СНАР. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL'. Straho's observa- But with reference to the inscription upon the obelisk at Heliopolis, and to the numerous examples of the same kind which have been noticed among the antiquities of Egypt, although (1) Exodus xxviii. 9. (2) See Vol. IV. of these Travels, p. 34. Octavo edition. (3) Witness the appearance of the Crux ansata upon a Phænician medal found in CYPRUS. See Vignette to Chap. II. Vol. IV. of these Travels. Octavo edition. (4) Exodus xxviii. 11, 25. CHAP. IV. of the Hie we be unable to explain any thing of their original import, there is one mode of considering them, in which a careful examination of the signs thus represented may be attended with amusement, if not with instruction. This con- Archetypes sists, first, in ascertaining what the archetypes roglyphics. were of the several figures used to denote letters: these are sometimes clearly exhibited, but often confusedly sketched, as if with a view to abbreviation; and secondly, in using these documents, not only to illustrate the manners of the most antient nations, but also to prove the existence of many antient customs from their existing relics. In this point of view, the discoveries made by Denon among the hieroglyphics of Upper Egypt are valuable, The light thrown upon the history of antient Architecture, and of the Arts and Sciences, by the figured representation of things as they existed in the earliest periods, will gratify a laudable curiosity, and may also answer the more important purpose of con veying historical information. The hieroglyphics (5) See Denon's account of the hieroglyphics in the Sepulchres of the antient Kings of THEBES. Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt, vol. II. p. 173. London, 1803.-Also of the hieroglyphics of "Tentyra,' where he discovered the first models of the style of decoration improperly termed Arabesque, such as were executed in painting at the Baths of Tutu, and copied by Raphael. See vol. I. p. 211. IV. CHAP. of Heliopolis perhaps afford less illustration. of this kind than any other characters of the same nature; because the style of sculpture is here so rude, that many of the archetypes, whence the types of the inscription were derived, cannot now be ascertained; but, owing to their great antiquity, the few that can be discerned are worth notice. In the In the very summit of the obelish, beneath the figure of a vulture, may be observed the Crux ansata'. The original Crux ansala. (1) "Sed non erat ullum templum, in quo non figura crucis ansatæ, ut eam eruditi vocant, sæpius visenda occurreret, hodieque in ruderibus ac ruinis etiamnum occurrat. Ejus hæc est species ... Crucem vero istam ansatam, quæ in omnibus Ægyptiorum templis sæpius ficta et picta extabat, quam signa Deorum Ægyptiorum manu tenere solent, quæ partem facit ornatus sacerdotalis, nihil aliud esse quam phallum," &c. (Vide Jablonski Panth, Egypt. I. 282.) Jamblichus thinks the Crux ansata was the name of the Divine Being. Sozomen, and other Christian writers, (Vide Sozomen. Eccl. Hist. lib. vii. c. 15. Ruffin. Eccl. Hist. lib. ii. c. 29.) conceive the whole figure, or at least the cross, to be expressive of the life to come;" deriving this opinion from the explanation given of it by those of the Heathens who understood the hieroglyphics, and were converted to Christianity. Sometimes it is represented by a cross fastened to a circle, as above; in other instances, with the letter T only, fixed in this manner to a circle. By the circle, says Kircher (Prod. Copt. p. 169), is to be understood the Creator and Preserver of the world; as the wisdom derived from him, which directs and governs it, is signified by the ♣, T, the monogram, as he further conjectures, of Mercury, Thoth, Tuaut, or T Ptha. It is certainly very extraordinary," (says Shaw, who has collected almost every information upon this subject,) "and worthy of our notice, that this crux ansata should be so often in their symbolical writings; either alone, or held in of this curious type was the sort of key in use among the Antients, which generally appears fastened to a ring. Sometimes it is seen annexed to a rosary of beads, as in the remarkable instance where the same symbol appears upon a Phoenician medal' found at Citium in the Isle of Cyprus, of which an engraving was given in the preceding section'. This kind of key is not entirely banished from modern use; and such instruments have been discovered in the ruins of antient cities. They are often seen in the hands of Egyptian statues. Two were represented, as pendent from hooks, upon a hieroglyphical tablet found near the Pyramids by Paul Lucas+. The archetype of this symbol may possibly therefore have been a key. It is not the less likely to answer to Jablonski's explanation of it on this account. We have historical in the hands, or suspended over the necks, of their deities. Beetles, and such other sacred animals and symbols, as were bored through, and intended for, amulets, had this figure frequently impressed upon them." (See Shaw's Trav. p. 360. Lond. 1757.) The same author considers it to be the same with the ineffable image of Eternity, noticed by Suidas. Vide Euseb. Præf. Evan. p. 69. (2) It seems to have as much reference to Phoenicia, as to Egypt. Upon a medal of Sidon, the cross appears carried by Minerva in a boat. (3) See Vignette to Chapter II, Vol. IV. Octavo edition. (4) See the Engraving of this in the Second Volume of his Travels, as published at Amsterdam in 1744, tom. II. p. 130. (5) See Note in opposite page, containing an extract from Jablonski, CHAP. IV. upou IV. Meaning Ansata. CHAP. information relative to the meaning of the Crus ansata. Indeed, it may be considered as the of the Crur only hieroglyphical type concerning whose import we have any certain intelligence. The singular appearance of a Cross so frequently recurring among the hieroglyphics of Egypt, had excited the curiosity of the Christians in a very early period of ecclesiastical history'; and as some of the priests', who were acquainted with the meaning of the hieroglyphics, became converted to Christianity, the secret transpired. The converted Heathens," says Socrates Scholasticus, upon the meaning of the Crux ansata. The women of Naples wear it as (1) The Serapéum at Alexandria was destroyed about the year 389. It was at the destruction of this building that the Christians first became acquainted with the meaning of the Cross among the Egyptian hieroglyphics. (2) No liberty is here taken, either with the text of Ruffinus or of Socrates, in saying the priests; because no others possessed a knowledge of the sacred writing. (3) Τούτων δὲ ἀμφισβητουμένων, τινὲς τῶν Ἑλλήνων τῷ Χριστιανισμό προσελθόντες, τὰ ἱερογλυφικὰ σὲ γράμματα ἐπιστάμενοι, διερμηνεύοντες τὸν σταυροειδή χαρακτῆρα, ἔλεγον σημαίνειν ζωὴν ἐπερχομένην. "Dum hæc inter illos agitatur controversia, quidam ex Gentilium errore ad Christi fidem conversi, qui hujusmodi literarum notitiam habebant, notam hane crucis forma depictam interpretantes, venturam vitam significare docuerunt." |