SPECIMENS OF PHRASES.
The last line of the inscription of Rosetta will serve as a specimen of the way in which the hiero glyphical characters were combined, so as to form a language; and will show at the same time the rela tion between the sacred and the enchorial texts. At the beginning of .the line we find some obscurity, and a want of perfect correspondence in the two in scriptions ; but it is clear that the fork or ladder, the arm and the feathers, mean to prepare or procure 165 3 - then follows a column (n. 91); the wavy line, (n. 177); the semicircle and two dashes, with e arm, probably strong or hard ; the block or square below, with its semicircle, stone; the loop or knot, wrought or engraver; the half arch, in or with; the instrument or case, writing, or letters (n. 103); the wavy line, the hatchet, and drop, with the three dashes making a plural, appropriate do the gods, that is, sacred (n. 146); the case again, letters; the hat, of (n. 177); the ladder, arm, and feathers, the country ; the serpent and bent line, approaching to the sense of perpetuity and greatness, seem to be a mark of respect to the country, though it is barely possible that they may be substituted for the repeti tion of the instrument or case, and may mean the language, and belong to the following curl on the stern, the feathers, the serpent, and the hat, which signify Greek (n. 83). The headdress of flowers meamng probably a priest, the following curl with the dashes probably ornamental or honorary, or per haps collective, and the two bowls, with the man in the plural, a Publication (n. 158), the whole of these symbols must express the honorary decree of Me priests, or the decree of the assernbkd priests; but the enchorial text seems to include the symbol for honour. The oval, with the semicircle and arm, implies in order that, or in order to; the fork with cross bars, the arm, the legs, and the snake, set it up (n. 164); the bird, in (n. 172); the three broad feathers over as many open squares, the temples, as a plural; the half arch and oval with the plural dashes, all, or of all kinds; the open square, wheel, scale, head, dash, and ring, Egypt (n. 80); the figure
with a vase on his head, subjection or power, as in n. 139; making the whole belonging to Egypt, or throughout Egypt; the fork and dash are in, or in all; the knots or chains, followed by the numbers, of the first, the second, and the third order (n. 187, 189, 191): the oval, half arch, and dash, wherever, or in which, leaving out " shall be ;" the tool and standing figure, with the intervening characters, the image (n. 101); the hat, of; the reed and bee, with the semicircles, King ; the square, semicircle, lion, half arch, two feathers, and bent line, Ptolemy (n. the handled cross and serpent with the two semicircles, the everliviag (n. 110) ; the square block, semicircle, and chain, dear to (n. 162); the hieralpha and two feathers, Phthah, or Vulcan (n. 6); all this being included within the ring or phy lactery together with the name ; the open square, the oval, and the pair of legs after the ring, illustri ous or Epiphanes (n. 121); and lastly, the scale, and the three lutes, munificent (n. 154); the con junctions being often omitted, as they also very com monly are in Coptic, and even in Greek.
The enchorial text agrees in many parts extreme. ly well with the hieroglyphics, according to the general style of imitation which has been alrea dy explained and exemplified, although in some passages there is a greater difference than might have been expected. The beginning of the encho rial lines seems to contain the word decree, which cannot be found in this part of the hieroglyphics ; the character for letters occurs three times in it, as if the sacred character used in the third place meant language ; the " sacerdotal decree" of the sacred characters is omitted in the corresponding part of the enchorial ; the word temples is repeated before each numeral; the term wherever is amplified ; the image is a very coarse imitation, and is followed by the character for a deity, meaning sacred or divine; and, lastly, the name of Ptolemy is omitted, the word king being only followed by " whose life shall be for ever r or a phrase of similar import.