secuted the inquiry much further, assigning the groups of characters corresponding to sixteen other names and words, and determining an alphabet which, though confessedly imperfect, was very generally applicable to the proper names, but which he vainly strove to extend to the whole inscription. Availing himself of the results of their researches, as far as they could be depended upon, Young pasted upon parchment the several portions of the two first inscriptions, as given in the engravings of them, taken line by line or group by group, with those corresponding to them in the Greek text which was written above them. The parchments, with the appended texts, are now before me, and have been prepared with the neatness and minute care for which he was so remarkable. The result was a conjectural translation of the enchorial or Egyptian inscription, both in English and Latin, the first of which was appended to his other remarks on Sir Wm. Boughton's paper, and the second designed for distribution abroad. In writing to Mr. Gurney, who had heard of the work in which he was engaged, he

says

"You tell me that I shall astonish the world if I make out the inscription. I think it on the contrary astonishing that it should not have been made out already, and that I should find the task so difficult as it appears to be. Certainly the labour of a few days would be sufficient for the comparison of an equal number of lines in any ordinary unknown language, aided by a literal translation, so as to identify pretty satisfactorily all the words that occurred more than once, and to ascertain their meaning: but I have been a month upon this, and have still several passages that occur more than once which I cannot completely identify, or at least understand. But by far the greater part of the words I have ascertained with tolerable certainty, and some of the most interesting without the shadow of a doubt; but I can read very few of them alphabetically, except the proper names which Akerblad has read before and this is the

more intolerably provoking, as there was so much reason to expect a very general coincidence with the Coptic, the names of the three months mentioned in the Greek agreeing very correctly with the Coptic names. I have, however, made so few attempts to obtain an alphabet that I am not yet much discouraged on this head. I have considered the whole as hieroglyphical, and assuredly if it had been truly hieroglyphical I should have succeeded much more rapidly than I have done, because the characters could be easily recognised when they occurred the second time; while in the present inscription they are so carelessly engraved as often to differ exceedingly, besides that the nature of the symbol might possibly have been of some assistance. I have certainly deciphered much more of the Egyptian inscription than Akerblad had done when he published his Essay ten years ago, and as he professed his intention of pursuing the subject, I think he must have done something more; and as he had undoubtedly begun right, I am very desirous of knowing what has prevented his completing the task, and of comparing our ideas, as possibly one may have succeeded where the other has failed. Will you have the goodness to send the enclosed note to Silvestre de Sacy, and tell him at the same time that you will take charge of the answer."

Mr. Gurney was then in Paris, during the short peace of 1814 which followed the first abdication of Napoleon.

In a subsequent letter, written when his labours were concluded, and addressed to the same correspondent, who in a letter from Paris had referred to Champollion's work entitled L'Egypte sous les Pharaons, in which the Rosetta inscriptions were said to have been the subject of examination, he says—

"Your first letter disturbed my rest with impatience to see

This letter and the reply to it are given in Dr. Young's Works, vol. iii. pp. 16, 17.

'L'Egypte sous les Pharaons, ou recherches sur la géographie, la religion, la langue, les écritures, et l'histoire de l'Egypte, avant l'invasion de Cambyses; par M. Champollion le jeune, professeur d'histoire, bibliothécaireadjoint de la ville de Grenoble.' Paris, 1814. 2 vols. The work was never completed.

a

Champollion's work: soon afterwards, however, I had a few lines from Sylvestre de Sacy, mentioning that author, but merely as pretending to understand the inscription and not as having published his interpretation. For the present, however, I have done with the subject, and am going to write a medical book: when I shall resume it, or whether at any time, I do not know but I have certainly every encouragement to pursue it, having already succeeded beyond my late expectations with respect to the hieroglyphics: of these I have deciphered about one half, which is the first step towards any authentic information respecting the ancient history and letters of Egypt. Of the Egyptian, de Sacy has made out three proper names, and Akerblad nine more and five or six Coptic words. I have detected fifty or sixty Coptic words, ten or twelve of them without any doubt, but this makes little more than one tenth of the whole inscription, and I doubt if it will be ever possible to reduce much more of it to Coptic, especially as I have fully ascertained that some of the characters are hieroglyphics. I have, however, made out the sense of the whole sufficiently for my purpose, and by means of the variations from the Greek, I have been able to effect a comparison with the hieroglyphics, which it would have been impossible to do satisfactorily without this intermediate step. The repetition of names and titles varies considerably, and in such a manner as to produce a difference between the Greek and hieroglyphics, which was a bar to all further investigation, besides the want of several portions towards the end of the Greek, all of which except one, the Egyptian supplies sufficiently. In general there is little resemblance between the hieroglyphic and the thing represented by it except the numbers under ten; a priest; a shrine;

image, and a few others.

an

a

God is; in the Egyptian R. aswvoßios; Egyptian 4. Vulcan 4; Egyptian 7.

ἀιωνοβίος

Good. King. Proper names within a line, as I had conjectured, and in Egyptian, I had before observed a part

a

Works, vol. iii. p. 17.

His Essay on Consumptive Diseases.

• Works vol. iii. pp. 23, 24.

of this character terminating names thus, K. ....), without knowing its origin: plurals are formed by three symbols of the

same kind, or by three points, as or, gods. If the ୮୮୮ whole stone could be recovered, we should know much more. The difficulties have been far greater than there was any reason to expect, and I am almost surprised that the labour I have bestowed on them has effected so little in comparison of what it might have happened to effect; at the same time, in point of public interest, the result is sufficiently striking. My communications will, however, remain anonymous. Notwithstanding what I have heard of Champollion, you will easily imagine that I am not a little anxious to see what he has done, and obliged to your kindness in procuring the book."

he

In another letter towards the end of the same year says:

"I have only spent literally five minutes in looking over Champollion, turning by means of the index to the parts where he has quoted the inscription of Rosetta. He follows Akerblad blindly with scarcely any acknowledgment. But he certainly has picked out the sense of a few passages in the inscription by means of Akerblad's investigations-although in four or five Coptic words which he pretends to have found in it, he is wrong in all but one-and that is a very short and a very obvious one. My translation is printed: it is anonymous, and must for some time remain so: but everybody whose approbation is worth having will know the author."

In the following year, 1816, a revision of this translation was published in the Museum Criticum, a Cam

a

Egypte sous les Pharaous, vol. i. p. 23. The author refers to a part to be hereafter published for the result of his examination of this inscription and of the alphabet which he had deduced from it; an inquiry which he deems to be of no small importance as regards the reading of the various Egyptian manuscripts which are known to be in existence, and also from its possible use in the interpretation of hieroglyphics, with which it may have some connection; he adds that such an hypothesis must not be deemed paradorical.

bridge journal of classical literature edited by the present learned Bishop of Gloucester, who was at that time Greek Professor. To this translation was added a correspondence relating to it which had passed between himself, Sylvestre de Sacy and Akerblad.

In his earlier investigations, Akerblad had begun by assuming the Egyptian language of the age of the Ptolemies-which was used in the second of the three inscriptions to be identical in grammatical construction and in a great majority of such of its words, as were not immediately adopted from the Greek, with the Coptic of four or five centuries later; such being the date of the earliest books in that language which have come down to us: and he felt persuaded, therefore, that if he could recover the alphabet, no serious difficulty would present itself, not merely in the restoration, but in the interpretation, of the language. His later investigations, however, had tended to check considerably the sanguine hopes of success in which he had once indulged; the alphabet which he had proposed embracing a small proportion only of the different characters made use of in the inscription, which he found to be more than two hundred in number; it proved in consequence altogether inadequate for its transcription into the Coptic or any other language. Notwithstanding this failure, however, his name should ever be held in honour as one of the founders of our knowledge of Egyptian literature, to the investigation of which he brought no small amount of patient labour and philological learning.

Champollion, as we have already seen, followed in the footsteps of Akerblad, adopting all his hypo

Works, vol. iii. p. 60. "Je vois," says Sylvestre de Sacy, "qu'il a des doutes sur son alphabet Egyptien, pius que par le passé."