DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3720#0209
192 HIEROGLYPHS.
Kircher, that the hieroglyphs were only employed for a sacred
or mystical language, used by the priests to express in cabal-
istic terms the notions of their religion, had already been
exploded by Warburton, who had demonstrated, from the
testimony of profane authors, that they were really and truly
the language of the country, " employed to record openly and
plainly their laws, policies, public morals, history, and, in a
word, all kinds of civil matters." ' Here, however, the matter
rested.
The French expedition to Egypt opened the sealed book.
In 1799 M. Boussard - discovered, near Eosetta, a large stone
of black granite, commonly known as the Eosetta stone or
inscription. This appears, from late researches of Mr. Harris,
to have originally been placed in a temple of Turn, or Tomos,
the setting sun, erected to that god by the Pharaoh ISTecho.
It was originally presented to the French Institute of Cairo,
but subsequently, at the capitulation of Alexandria, it was
surrendered to General Hutchinson, and presented by King
George III. to the British Museum. It contained a trigram-
matical inscription; one in hieroglyphs, a second in the demotic,
or vernacular, a third in Greek. From this last it appeared
that it was a solemn decree of the united priesthood in synod
at Memphis, in honour of Ptolemy V., who had conferred upon
them certain benefits, in gratitude for which they had ordered
it to be erected in every temple of the first, second, and third
rank throughout the country in the three forms of writing.
About half of the hieroglyphieal part had been destroyed; but
enough remained for decipherment. Here then was what
Arehimedes demanded, a point on which to stand, a certainty
1 Divine Legation of Moses, 1. c. See also the attack of Prof. Wall,
An Examination of the Orthography of the Jews, 8vo, London, 1835.
2 Arago, Eloge Historique du Dr. T. Young, 8vo, Paris, 1832.
Kircher, that the hieroglyphs were only employed for a sacred
or mystical language, used by the priests to express in cabal-
istic terms the notions of their religion, had already been
exploded by Warburton, who had demonstrated, from the
testimony of profane authors, that they were really and truly
the language of the country, " employed to record openly and
plainly their laws, policies, public morals, history, and, in a
word, all kinds of civil matters." ' Here, however, the matter
rested.
The French expedition to Egypt opened the sealed book.
In 1799 M. Boussard - discovered, near Eosetta, a large stone
of black granite, commonly known as the Eosetta stone or
inscription. This appears, from late researches of Mr. Harris,
to have originally been placed in a temple of Turn, or Tomos,
the setting sun, erected to that god by the Pharaoh ISTecho.
It was originally presented to the French Institute of Cairo,
but subsequently, at the capitulation of Alexandria, it was
surrendered to General Hutchinson, and presented by King
George III. to the British Museum. It contained a trigram-
matical inscription; one in hieroglyphs, a second in the demotic,
or vernacular, a third in Greek. From this last it appeared
that it was a solemn decree of the united priesthood in synod
at Memphis, in honour of Ptolemy V., who had conferred upon
them certain benefits, in gratitude for which they had ordered
it to be erected in every temple of the first, second, and third
rank throughout the country in the three forms of writing.
About half of the hieroglyphieal part had been destroyed; but
enough remained for decipherment. Here then was what
Arehimedes demanded, a point on which to stand, a certainty
1 Divine Legation of Moses, 1. c. See also the attack of Prof. Wall,
An Examination of the Orthography of the Jews, 8vo, London, 1835.
2 Arago, Eloge Historique du Dr. T. Young, 8vo, Paris, 1832.