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CHA P. XI.

Hiftorical obfervations upon alphabets, and the invention of letters; with a table of fome of those of Europe.

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IODORUS SICULUS, in his first book, D seems to prove my opinion, that hieroglyphical writing was only confined to the facred affairs of the Egyptian, Ethiopian, and other priefts; but was never used by the public; for that fymbolical kind of writing, which confifted only of the images of various things put together, would very ill fuit the tranfaction of the bufinefs of the world, especially too, as mercantile affairs were begun, and carried on, very early after the flood, which required a more intelligible and ready way than by figures of animals, &c. for the dispatch of business. Let us see what Diod. Sicul. fays, in the above place; nothing less than "that every body was taught "the vulgar, or common, letters; but that those which "were accounted facred, were only known to the priests, "whose fathers, or predeceffors, taught them privately.” He fays, particularly, "the priests teach their children "two kinds of letters; one of which they call facred, " and the other of more common ufe." This would certainly point out, that the first was adapted to their religious purposes, and the other for common bufinefs; and in another place, a little further on, where he tells us that "the common people learned the trades of their fathers, or relations, whereby they lived, he fays that they teach writing letters, but not every one, only those chiefly

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"who are the mafters of arts;" and this, among the common people.

I THINK an argument, in fupport of this opinion, may be drawn from the following animadverfions, which, however, I fubmit to the reader's confideration, to judge of them as he pleafes: the firft is, that all we know of Egyptian writing, we have from tables, columns, ftatues, and fuch like; which, moft likely, were infcribed for facred purposes, of fome kind or other; and we certainly must think this of them, till fome genuine interpretations of them can be obtained to invalidate this opinion; and this is probably among the defiderata vana. Again, I believe it can hardly admit of a doubt, that the fons of Shem spoke the Hebrew tongue; and it is proved before, that those of Ham had the fame language; nor can it be proved, that they had not their letters alfo in Noah's family: if this be true, the fons of Ham, who were Phonicians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, &c. needed not to be driven to the shift of inventing images for writing their language, in the performance of common business, when they had characters to express all they wanted. No! it seems most likely, that the priests of that idolatrous race invented this manner of writing, by hieroglyphics, for the myfteries of their religious worship, in order to blind the vulgar, and enslave the minds of the people, for which the common manner of writing would be improper: and this is the cafe, to this day, all over the pagan world. That most authors think hieroglyphical writing was for facred purposes, is well known, among whom Ammian. Marcell. in his twenty-fecond book, fays, "there are cer"tain

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"tain fubterraneous places, which, as it is reported, those "who were skilled in the rites of the ancients, foreseeing "the coming of the deluge, and fearing that all memory of "ceremonies might be loft, conftructed them, with great "labour, in several places, and carved upon the walls the figures of many kinds of birds and beafts, and other species “of animals, which they called hieroglyphics ;" and this author expreffes the fame opinion, in his seventeenth book; where he fays, he faw, at Thebes, certain obelifks, on which were drawn the figures of the Egyptian deities, which the ancient kings, upon their conquests of nations, or other profperous events, dedicated to the gods, in their religion; who these gods were, is mentioned before; nor was this manner peculiar to the Egyptian priests alone, but those of the Thracians and Phoenicians had the fame kind of hieroglyphical writing, on the fame account only; though it will appear, that both thefe had the use of letters befides: for, in Diodorus's very first book, where he is fpeaking of the most ancient laws of the Egyptians, he fays, that public business was carried on by writing, as it is now in transacting commercial affairs in every nation, and between man and man. He fays, that whoever was guilty of adulterating, or falfifying, the current money; or whatever scribe, or notary, was detected in forging deeds or contracts, or in making rafures in any writings, was fentenced to have both his hands cut off. This is a fufficient proof, that the common people of Egypt, and, indeed, of all its neighbouring nations, had the use of writing, upon every proper occafion. Again, where Bocchoris is faid to have made laws for commercial affairs, it

is faid, that if a man borrowed money without giving note or bond, if he denied the debt upon oath, he was difcharged. And, again, in case of money borrowed upon intereft by bond, when the intereft paid amounted to double the sum of the principal, the debt was discharged.

THE general notion of the firft exiftence of letters is, that all alphabets are derived from the Hebrew characters;. and to this opinion Henfelius, in his Sinopfis Univerfa Philologia, firmly adheres; who fays, page 78, after having laboured the fubject to produce this conclufion: "Ex "hifce ergo literis primis Hebræorum, a Dɛo, Mofi reve"latis, et hinc omnino myfteriofis, prognati funt tot ac "tam varii fcribendi characteres literarumque alphabetæ, EC quot cernuntur in orbe terrarum." i. e. "Therefore, "from thefe firft letters of the Hebrews, revealed by GoD "to Mofes, and confequently altogether myfterious, all "the various characters, and alphabets of letters, that are "known in the world, have fprung."

Now, notwithstanding this affertion, when the above author comes to speak of the Occidental letters, page 79, in first considering the Scythic alphabet, he thinks it likely, that the Phœnicians, indeed, very foon formed letters, from whom the Ionians firft received them; yet, from the various opinions concerning the origin of the Greeks, and there are not wanting, fays he, teftimonies of there having been letters in Greece before Cadmus, he confeffes, that if he may have leave to conjecture about it, it is poffible fomething of this kind had been brought from Scythia into Greece, fince the Scythians had letters before Cadmus's time; but Henfelius was inclined to think thefe letters,

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were only hieroglyphical: however, he fays, there are teftimonies of the Greeks having letters, which were called Pelafgian letters, about the time of Deucalion's flood; and that Euftathius, upon the fecond Iliad of Homer, verse 841, giving a reason why he calls the Pelafgians divine, fays they were called fo, because they only, being the original Greeks, preferved their letters at the time of that deluge. It may also, fays Henfelius, be gathered from Diodorus, lib. 5, that there were certain letters in Greece before Cadmus : but that, after the deluge, there was such a deftruction of men and things, that with them their letters were also loft; and therefore it was thought, that after feveral ages, Cadmus, the fon of Agenor, brought letters into Greece from Phoenicia. Now, it can hardly be supposed, that the manner of writing which was certainly among the defcendants of Japhet, the Gomerians and Magogians, who were the Pelafgians and Scythians, could have been obliterated by that inundation, which was a partial one, overflowing only one part of Greece; and therefore neither of these people ftood in need of any letters that Cadmus is faid to bring with him in afterages; and if he brought any, which are faid to be fixteen in number, they must be supposed to be either taken from the Hebrew alphabet, or else they must be from that which was carrried from Scythia by Fenius, the Scythian king, who founded schools in Shinar, and taught languages and sciences, with his two coadjutors, as I have shewn it in a former chapter; and from whom the Phenicians had their name: for both Gomerians and Magogians had arts and learning among them, even from the

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