DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4640#0007
EGYPT. —AN INTRODUCTION.
research, Dr. Young was the first to perceive, and to him the honour is now indisputably given
for the important discovery, that the hieroglyphical characters were phonetic. He established the
certainty of five of them as representatives of sounds, corresponding to our letters I, N, P, T, and F.
He also claimed four others; but Champollion, le jeune, who was pioneered by him, established a
claim to these and to the extension of the phonetic hieroglyphics to an alphabet of sixteen distinct
sounds. For each of these he also found many symbols, which are homophones, or representations
under different figures of similar sounds, applied in accordance to a defined system, and not
capriciously. He also proved the existence of a system by which the hieroglyphics were used
figuratively, symbolically, and phonetically, always in the same text, often in the same phrase, and
even in the same word; but the names of countries and persons could only be expressed
phonetically, and the latter are always found in an oval or cartouche. Since the discovery by
Dr. Young, the subject has been followed out by the zeal and devotion of the Champollions, Rosellini
Wilkinson, Burton, Lepsius, Birch, Sharpe, Bunsen, and other archaeologists. A reference to these
authors will excite an interest in the subject not easily to be satisfied. One of the most succinct
and popular illustrations of the Egyptian hieroglyphics will be found in a work by Mr. Gliddon
formerly Consul for the United States, resident in Cairo. He was one of the active members of an
association of gentlemen established there for the investigation of Egyptian archaeology, and he has
published, in a cheap and convenient form, " A Series of Chapters on Early Egyptian History," * which,
* In a work like the present, it is impracticable to enter into even
an elementary illustration of the hieroglyphical writings; but a selection
may be made of a passage in Gliddon's work, which, while it cannot
fail to amuse the reader by the absurd degree of national vanity it
betrays, and which so often raises a smile among us, will better illustrate
the subject than any other passage of equal length that could be referred
to. He says :—
" In Egyptian hieroglyphics, as may be seen in part by the alphabet,
there are, in some instances, as many as twenty-five different characters
used to represent one letter, and these are termed ' homophones' of that
letter.
" One immense advantage accrued in monumental legends from this
variety, for the artist was thus enabled to employ those figures which,
while representing the articulated sound of the letter, had by their form
a relation to the idea these signs were to express. The writer could
thug, by the judicious selection of his letters from the variety of his
homophones, convey a meaning of admiration, praise, dignity, beauty,
strength, &c., or he could denote disgust, hatred, insignificance, or other
depreciatory opinions.
"I will endeavour to make this apparent by an example. Suppose
we wished to adopt the same system in our language, and write the
word • America ' in hieroglyphics. I use pure Egyptian hieroglyphics
as letters, adapting them to English values:—
A — We might select one out of many more or less appropriate
symbols; as an asp, apple, altar, amaranth, anchor, archer,
arrow, antelope, axe. I choose the asp, B^ symbolic of
' sovereignty.'
M — We have a mace, mast, mastiff, moon, mouse, mummy, musket,
maize. I select the mace, T indicative of 'military dominion.'
E — An ear, egg, eagle, elk, eye. The eagle, *\^ is undoubtedly
the most appropriate, being the * national arms of the Union,'
and means 'courage.'
lv — A rabbit, ram, raccoon, ring, rock, rope. I lake the ram, ~£^
by synecdoche, placing a part for the whole, emblematic of
' frontal power,'—intellect,—and sacred to Amun.
I—An insect, Indian, infant, ivy. An infant jm will typify 'the
juvenile age' and still undeveloped strength of this great country.
C—A cake, cauldron, cat, clam, carman, constellation, curlew,
cone, crescent. The crescent would indicate the rising power
of the United States; the constellation of stars would em-
blematise the States, and is borne aloft in the American banner;
but I choose the cake — W the consecrated bread—typical of
a 'civilised region.'
A — An anchor, or any of the above words beginning with A,
would answer: the anchor would symbolise ' maritime great-
ness,' associated with ' safety ' and ' stability ;' but not being an
Egyptian emblem, I take the ' sacred Tata,' «■¥*■ the symbol
of 'eternal life,' which in the alphabet is an A.
* To designate that by this combination of symbols we mean a
country, I add the sign kriBatf - in Coptic ' Kah,' meaning a country,
and determinative of geographical appellatives.
"We thus obtain phonetically—
M
E
R
C
COUNTRY:
while, symbolically, the characters chosen imply 'sovereignty, military
dominion, courage, intelligence, juvenility, civilisation, and eternal
durability.'
" This example, however, gives but a faint idea of the beauty, and
often exquisite propriety, of Egyptian composition, or of the complexity
of the hieroglyphic art of writing. It will be allowed that even this
anglicised illustration of the word America does not render its perspicuity
very apparent; and, with a full acquaintance of the language, it would
be a puzzle to a decipherer. How much more so, when the vowels
may be omitted, as they generally are, and only the consonants written,
as 'MRC, country."'
research, Dr. Young was the first to perceive, and to him the honour is now indisputably given
for the important discovery, that the hieroglyphical characters were phonetic. He established the
certainty of five of them as representatives of sounds, corresponding to our letters I, N, P, T, and F.
He also claimed four others; but Champollion, le jeune, who was pioneered by him, established a
claim to these and to the extension of the phonetic hieroglyphics to an alphabet of sixteen distinct
sounds. For each of these he also found many symbols, which are homophones, or representations
under different figures of similar sounds, applied in accordance to a defined system, and not
capriciously. He also proved the existence of a system by which the hieroglyphics were used
figuratively, symbolically, and phonetically, always in the same text, often in the same phrase, and
even in the same word; but the names of countries and persons could only be expressed
phonetically, and the latter are always found in an oval or cartouche. Since the discovery by
Dr. Young, the subject has been followed out by the zeal and devotion of the Champollions, Rosellini
Wilkinson, Burton, Lepsius, Birch, Sharpe, Bunsen, and other archaeologists. A reference to these
authors will excite an interest in the subject not easily to be satisfied. One of the most succinct
and popular illustrations of the Egyptian hieroglyphics will be found in a work by Mr. Gliddon
formerly Consul for the United States, resident in Cairo. He was one of the active members of an
association of gentlemen established there for the investigation of Egyptian archaeology, and he has
published, in a cheap and convenient form, " A Series of Chapters on Early Egyptian History," * which,
* In a work like the present, it is impracticable to enter into even
an elementary illustration of the hieroglyphical writings; but a selection
may be made of a passage in Gliddon's work, which, while it cannot
fail to amuse the reader by the absurd degree of national vanity it
betrays, and which so often raises a smile among us, will better illustrate
the subject than any other passage of equal length that could be referred
to. He says :—
" In Egyptian hieroglyphics, as may be seen in part by the alphabet,
there are, in some instances, as many as twenty-five different characters
used to represent one letter, and these are termed ' homophones' of that
letter.
" One immense advantage accrued in monumental legends from this
variety, for the artist was thus enabled to employ those figures which,
while representing the articulated sound of the letter, had by their form
a relation to the idea these signs were to express. The writer could
thug, by the judicious selection of his letters from the variety of his
homophones, convey a meaning of admiration, praise, dignity, beauty,
strength, &c., or he could denote disgust, hatred, insignificance, or other
depreciatory opinions.
"I will endeavour to make this apparent by an example. Suppose
we wished to adopt the same system in our language, and write the
word • America ' in hieroglyphics. I use pure Egyptian hieroglyphics
as letters, adapting them to English values:—
A — We might select one out of many more or less appropriate
symbols; as an asp, apple, altar, amaranth, anchor, archer,
arrow, antelope, axe. I choose the asp, B^ symbolic of
' sovereignty.'
M — We have a mace, mast, mastiff, moon, mouse, mummy, musket,
maize. I select the mace, T indicative of 'military dominion.'
E — An ear, egg, eagle, elk, eye. The eagle, *\^ is undoubtedly
the most appropriate, being the * national arms of the Union,'
and means 'courage.'
lv — A rabbit, ram, raccoon, ring, rock, rope. I lake the ram, ~£^
by synecdoche, placing a part for the whole, emblematic of
' frontal power,'—intellect,—and sacred to Amun.
I—An insect, Indian, infant, ivy. An infant jm will typify 'the
juvenile age' and still undeveloped strength of this great country.
C—A cake, cauldron, cat, clam, carman, constellation, curlew,
cone, crescent. The crescent would indicate the rising power
of the United States; the constellation of stars would em-
blematise the States, and is borne aloft in the American banner;
but I choose the cake — W the consecrated bread—typical of
a 'civilised region.'
A — An anchor, or any of the above words beginning with A,
would answer: the anchor would symbolise ' maritime great-
ness,' associated with ' safety ' and ' stability ;' but not being an
Egyptian emblem, I take the ' sacred Tata,' «■¥*■ the symbol
of 'eternal life,' which in the alphabet is an A.
* To designate that by this combination of symbols we mean a
country, I add the sign kriBatf - in Coptic ' Kah,' meaning a country,
and determinative of geographical appellatives.
"We thus obtain phonetically—
M
E
R
C
COUNTRY:
while, symbolically, the characters chosen imply 'sovereignty, military
dominion, courage, intelligence, juvenility, civilisation, and eternal
durability.'
" This example, however, gives but a faint idea of the beauty, and
often exquisite propriety, of Egyptian composition, or of the complexity
of the hieroglyphic art of writing. It will be allowed that even this
anglicised illustration of the word America does not render its perspicuity
very apparent; and, with a full acquaintance of the language, it would
be a puzzle to a decipherer. How much more so, when the vowels
may be omitted, as they generally are, and only the consonants written,
as 'MRC, country."'