passing from side to side of 
 the temple, which were ornamented with about 160 columns, 
 thirty feet high : all the side walls have been broken down, 
 and the materials carried away. A few fragments of the 
 party-w alls that separated the apartments, forty-eight columns 
 of all these stately colonnades, and a mass of the propylon, 
 testify to the spectator what a noble edifice and what speci- 
 mens of art once adorned this memorable spot, and send him 
 away sorrowing for what it is now.” 
 
 Among the most interesting subterranean excavations, are 
 the Tombs of the Kings, in the valley of Biban-el-Maluk. 
 They lie hid in the bosom of a mountain, and are stored with 
 the beautiful remains of ancient art. Their general appear- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 255 
 
 ance is described as follows by travellers who have visited 
 them. 
 
 Says Dr. Richardson : “ Their general appearance is that 
 of a continued shaft or corridor cut in the rock, in some 
 places spreading out into large chambers; in other places, 
 small chambers pass off by a small door from the shaft. In 
 places where the rock is hard, the entrance is flush with the 
 general surface of the rock, and is rather larger than the 
 entrance into an ordinary mine, being about six feet wide, 
 and eight feet high : in other places, where the rock is low 
 and disintegrated, a broad excavation is formed on the sur- 
 face, till it reaches a sufficient depth of solid stone, when 
 it narrows, and enters by a door of about six or eight feet 
 wide, and about ten feet high. The passage then proceeds 
 with a gradual descent for about 100 feet, widening or 
 narrowing according to the plan or object of the architect, 
 sometimes, but rarely, with side chambers. The beautiful 
 ornament of the globe with the serpent in its wings, is 
 sculptured over the entrance. The ceiling is black, studded 
 with silyer stars ; and the vulture with outspread wings, 
 holding a ring and a broad-feathered sceptre by each of his 
 feet, is frequently repeated on it, with numerous hieroglyph- 
 ics, which are white or variously colored. The walls on each 
 side are covered with hieroglyphics and large sculptured 
 figures of the deities of Egypt, and of the hero for whom the 
 tomb was excavated. Sometimes, both the hieroglyphics 
 and the figures are wrought in intaglio ; at other times, they 
 are in relief ; but throughout the same tomb, they are gene- 
 rally all of one kind. The colors are green, blue, red, black, 
 and yellow, on a white ground, and in many instances, are 
 as fresh and vivid as if they had not been laid on a month. 
 Intermixed with the figures, we frequently meet with curious 
 devices, representing tribunals, where people are upon their 
 trials, and sometimes undergoing punishment ; the prepara- 
 tion of mummies, and people bearing them in procession on 
 their shoulders ; animals tied for sacrifice, and partly cut up ; 
 and occasionally, the more agreeable pictures of entertain- 
 ments, with music and dancing, and well-dressed people 
 listening to the sound of the harp played by a priest with his 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 256 
 
 head shaved, and dressed in a loose, flowing white robe, shot 
 with red stripes.* 
 
 The shafts or corridors are of different lengths, from a 
 hundred to between three and four hundred feet, or more. 
 At the end of them, or in some part of their length, there is 
 generally one large chamber, high in the ceiling and beauti- 
 fully ornamented, in the centre of which stands the sarcopha- 
 gus, generally of granite, and in the shape of an oblong 
 square, rounded at one end, and covered with figures of 
 Osiris and Isis, skeletons, and curious devices. It is gene- 
 rally cracked or broken into several pieces, though still ad- 
 hering. There is not one sarcophagus in the tombs of the 
 kings that is entire. The only lid that has been found 
 unbroken, is that of the handsomest sarcophagus in the 
 Thebaid, in what has been called ‘ the harp tomb’ ; it is 
 highly polished, and quite entire, saving a little bit that is 
 broken at the projecting feet. In some of the tombs, the 
 shaft continues on from the large chamber, with nearly its 
 former dimensions, small side chambers passing off on either 
 hand ; or in others, instead of side chambers, there are small 
 
 * “ On either side of the corridor are small apartments, which 
 you stoop down to enter, and the walls of which you find covered 
 with paintings ; scenes of life faithfully represented, — of every day 
 life, its pleasures and labors, the instruments of its happiness and 
 of its crimes. You see the labors of agriculture, the sower, the 
 basket, the plough, the steers ; and the artist has playfully depicted 
 a calf skipping among the furrows. You have the making of bread, 
 the cooking for a feast; you have a flower-garden and the scene 
 of irrigation ; you see couches and chairs, such as might at this 
 day adorn a drawing-room in London or Paris ; you have vases of 
 every form, down to the common jug; harps, with figures bending 
 over them, and others seated and listening; barks, with large, 
 curious, and many colored sails ; and lastly, weapons of war, the 
 sword, the dagger, the bow, the arrow, the quiver, spears, helmets, 
 and dresses of honor. From the corridor with these lateral cham- 
 bers, you enter another, long and dark, leading to an empty apart- 
 ment, large and lofty ; and thence into a third passage, and other 
 chambers beyond, which are gloomy, dark, and have a disagreeable 
 smell. The colors on the walls are much faded ; but the hero of 
 the tomb and the various deities, hieroglyphics and mysteries, are 
 every where to be seen .” — Scenes and Impressions , pp. 101 — 103. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 excavations in the side of the corridor, about breast-high, of 
 the average length of the human body, and such as might 
 serve either for a grave to the dead, or a bed for the living ; 
 they are in the form of common horse-troughs, and resemble 
 exceedingly those in the catacombs of Naples, Scily, Malta, 
 and Alexandria.” 
 
 The following extracts from a letter of Champollion’s dated 
 Thebes, May 16, 1829, give a very good idea both of the 
 nature of Egyptian tombs, and of the Egyptian psychological 
 system. 
 
 “ I cannot give here a detailed description of these tombs ; 
 many months spent in this place have not afforded me time to 
 examine all the bas-reliefs , and to copy all the most interest- 
 ing descriptions. I will give you, however, a general idea of 
 these monuments from a rapid and concise description of one 
 of them — that of Pharaoh Ramses, the son and successor of 
 Mejamon. The decorations in the royal tombs are systema- 
 tized, and those which belong to one, belong to nearly all, 
 with the exceptions which I shall specify. 
 
 The peak of the entrance gate is adorned with a bas-relief 
 (all the first gates of the royal tombs have this), which is in 
 fact the resume of all the decorations of the Pharaonic tombs. 
 It is a yellow disk in the midst of which is the sun at the 
 head of a ram ; that is to say, the setting sun entering the 
 lower hemisphere and worshipped by the king upon his 
 knees ; at the right of the disk, on the east, is the goddess 
 Nephthys, and at the left (west) the goddess Isis, occupying 
 the two extremities of the course of the god in the upper 
 hemisphere ; by the side of the sun, and in the disk, there is 
 sculptured a grand scarabæus, which here, as elsewhere, is 
 the symbol of regeneration or successive new-birth : the king 
 is kneeling upon a high mountain, upon which the feet of the 
 two goddesses rest. 
 
 The general opinion refers this composition to the deceased 
 king. During his life, like the sun in his course from east to 
 west, he imparted life to Egypt, and was the source of all the 
 good, both physical and moral, which its inhabitants enjoyed. 
 The dead Pharaoh was then naturally compared to the sun, 
 22 * 
 
258 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 setting and descending to the dark hemisphere below, only to 
 sweep forward and rise anew in the east, to diffuse light and 
 life upon the upper world (the world which we inhabit) ; in 
 like manner, the dead king ought to become renewed — to 
 continue his transmigrations — to inhabit the celestial world, 
 and to be received to the bosom of Ammon the universal 
 Father. 
 
 This explication is not of my own invention ; the period of 
 conjectures with regard to old Egypt is past, and this results 
 from the collective legends which cover the royal tombs. 
 
 So this comparison or assimilation of the king to the sun in 
 its two states at different times of the day, is the keystone, 
 or rather the original thought and subject, of which all the 
 other bas-reliefs are but the successive development. 
 
 Upon the tablet there is always a legend inscribed, of which 
 the following is a literal translation. ‘Behold what Osiris 
 says, the king of Amenti (the western region inhabited by 
 the dead) : I have made a dwelling in the sacred mountain of 
 the west, as did the other great gods (the kings his predeces- 
 sors), for thyself Osiris, king, lord of the world, Ramses, etc., 
 yet living.’ 
 
 This last expression would prove, if it were necessary, that 
 the tombs of the Pharaohs, those immense works which re- 
 quired so very long labor, were commenced during their life- 
 time ; and that one of the first cares of every Egyptian king 
 was, conformably to the well known spirit of this singular 
 nation, to be constantly occupied in the execution of a sepul- 
 chral monument, which was to be his last asylum. 
 
 This circumstance well explains the first bas-relief on the 
 left as you enter the tombs. The tablet Avas evidently de- 
 signed to encourage the king in his lifetime, and to relieve 
 his mind from the sad presage, which the excavation of his 
 tomb while in full vigor and health, seemed to create. This 
 tablet shows Pharaoh in the royal costume, presenting him- 
 self to the god Phre, who is upon the head of a hawk ; that 
 is, to the sun while in its splendor at mid-day, who addresses 
 to his representative upon the earth these consoling words : 
 
 ‘Behold what Phre says, the great god, the lord of heaven. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 259 
 
 We grant you many days to reign over the world, and to 
 exercise the royal prerogatives of Horus, upon the earth.’ 
 
 On the floor of the first corridor in the tomb, are to be read 
 both the magnificent promises made to the king with regard 
 to his life upon earth, and the account of the privileges which 
 are reserved for him in the celestial regions. It seems as if 
 these legends were placed here to give attractiveness to the 
 declivity which leads into the halls of sarcophagus. 
 
 After this pleasant inscription, one meets with the symboli- 
 cal tablets — the disk of the sun Criocephale, coming from the 
 east and advancing towards the western boundary, which is 
 inscribed with a crocodile, the emblem of darkness, and where 
 the god and the king appear in the usual manner. A long 
 text follows containing the names of seventy-five paredra of 
 the sun in the lower hemisphere, and of invocations to the 
 divinities of the third order, one of whom presides over each 
 of the seventy -five sub-divisions of the lower world, called 
 Kelle , that which encompasseth, a girdle, a zone. 
 
 A little hall into which usually each corridor leads, contains 
 sculptured images and paintings of the seventy-five paredra , 
 preceded or followed by an immense tablet containing an 
 abridged summary of the seventy -five zones and their inhabi- 
 tants. Of this we shall speak hereafter. 
 
 Next to these general and collective tablets, comes a de- 
 velopment of the details — the wall-partitions of the corridors 
 and halls are covered with a long series of tablets represent- 
 ing the march of the sun in the upper hemisphere (the image 
 of the king during his life time), and opposite, the march of 
 the sun in the lower hemisphere (the image of the king after 
 his death). 
 
 The numerous tablets relative to the march of the god 
 above the horizon in the hemisphere of light, are divided into 
 two series, each distinguished by a rich folding-door, sculp- 
 tured, and guarded by an enormous serpent. These are the 
 doors of the twelve hours of the day ; and these reptiles have 
 all significant names, such as tek-ho , serpent with the spark- 
 ling face ; sate ‘mpefbal, serpent whose eye is of flame ; tapen 
 tho , horn of the world, &c. &c. 
 
 Near the first folding door, are figured twenty-four human 
 
260 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 forms representing the twenty-four astronomical hours of the 
 day, having a star upon their heads and moving tow'ards the 
 bottom of the tomb, as if to indicate the course of the god : 
 and (we speak now of those things only which have a promi- 
 nent interest), upon each of the twelve hours of the day, 
 there can be traced an image of the bark of the god, naviga- 
 ting the celestial river in the primordial fluid , or œther , Avhich 
 constitutes the principle of the physical creation according to 
 the old Egyptian philosophy : two gods are represented in 
 company with him, who alternately aid him ; and there are 
 figured also the celestial abodes through which they pass, 
 and the mythological scenes appropriate to each of the hours 
 of the day. 
 
 In the first hour, his bari, or bark, is put in motion, and he 
 receives homage from the spirits of the east ; among the tab- 
 lets of the second hour, is found the great serpent Apophis, 
 the brother and enemy of the Sun, watched by the god At- 
 mou ; at the third hour the god Sun arrives in the celestial 
 zone, where he decides the lot of souls with regard to the 
 bodies they must inhabit in their new transmigrations ; the 
 god Atmou is there seen weighing in his balance the human 
 souls which successively present themselves. One of these 
 is represented as condemned ; he is carried back to the earth 
 in a bari which advances towards the gate guarded by Anu- 
 bis, and conducts to the rods, the emblems of celestial justice ; 
 the criminal appears under the form of an enormous sow, 
 above which is inscribed in broad characteristics gourmandisse 
 or gluttony, without doubt the capital sin of the delinquent, 
 who was some glutton of that age. 
 
 The god visits, in the fifth hour, the Elysian fields, inhab- 
 ited by happy souls reposing from the labors of their transmi- 
 grations upon earth. They carry upon their heads an ostrich 
 plume, the emblem of their just and virtuous conduct. They 
 are seen presenting offerings to the gods ; or under the su- 
 perintendence of one who oversees the pleasures of heaven, 
 they pluck fruits from the celestial trees of this paradise. At 
 a little distance, others hold in their hands sickles ; these are 
 the souls who cultivate the fields of truth. The following 
 is their legend. ‘ They make libations of Avater, and oifer- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 261 
 
 ings of grain from the fields of glory ; they hold a sickle, and 
 reap those fields which are divided unto them. The god Sun 
 saith unto them : Take your sickles — reap your grain, carry 
 it to your dwellings, delight yourselves, and present to the gods 
 a pure offering.’ Others are seen washing, and swimming, 
 leaping, and sportihg in a basin of celestial and primordial 
 water, all under the inspection of the god Celestial Nile. In 
 the following hours, the gods prepare themselves to combat 
 the great enemy of the Sun, the serpent Apophis. They arm 
 with spears, and load themselves with nets, because the mon- 
 ster inhabits the waters which the vessel of the Sun navi- 
 gates. They spread their nets ; Apophis is taken ; they bind 
 him with chains ; they draw the immense reptile from the 
 river, by means of a cable which the goddess Selk attaches 
 to his neck ; this, two gods pull, with the help of a complica- 
 ted machine managed by the god Sev (Saturn), and aided by 
 the spirits of the four cardinal points. But all this array 
 would have proved fruitless against the efforts of Apophis, 
 had it not been for the strong hand of Ammon, which seizes 
 the rope, and puts a stop to the impetuosity of the dragon. 
 Finally, at the eleventh hour of the day, the captive serpent 
 is strangled ; and soon afterwards the god Sun arrives at the 
 extreme point of the horizon and begins to disappear. The 
 goddess Netphe (Rhea) doing the duties of Tethys among 
 the Greeks, rises to the surface of the celestial waters ; and 
 mounted upon the head of her son Osiris, whose body termi- 
 nates like that of a mermaid, the goddess receives the vessel 
 of the Sun, and the Celestial Nile, the old Ocean of the Egyp- 
 tian mythology, takes them off in his immense arms. 
 
 The march of the sun in the lower hemisphere (that of 
 darkness during the twelve hours of night), that is to say, the 
 counterpart of the preceding scenes, is found sculptured upon 
 the walls of the royal tombs opposite those of which I have 
 given a brief account. There the god, firmly painted in black 
 from head to foot, passes through the seventy-five circles or 
 zones, over which as many divine personages, of every form, 
 and armed with swords, preside. These circles are inhabited 
 by guilty souls who undergo divers punishments. Here truly 
 is the primitive type of Dante’s ‘ Hell for the variety of tor- 
 
262 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 merits is surprising, and I am not astonished that some travel- 
 lers, frighted by these scenes of carnage, should have believed 
 them a proof of human sacrifices in ancient Egypt. But the 
 legends remove all doubt on this point. The representations 
 are of the things of another world, and have nothing to do 
 with the wrongs and customs of this. 
 
 The guilty souls are punished in a different manner in most 
 of the infernal zones which the sun visits. These spirits, 
 impure and constant in crime, are figured almost always with 
 a human form, sometimes under the symbolical form of a stork, 
 or of a hawk upon the human head — painted entirely in black, 
 to indicate at once their perverse nature and their sojourn in 
 the abyss of darkness. Some are strongly tied to posts, and 
 the guardians of the zones, brandishing their swords, reproach 
 them with the crimes they have committed upon earth; others 
 are suspended by the feet; some, having their hands tied upon 
 their breasts and their heads cut, march in long files ; others 
 having their hands tied behind, drag their hearts hanging 
 from their breasts, upon the ground. Living souls are made 
 to boil in huge cauldrons, perhaps in a human form, or in that 
 of a bird, or only their heads and their hearts. I have faithful 
 copies of this immense series of tablets and of the long legends 
 which accompany them. In each zone, and near the sufferers, 
 can be read always their condemnation and the pains which 
 they are to suffer. ‘ These hostile souls,’ it is said, ‘ did not 
 see our god when he darted forth rays from his disk ; they 
 dwell no longer in the terrestrial world, and they hear not the 
 voice of the great god, when he traverses their zones.’ 
 
 Upon the opposite walls we read the representation of happy 
 souls. 4 They have found grace in the sight of the great god ; 
 they inhabit the regions of glory, where they live a celestial 
 life ; the bodies which they have abandoned will always repose 
 in their tombs, so long as their spirits delight in the presence 
 of the supreme god.’ 
 
 This double series of tablets, then, gives us the Egyptian 
 psychological system , in an important and religious point of view, 
 that of reward and punishment. We find completely demon- 
 strated all which the ancients have told us respecting the 
 Egyptian doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and the posi- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 263 
 
 tive design of human life. It was certainly a great and happy 
 idea to symbolize the double destiny of souls, by the most 
 striking celestial phenomenon, the course of the sun in the 
 two hemispheres, and to make a painting of this imposing and 
 magnificent spectacle. 
 
 The psychological representations occupy the walls of the 
 two grand corridors, and of the two first halls in the tomb of 
 Ramses V. ; which tomb I have selected for my description, 
 because it is the most complete of all. The same subject-, but 
 composed with an astronomical view only, and upon a more 
 regular plan, because it is made a tablet of science, i3 found 
 traced upon the ceilings, and occupies the whole length of the 
 second corridor, and of the two next halls. 
 
 The grand hall of the tomb of Ramses V., which contains 
 the sarcophagus, and which is the last of the range, surpasses 
 all the others in grandeur and magnificence. The vault, hol- 
 lowed out from the floor and beautifully chiseled, has all its 
 paintings in excellent preservation. Their freshness is such, 
 that it is only by a frequent observation of the same fact in 
 the monuments of Egypt, you can be persuaded that these 
 frail colors have endured for thirty centuries. We find re- 
 peated here also, with more particularity in some parts, the 
 march of the sun in the two hemispheres. The walls of this 
 vast hall, are covered throughout with painted and sculptured 
 tablets, which contain explicative legends. The sun is still 
 the subject of the bas-reliefs, many of which contain, under 
 emblematical forms, the whole Egyptian system of cosmogony 
 and of general physics. Its mysticism is of a most subtle kind, 
 and it has cost me much study to arrive at the true meaning 
 of these compositions. I have at length taken copies of the 
 whole. 
 
 Such in their general features and design are the royal 
 tombs. It remains that I describe some of their particu- 
 larities. 
 
 The tomb of Osiris I., in the valley of Biban-el-Maluk, has 
 claimed the peculiar attention of all travellers by the freshness 
 of its paintings and the fineness of its sculptures. But the 
 beautiful catacomb is daily perishing. The pillars are broken 
 and loose, the walls are falling down, and the painting is be- 
 
264 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 coming rough and scaly. I have sketched most of its tablets, 
 that Europeans may form an idea of its magnificence. I have 
 sketched likewise the series of people, represented in a bas- 
 relief in the first hall. From this we learn the divers races 
 of men known in Egypt. Horus, the shepherd of the people, 
 is here represented leading' twelve men, who belong to four 
 distinct races. The three first (those nearest the god) are of 
 a dark red color ; they have well shaped figures, a pleasant 
 physiognomy, noses slightly aquiline, long twisted hair, and 
 are clothed in white. The legend describes them thus, rôt- 
 en-ne-rôme ; the race of men , that is, by way of excellence, 
 the Egyptians. 
 
 The three who follow next are very different in aspect. Their 
 complexion is yellow and swarthy ; their noses are very aqui- 
 line — their beards are long, black, and terminate in a point. 
 Their clothing is of various colors, and they are designated 
 by the name of namou. 
 
 The three next are easily known as Negroes. They are 
 here called nahasi. 
 
 The three last are of a delicate white complexion ; their 
 noses are straight or slightly arched ; their eyes blue ; their 
 beards are of a light or red color, and they are tall in figure. 
 They are clothed with the skins of oxen, and are painted like 
 savages. These are named tamhou. 
 
 In comparing this tablet with the corresponding one in the 
 other royal tombs, I am convinced that it was the design to 
 represent here the inhabitants of the four parts of the world, 
 according to the ancient Egyptian system. 1. The inhabi- 
 tants of Egypt. 2. The Asiatics. 3. The proper inhabitants 
 of Africa — the Negroes. 4. The Europeans. 
 
 The most grand and magnificent of all the tombs in the 
 valley of Biban-el-Maluk was that of the successor of Ram- 
 meir, Ramses-Me'iamoun ; but now the air has tarnished the 
 brightness of the colors which cover most of the sepulchres. 
 It is of interest on account of eight little halls which pierce 
 laterally the walls of the first and second corridors, and which 
 are filled with important sculptures. These I have faithfully 
 copied. One of these little halls contains, among other things, 
 representations of a kitchen with its uses j another exhibits 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 265 
 
 the most rich and costly furniture ; a third is a complete arse- 
 nal, where are arms of all kinds, military ensigns of the Egyp- 
 tian legions, and royal barges with the decorations. Here also 
 is found a symbolical tablet of the Egyptian year, represented 
 by six images of the Nile, and six images of Egypt personified. 
 In one of these little recesses I have copied the two famous 
 harp-players with all their colors. 
 
 Such in general, as I have described, is Biban-el-Maluk. 
 I hasten now to return to Thebes. I ought perhaps to add 
 with regard to the royal tombs, that they all exhibit upon the 
 walls written proof, that for many ages they have been aban- 
 doned and only visited by curious men of leisure, who have 
 thought to immortalize themselves, by roughly sketching their 
 names upon the bas-reliefs and paintings, which they have in 
 this way disfigured. There are found the names of Egyptians 
 of all ages — of the old Romans under the republic — of the 
 Greeks and Romans under the first emperors ; of Copts, who 
 accompany their names with humble prayers — finally, the 
 names of travellers, who, through love of science, war, com- 
 merce, danger, or leisure, have visited these solitary tombs. 
 I have gathered the most remarkable of these inscriptions, 
 partly for their contents, and partly for their interest simply 
 as examples of ancient writing.” 
 
 Among the largest and most beautiful of Egyptian statues, 
 are two which were discovered at Thebes. One of these, 
 the vocal colossus as it is called by the Arabs, is the statue 
 of Memnon, as he is named in a Greek inscription, or Ameno- 
 phis Memnon, the seventh king of the eighteenth dynasty, 
 as a hieroglyphic inscription represents. These names de- 
 signate the same person. The statues are thus described by 
 Dr. Richardson. 
 
 “We approached them with a heartfelt pleasure and 
 veneration, feeling that, in being there, we had accomplished 
 an object worthy of our toil ; and regarding the moment that 
 brought us to the foot of Memnon, as one of the most gratify- 
 ing in the whole course of our Egyptian tour. Standing by 
 its side, with our hands upon the pedestal, and looking up to 
 the disintegrated frame of this monumental colossus, which 
 23 
 
266 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 for ages had been the wonder of the world, the theme of 
 the philosopher, the poet, and the historian ; every scar on 
 its surface deepened our interest in its fate. Our enthusiasm 
 became more intense as we continued to look on, and we 
 felt for the stony Memnon, almost as we should have done 
 for Memnon himself. Our joy would have been complete, 
 if history could have told us the tale of this eventful plain, 
 since the time that the statue of Memnon became an occu- 
 pant of the soil. These two statues are nearly equal in size, 
 about 52 feet high, and 40 feet asunder. The throne on 
 which they rest is 30 feet long, eighteen feet broad, and 
 between 7 and 8 feet high. The head-dress of the southern- 
 most statue is beautifully wrought, as are also the shoulders, 
 which remain uninjured. The massy hair projects from be- 
 hind the ears, like that of the Sphinx. There is a row of 
 hieroglyphics down the back, but no inscription or hiero- 
 glyphics on the pedestal. The sides of the throne are highly 
 ornamented, with the elegant device of two bearded figures 
 tying the stem of the flexible lotus round the ligula. The 
 statue is in a sitting posture, the hands resting on the knees. 
 Outside of each leg is a small statue, with a spiked crown 
 on its head, and the arms hanging down by its side. Be- 
 tween the feet is another small statue, that reaches nearly 
 to the calf of the leg. The northern-most of the two statues, 
 which appears to be that of the vocal Memnon, is in the same 
 posture, with a similar figure between the feet, and on each 
 side of the legs. Four courses form the body and part of 
 the neck, and one forms the head and the remaining part of 
 the neck. It is fashioned entirely like the upper part of the 
 other statue, with tablets of hieroglyphics, with the goose 
 and egg over the back between them. Both statues are 
 attired in the same drapery.” 
 
 Near the propylon of the temple of Luxor, are two very 
 beautiful obelisks. Says the author of the Modern Traveller: 
 “ They are in perfect preservation ; they are about 80 feet 
 high, and 10 feet square at the base, and are covered all 
 round, from top to bottom, with deeply-cut hieroglyphics, 
 beginning at the top with the mitred hawk, emblematic of 
 their dedication to the sun.” The author of Scenes and bn- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 267 
 
 pressions , p. 82, thus describes them. “ Before the grand 
 entrance of this vast edifice, two lofty obelisks stand proudly 
 pointing to the sky, fair as the daring sculptor left them. 
 The sacred figures and hieroglyphic characters are beauti- 
 fully cut into the hard granite, and have the sharp finish of 
 yesterday. The very stone looks not discolored. You see 
 them as Cambyses saw them, when he stayed his chariot 
 wheels to gaze up at them, and the Persian war-cry ceased 
 before these acknowledged symbols of the sacred element of 
 fire. Very noble are all these remains, and on the propylon 
 is a war-scene much spoken of ; but my eyes were con- 
 tinually attracted towards the aspiring obelisks, and again 
 and again you turn to them with increasing wonder and 
 silent admiration.”* 
 
 It were easy to multiply descriptions of the various monu- 
 ments of Egyptian skill. But we must conclude here, simply 
 observing with Champollion, that “ no people, either ancient 
 or modern, ever conceived the arts of architecture and sculp- 
 ture on so sublime and so grand a scale as the ancient Egyp- 
 tians. Their conceptions were those of men a hundred feet 
 high.” 
 
 [ O. p. 75. ] 
 
 Similarity of Egyptian and Hebrew Writing and 
 Language. 
 
 [What the author has here stated, in terms which imply 
 almost a doubting state of mind with respect to the facts in 
 question, is regarded as being a plain matter of fact, by all 
 good Hebrew critics and grammarians at the present time. 
 One need only to read the interpretation of the names of the 
 Hebrew alphabet successively, in order to believe that ori- 
 ginally there was some analogy between the shape of the 
 respective letters, and the objects by whose names they are 
 
 * At the entrance of the temple of Luxor, there still exist two 
 obelisks which are an hundred feet high, and which are carved from 
 a single block. 
 
268 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 called. For example ; beginning with the alphabet we pro- 
 ceed thus ; o.r, house , camel , door, hollow , hook, armour , travel- 
 ling-scrip, serpent , hand, hollow-hand , ox-goad, water, Jish, 
 prop, eye, mouth, screech-locust , ear, head, tooth, cross. These 
 make out the whole original . alphabet of the Hebrews ; and 
 no one can well suppose that these names rather than others 
 were given to the letters, except on account of some resem- 
 blances to the objects which bore these names. 
 
 That the resemblances to these respective objects, are not 
 found in the present Hebrew alphabet, is no argument against 
 the positions stated above ; for all critics are agreed, that 
 the ancient Hebrew letters have exchanged their forms for 
 those of a later alphabet. But whether any alphabet now 
 known exhibits, in any considerable degree, the forms of the 
 original Hebrew alphabet, may well be questioned. Some 
 critics have maintained, that the Samaritan alphabet is sub- 
 stantially that of the old Hebrew ; and this, because letters 
 of this character are found on the coins which Avere stamped 
 in the times of the Maccabees. But the late work of Kopp, 
 on the subject of the Palaeography of the Shemitish langua- 
 ges, has rendered such a supposition quite uncertain. The 
 same Avork has shown us in the most satisfactory manner, that 
 the present square Hebrew alphabet, instead of being brought 
 from Babylon by the returning exile Jews, as has been gen- 
 erally maintained, is the offspring of a kind of Estrangelo or 
 old Syriac alphabet, such as is now still visible on the ruins 
 of Palmyra and Tadmor in the Syrian desert. There can, 
 indeed, be but little doubt at present, that the square Hebrew 
 character has taken its rise, by gradual deflections from the an- 
 cient character, since the commencement of the Christian era. 
 
 The very inspection of the HebreAv alphabet, as the letters 
 are represented in HebreAv names, is sufficient to shoAV, that 
 the same principle regulated the choice of names here, 
 which regulated the choice of hieroglyphs in Egyptian Avrit- 
 ing ; viz. each name of a letter, began with the same sound 
 or letter as that which the name designated ; e. g. denoted 
 s; rpa, a; Vfc/’a, a, etc. 
 
 In like manner Avith regard to the voAvels ; three letters 
 only of the original alphabet Avere voAvels, and these not 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 269 
 
 properly and constantly, but occasionally and as it were 
 accidentally. The letters x, 1 , •» are, on this account, called 
 vowel-letters by Gesenius, because they occasionally supplied 
 the place of vowels. Even when thus used, they were some- 
 times inserted and sometimes omitted ; and this, in the very 
 same words, occurring repeatedly in the same paragraph. 
 Any one acquainted, therefore, with the nature of the Shem- 
 itish languages, and knowing how continually facts are oc- 
 curring, in respect to the quiescent letters (as they are called), 
 of the same nature as occur in regard to the vowels in the 
 Egyptian hieroglyphs which are now inserted and now 
 omitted, will not think it in the least strange, that such a 
 practice existed in Egyptian writing. He finds it on every 
 page of Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Samaritan ; 
 and therefore he may well expect to find it in the language 
 of a neighboring country. 
 
 In regard to the relation of the hieroglyphic writing and 
 language, to that of the Hebrew and its sister dialects (of 
 which M. Greppo speaks on p. 75 of this work), one can 
 hardly fail to recognize the fact itself, who is acquainted with 
 the Shemitish languages. The Coptic alphabet (the form of 
 which is taken in the main from the Greek, and which 
 gradually supplanted the hieroglyphic alphabet, after the 
 Greek dynasty had commenced in Egypt), contains not only 
 the Greek sounds, but also several of the Hebrew ones 
 
 which the Greek alphabet could not exhibit. The Coptic Xj 
 
 (Fei) is equivalent to the Hebrew i (Vav) i. e. f or v ; so the 
 Coptic (Khei) equals the Hebrew 5 or kh ; the Coptic 3 
 (Hori) is the same as the Hebrew r\ = h; the Coptic 
 
 (Sjansjia) is like the Hebrew s = ts or zs ; the Coptic 
 (.Ssima) is the Hebrew Sin •» = s strong ; the Coptic XLJ 
 (Shei) = the Hebrew is Shin , = sh. The Coptic alphabet 
 has also one syllabic letter, i. e. T = ti ; which however 
 
 is to be considered not properly as a letter of the alphabet, 
 but in such a light as our «fee. 
 
 23 * 
 
270 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The similarity, then, of the Coptic and Hebrew alphabetic 
 sounds, is very great. This similarity also might be easily 
 traced in the forms of many of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, as 
 well as in their sounds. But a full development of this subject 
 cannot be made, until Champollion shall have completed his 
 researches in regard to the language and written characters 
 of ancient Egypt. The probability seems to be, that much 
 more relation will be shown to have existed between the old 
 Egyptian and the Hebrew, than has hitherto been supposed. 
 And this it will be very natural to believe, at least in regard to 
 ivritten characters ; for as Moses ioas learned in all the ivisdom 
 of the Egyptians , who can well suppose that some of his writ- 
 ten characters in Hebrew, where these agreed in sound with 
 the Egyptian letters, would not be more or less conformed to 
 the Egyptian mode of writing them? Nay more; when 
 Abraham went down into Egypt, he appears to have had no 
 difficulty in conversing with Pharaoh and his servants, Gen. 
 xii. 14 seq. This might be, because the latter understood 
 the Hebrew or Canaanitish language ; or because Abraham 
 understood Egyptian. But a more probable reason would 
 seem to be ; such a similarity of dialects, that conversation 
 could be carried on intelligibly, at least by the help of ges- 
 tures and looks. 
 
 Every Hebrew student must feel an interest in having 
 more light thrown upon this subject ; and more he may expect 
 will yet be thrown upon it. M. S.] 
 
 [ P. p. 76. ] 
 
 Numeration by Hieroglyphics. 
 
 “The units are expressed by single upright strokes, and 
 they are always repeated to mark any number below ten. 
 The number ten is represented by an arch, either round or 
 angular. The repetition of these arches produces the repeti- 
 tion of as many tens up to ninety. A hundred is exhibited 
 by a figure very much resembling our nine ; [it resembles 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 271 
 
 the second sign in cartouche a No. 3 — the sign which ans- 
 wers to the Greek letter F.] This same figure is again re- 
 peated for every hundred, for any number below one thou- 
 sand. [One thousand is represented by a cross, over which 
 is a figure like an inverted 3 , opening to the left.] Thus to 
 express the numbers two, three, four, seven, &c., alike, we 
 are to mark two, three, four, or seven upright strokes. To 
 signify twenty, or thirty, or ninety, we are to write two, 
 three, or nine, angular or round arches. The number 42, 
 for instance, is expressed by four arches, which mean four 
 times ten = forty ; and by two upright strokes, which mean 
 two. 
 
 To signify the ordinal numbers, we are to place at the top 
 of each of the numbers, a figure [which resembles our oo ( 8 ) 
 placed horizontally] ; thus a single upright mark with the 
 horizontal 8 over it would signify first, two upright strokes 
 with this figure over them, would signify second ; the signs 
 which stand for forty-two, with this figure over them, would 
 signify forty-second , &c. ; and if this figure be changed into 
 one like the three sides of a square, then the numbers will 
 signify the first time , the second time , the forty-second time , &c.” 
 
 ( Spineto , Lect. ii. p. 72.) 
 
 [ Q- p. ill. ] 
 
 Doubts as to the escape of Pharaoh from the catastrophe 
 at the Red Sea. 
 
 [ The modesty and ingenuity which M. Greppo has exhibit- 
 ed, in the discussion which gives occasion to the present note, 
 certainly entitle him to much credit and approbation. Still it 
 seems to me very doubtful, whether the exegesis in question 
 can be supported. When God says, in Exod. xiv. 17, “I will 
 get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his 
 chariots, and upon hi3 horsemen and when he repeats the 
 same sentiment in Exod. xiv. 18 ; the natural inference seems 
 to be, that the fate of Pharaoh would be the same as that of 
 
272 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 his host, his chariots and his horsemen. Accordingly, in Exod. 
 xiv. 23 it is said, “The Egyptians pursued, and went in after 
 them [the Hebrews] into the midst of the sea, every horse of 
 Pharaoh and his chariot, and his horsemen, into the midst of 
 the sea.” It is true, indeed, that iasnn riy-js bte-Vs may 
 mean, all the horses of Pharaoh and all his chariots, viz. all 
 those which belonged to his army. But is it not the natural 
 implication here, that Pharaoh was at the head of his army 
 and led them on ? And when in Exod. xiv. 28 it is said, that 
 of all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after the 
 Israelites, there remained not so much as one of them, is not the 
 natural implication here, that Pharaoh at the head of his army 
 went into the sea, and perished along with them ? 
 
 In the triumphal song of Moses and the Hebrews, recorded 
 in Exod. xv., the implication in verses 4, 19, seems most na- 
 turally to be, that Pharaoh was joined with his army in the 
 destruction to which they were subjected. 
 
 But still more does this appear, in Ps. cvi. 11, where it is 
 said, “ The waters covered their enemies [the Egyptians] ; 
 there was not one of them left.” How could this well be said, 
 if Pharaoh himself, the most powerful, unrelenting, and bitter 
 enemy which they had, was still preserved alive, and permit- 
 ted afterwards to make new conquests over his southern 
 neighbors ? This pasage M. Greppo has entirely overlooked. 
 
 In regard to Ps. cxxxvi. 15, the exegesis of our author is 
 ingenious ; but it will not bear the test of criticism. For ex- 
 ample ; in Exod. xiv. 27 it is said, “ And the Lord oveiihrew 
 the Egyptians, in the midst of the sea; where the Hebrew 
 word answering to overthrew is from But in Ps. 
 
 cxxxvi. 15, the very same word is applied to Pharaoh and his 
 host; “And he overthreiv (nysi) Pharaoh and his host. In both 
 cases (which are exactly the same), the word -y: properly 
 means, he drave into (hineintreiben, Gesenius). Now if the 
 Lord drave the Egyptians into the midst of the sea, and also 
 drave Pharaoh and his host into the midst of the sea, we can- 
 not well see how Pharaoh escaped drowning. Accordingly, 
 we find that such an occurrence is plainly recognized by 
 Nehemiah ix. 10, 11, when, after mentioning Pharaoh, his ser- 
 vants, and his people, this distinguished man speaks of the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 273 
 
 “ persecutors of the Hebrews as thrown into the deep, as a 
 stone in the mighty waters.” 
 
 As to any difficulties respecting chronology in this case, about 
 which M. Greppo seems to be principally solicitous, it may be 
 remarked, that the subject of ancient Egyptian chronology is 
 yet very far from being so much cleared up, as to throw any 
 real embarrassments in the way of Scripture facts. More 
 light will give more satisfaction — as in the famous case of the 
 zodiacs, so finely described in the last chapter of M. Greppo’s 
 book. 
 
 Besides the occasional references thus made in the Hebrew 
 Scriptures to the catastrophe of Pharaoh, other accounts 
 among ancient writers, even of heathen origin, seem to advert 
 to the same occurrence. Thus in Eusebius’ Prœp. Evan- 
 gelicœ , ix. 29, there is an extract from a tragic poem of an 
 Alexandrine Jew, by the name of Ezekiel (of what age 
 is uncertain, only that he probably lived before the com- 
 mencement of the Christian era), in which this poet represents 
 the Egyptians as exclaiming, “Already are they [the Hebrews] 
 beyond the sea, and the huge wave comes roaring toward us. 
 Let us fly toward our homes (cries every soldier as he sees 
 this), for the hand of the Most High is with them. To them 
 he affords aid ; to us he brings destruction. — Then was the 
 pass of the Red Sea overwhelmed with the waves, and the 
 army was destroyed.” 
 
 In Diodorus Siculus (Biblioth. hi. 39), is a passage, which 
 seems pretty plainly to be a vestige of tradition among the 
 Greeks, respecting the extraordinary movement of the waters 
 in the Red Sea. He is speaking of this sea, and of the 
 Ichthyopliagi on the' borders of it, when he says ; “With them 
 is current a tradition, which has been preserved from ancient 
 times (or from ancestors), that there was once a great ebb of 
 the waters of the bay, the whole place becoming dry which 
 presents a greenish appearance, the sea passing over to the 
 opposite parts, so that dry land appeared at its bottom ; but 
 that the huge flood, returning again, restored the pass to its 
 former condition.” One can hardly fail to acknowledge here, 
 vestiges of ancient history or report, in regard to the pass of 
 the Hebrews through the Red Sea. 
 
274 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Justin also (Hist, xxxvi. 2), after relating a strange mixture 
 of truth and error respecting the Hebrews, finally represents 
 them as driven out of Egypt, because they had a leprous dis- 
 ease (scabies et vitiligo). He then states, that “by theft the 
 Hebrews carried away the sacred things of the Egyptians ; 
 which the Egyptians seeking to reclaim by force of arms, 
 were compelled to return home by reason of tempests .” Plainly 
 this, though sufficiently distorted, has a relation to the catas- 
 trophe related in the book of Exodus. 
 
 The reader who venerates the Scriptures, will not be unin- 
 terested in these brief notices, which serve to confirm the 
 narrations that are contained in the books of Moses. M. S.] 
 
 [ R. p. 141. ] 
 
 Chronology of the Septuagint and Samaritan copies of 
 the Old Testament. 
 
 [In regard to the affirmation of M. Greppo, that neither the 
 chronology of the Hebrew and Vulgate, nor that of the Sep- 
 tuagint, nor of the Samaritan, is to be considered as true ; if 
 this be the case, it will be difficult to see of what avail will 
 be, “ the entire liberty which the Church has given to every 
 individual to chose which he pleases.” If neither is true, of 
 what great consequence can it be which he chooses ? 
 
 In respect to the Septuagint and Samaritan chronologies, 
 however, mature criticism will hardly agree with M. Greppo, 
 that they can compete with the Hebrew, as to their claims for 
 credence. The credit of the Septuagint chronology has been 
 irretrievably shaken to its foundation, by J. D. Michaelis, in 
 his Essay upon it, printed in a volume of the Commentt. Soc. 
 Gôtting. And with respect to the credit due to the Samari- 
 tan copy of the Pentateuch, Gesenius, in his Commentatio 
 respecting it, has utterly overthrown all claims to place it by 
 the side of the Hebrew. It is notoriously altered, and muti- 
 lated in various places, by unfaithful and designing scribes. 
 
 The whole subject of Egyptian chronology, is yet mani- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 275 
 
 festly too much in its infancy, to entitle us to be confident 
 as to any conclusions or difficulties respecting it. Of course, 
 no fears or alarm need be entertained, when some seeming 
 discrepancy between that and the Mosaic chronology pre- 
 sents itself. Patient development, allowance for the uncer- 
 tainty of traditionary accounts as to matters of dates and pro- 
 per names, and a fuller knowledge of the whole ground, we 
 may well expect, will eventually chase away most of the 
 darkness that yet covers any part of this subject. M. S.] 
 
 [ S. p. 148. ] 
 
 Location of Raineses. 
 
 [ An overwhelming objection to this location of Rameses, 
 
 is, that it must lie on the west side of the Nile, and at the 
 distance of some 120 or more miles from the Red Sea ; nay, 
 more than 150 miles from that pass where the Hebrews went 
 over it. Now there is not one word in Scripture about the 
 Hebrews’ passing the Nile, when they set out on their jour- 
 ney toward Palestine ; a thing incredible, if they did indeed 
 pass it, for this passage would have been more difficult than 
 that of the Red Sea, inasmuch as the Egyptians could very 
 easily annoy them, and the Hebrews had no means of passing 
 
 it. But leaving this out of question ; it appears by Ex. xii. 
 37 and xiii. 20, that at the end of the second day’s journey 
 from Raineses , the Hebrews were on the borders of the Red 
 Sea. Could a caravan of three millions of people, heavily 
 laden with baggage, and accompanied by all their women, 
 children, and aged persons, as also by their flocks and herds, 
 their sheep and goats, — could these travel 120 or 150 miles 
 in two days ? The thing is absolutely impossible. They 
 must be taken up and carried through the air to accomplish 
 this. They could, at most, advance not more than some 
 20 miles a day. Accordingly we are necessitated by this 
 circumstance, to find Rameses within some 40 miles of the 
 head of the Red Sea. In all probability it was at Abou 
 
276 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Keyshid , on the borders of the great Canal-Valley (Wadi 
 Saba Byar), which is about 40 miles from Etham (Adjerout?) 
 where the Hebrews encamped on the second day of their 
 journey. At Abou Keyshid are still left not a few Egyptian 
 monuments, probably of the Pharaonic age, which testify to 
 this having been a place of importance under the Egyptian 
 dynasty. See on this whole subject, an Excursus in No. I. 
 Vol. II. of my Course of Hebrew Study. M. S.] 
 
 [ T. p. 153. ] 
 
 Situation of Goshen. 
 
 [The same objections to the location of Goshen on the west 
 of the Nile may be made, as against the location of Raineses 
 there. Past all rational doubt, Goshen must have been east of 
 the Nile, and have embraced the country (more or less of it) 
 which now comprises what is called the isthmus of Suez, and 
 which the Egyptians now call Tardbia , i. e. the Arabian part 
 of Egypt (because it borders on Arabia), and also Sharkiya , 
 i. e. eastern part, viz. of Egypt. It is now known, that this coun- 
 try is very far from being all a desert , and that in it are sev- 
 eral extensive Wadies or valleys, where water is at all times 
 very easily procured, and the soil is exceedingly fruitful, 
 being occasionally overflowed by the Nile. I must refer the 
 reader for a particular discussion of this whole subject, to the 
 Excursus above named, where he will find some things to 
 which our English geographies have not hitherto given us 
 access. M. S.] 
 

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