which, in all ages and nations, has led good men, unaccustomed to reasoning, to an implicit faith in the creed of their infancy; a feeling which affords an evidence of the existence of the Deity, incomparably more striking than if, unmixed with error, and undebased by superstition, this most important of all principles had commanded the universal assent of mankind. Where are the other truths in the whole circle of the sciences, which are so essential to human happiness, as to procure an easy access, not only for themselves, but for whatever opinions may happen to be blended with them? Where are the truths so venerable and commanding, as to impart their own sublimity to every trifling memorial which recalls them to remembrance; to bestow solemnity and elevation on every mode of expression by which they are conveyed; and which, in whatever scene they have habitually occupied the thoughts, consecrate every object which it presents to our senses, and the very ground we have been accustomed to tread? To attempt to weaken the authority of such impressions, by a detail of the endless variety of forms, which they derive from casual associations, is surely an employment unsuited to the dignity of philosophy. To the vulgar, it may be amusing in this, as in other instances, to indulge their wonder at what is new or uncommon; but to the philosopher it belongs to perceive, under all these various disguises, the working of the same common nature; and in the superstitions of the

later ages of the Egyptian religion, not less than in the lofty visions of Plato, to recognise the existence of those moral ties, which unite the heart of man to the Author of his being."

The justice of these observations will appear, in a more striking manner, in a future Lecture, on the origin of idolatry.

LECTURE VII.

History of figurative hieroglyphics-Their general use amongst mankind-Explanation of the Mexican mode of writing by representation of the object-Alterations introduced by the Egyptians-Causes which must have produced them—Attempt at explaining some of the characters.

I HAVE now explained, in as comprehensive a way as I could, the whole of the discoveries which have been made hitherto in the decyphering of hieroglyphics. Our scholars may now, by the assistance of the Coptic language, and with comparatively little trouble, read almost any and every inscription which can be found amongst the Egyptian monuments. But although this may be a great satisfaction, yet there are other topics connected with this celebrated country of Egypt, which now command our attention. Who, for instance, were these dreaded Hyk-shos, or shepherd kings? Who was the Pharaoh that protected Joseph, and admitted the Israelites into Egypt? Who was the other Pharaoh who opposed Moses? What were the celebrated mysteries of Isis? What was their nature and their import? Have they been the cause, or have they been the consequence, of ido

latry? In either case, were they connected with the theology of the people? Can any thing respecting them be collected from their literature ? and if so, of what character was the Egyptian literature? How was it made public, how preserved? Are there any records from which we can collect some information concerning this important question? And, above all, how were these books written? Did the Egyptians always make use of the alphabet? and if so, what is the origin of hieroglyphics? and, on the other hand, if these latter were the first invented and employed, by what step did the Egyptians come to the discovery of the alphabet?

These are all important, curious, and highly interesting questions, which command the attention of the scholar, as well as the general reader, and they will furnish us with the subject for the remaining part of these Lectures. Amongst these, the invention of the alphabet seems the first to claim our attention; and, therefore, in this Lecture we shall confine our research to the origin and manner of writing adopted by the Egyptians, which, from time immemorial, has attracted the attention of the learned, but which, till the present moment, seemed to have been enveloped in fables and obscurity. Indeed, the variety of opinions held on this subject, even now, is appalling. Many, in fact, pretend that the Egyptians had three different manners of writing; others, that they had only two. The acute Warburton asserted that they

had four; and not a few have strenuously supported, that hieroglyphical writing was the only mode in use amongst them, because, according to the hypothesis adopted by these writers, to other nations was due the credit of having invented the alphabet.

To clear up so much uncertainty will be the object of this and the next Lecture. To do so, it will be necessary to inquire what were the precise notions of the ancients in regard to hieroglyphics, and what information can we derive from the writings of the moderns? We must then proceed to trace, if possible, the origin of the hieroglyphics.

Clement, a priest of Alexandria, who lived about the end of the second century of our æra, a man of great learning, and who had paid a great deal of attention to the study of antiquity, asserted that the Egyptians had three different modes of writing, or, in other words, three different sorts of characters. These were, the epistolographic, or common characters, used in all the common transactions of life; the hieratic, or sacerdotal, employed merely in the writing of books by the priesthood; and the hieroglyphics, destined to religious uses, and generally on public monuments. Of the former sets of characters, Clement does no more than mention the names, because, being alphabetical, and consequently not very different from the letters employed by other nations, there was no more to be said on the subject. He is more minute in