Hieroglyphic Studies, &c.

11

without reference to previous publications of the same, the material de-
scriptions are meagre and faulty to an astonishing degree, and the number
of plates is limited, in spite of the cheapness and ease of reproduction by
photo-lithography : so that the student, instead of having a pauorama
of a monument presented before his eyes, has to work laboriously
through pages of printed description in order to discover his where-
abouts, and often has to spend hours in referring to other publications
in order to construct, where possible, a correct text. I do not now speak
of the translations and explanations, which must necessarily be of a
more or less ephemeral nature and can easily be improved from time to
time; what I desire to insist on is the necessity of better planned and
better executed work in copying and describing.

The grandest event of the year is the commencement of the Catalogue
des Monuments et inscriptions de VEyypt antique.1 M. de Morgan's
strong practical sense has led him to the project of gathering together
in one series a detailed description of all the monuments in Egypt. In
carrying out this idea he reckons on the co-operation of scholars of all
nationalities, and to show the feasibility of the scheme he has been bold
enough, soon after his first arrival in the country, to undertake the survey
of a difficult piece of Upper Egypt. Anyone who doubted must be
convinced, and all, after certain allowances, will be charmed with the
result. Not that it is altogether satisfactory, by no means so ; but one
can perceive that every fault in it could have been avoided by an ample
allowance of time. Presumably two months were devoted to the section
from Philae to Kum Ombo : if so, we may believe that six months would
have been sufficient, under M. de Morgan's most able direction, both
for sifting the literature and for thorough study on the spot, so as to
produce a complete work of permanent authority for the whole of this
extensive and crowded region. Truly, that would have been a splendid
return for one season's labonr. Even as it is, considering the time allowed,
the work does great credit to all concerned. May it stir other lovers of
Egypt to a sense of what is required, and lead to the production of
volume after volume in the same series, each investigator with friendly
rivalry striving to surpass his predecessors in the accuracy, width and
completeness of his observations.

We may also congratulate M. Max van Berchem on the progress
which has been made towards realising his scheme of a corpus of Arabic
inscriptions. The monuments of Egypt dating from the twelve cen-
turies that have elapsed since the Muhammedan conquest are of less
interest than the earlier ones, yet even apart from other considerations

c 2