Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/801

EGYPT. 695 EGYPT. animals, plants, weapons, implements, and other objects. Their number is very large, though only about live hundred are in lieijuent use. As re- gards their employment, they naturally resolve into three classes: ( 1 ) Phonetic signs, which arc either alphabetic or syllabic: that is, they stand cither lor a single consonant or tor a syllable. (2) Ideograms, uhicli [jroperly represent each a particular word, but are frequently used, in a purely phonetic manner, to represent any word having the same group of consonants. (3) De- terminatives, or signs i)laced after words to indicate their meaning in a general way. For example, verbs of motion were determined by a pair of legs; names of animals, by the ])icture of a hide with the tail attached. The determina- tives were not pronounced, but merely served as an indication to the reader. The prevailing orthography required that each word should be written by means of its ideogram (if it had one), and to this was added an indication of the pro- nunciation in phonetic characters. Sometimes the whole word was tlius spelled out. As in all ancient systems of writing, except the Assyro- Babylonian cuneiform, only the consonants were written, the vowels being left for the reader to supply. ( See Hieroglyphics. ) While the hiero- glyphics were well adapted for monumental in- scriptions cut in stone, and lent themselves ad- mirably to decorative effects, they were very unwieldy where rapidity was essential. At a very early period, therefcne. another kind of script, called the hieratic, came into use for writing on papyrus. The same characters were used, but in a more cursive form : only the essen- tial features of the hieroglypliics were retained and these were merely indicated by a few strokes. Hieratic, therefore, differs from hieroglyphic writ- ing in much the same way that our written let- ters differ from print. There was a constant tendency to give the hieratic a more cursive form when applied to business and other prac- tical purposes, and this tendency resulted, about B.C. 700, in the development of a new script, called the demotic or 'popular' writing. Demotic was simply a very cursive script, and was developed from hieratic just as this was devel- oped from hieroglyphic writing. It was in gen- eral use for papyri of a secular character as late as the Roman period. The most recent demotic text dates from the fifth century a.d. Through- out all these changes, the system of writing re- mained the same; it was merely the forms of the characters that were altered. In the second cen- tury A.D. the Egvptians seem to have realized the cumbrous nature of the demotic cursive script, and attempted to write their language in the verj- simple Greek characters. These at- tempts resulted in the development of the Coptic alphabet of thirty-one letters, of which twenty- four were borrowed from the Greek alphabet, while the remaining seven, representing sounds for which the Greek alphabet had no equivalent, were derived from demotic. In addition to its simplicity, this alphabet has the groat advantage of expressing the vowels as well as the conso- nants. As the vowels are never indicated in the older system. Coptic becomes practically the only guide to the vocalization of all the earlier stages of the language. LiTERATiRE AND SCIENCE. That the literature of the ancient Egyptians was very rich is evident from the remains of it that we now possess. The earliest examples of religious literature are pre served in the texts engraved in the jjyramids of Dynasties Five and Six, and consist of magical formula- designed to secure the welfare of the deceased in the future life. They have been jiublished and translated by ilaspero in Utciuil lie Irintiux (Paris, 1882 et seci.). A later col- lection of texts of a similar cliaracter is to be found in the Hook of the Dead. (See Dead, Book OF TjiE. ) The great mass of Egyptian religious literature consists of imitations of 'and extracts from these collections. There were, moreover, many religioiis myths, though but few have been preserved. Plutarch gives a very full account of the niytlis relating to Osiris and his family in his UqA 'lo-iSoj Koi 'OnfpiSoi, and a few legends of the sun-god lie are to be found on the Egyp- tian monuments. These are fully treated by Wiedemann in his lieligion of the Aiieiciit l-yyp- tians (Eng. trans., Xew York, 1897). There were also a number of ritual texts giving minute direc- tions in regard to the temple services. The rituals of the Theban divinities Amnion and Mvit have been published in facsimile by the authorities of the Berlin Jluseum (Hieratische I'lijii/nis iius (hit honiglichcn Museen zu Berlin, 189(j-l!101 ) . Con- trary to the expectations entertained before the decipherment of the hieroglyphics. Egyptian lit- erature is totally lacking in works of a philo- sophical or speculative character. Collections of moral maxims, resembling in many respects the Biblical Book of Proverbs, seem to have been pop- ular. Among the best known are the Proverbs of Ptah-hotep (Prisse d'Avennes, Far-simWc fJ'iin, papyrus cyyptien en caracteres hi&ratiquen, trouv4 a Thebes, Paris, 1847) and the Prescriptions of Ani (Mariette, Les papyrus cgypticns du music de Boulaq, Paris, 1872-77). All such works are. however, entirely practical in their object, and present no abstract philosophical ideas. Egyp- tian science was also entirely practical, and falls far short of the expectations raised by classical writers. The Rhind Papyrus of the British Mu- seum is the most extensive mathematical work of the ancient Egyptians that has been preserved. Dr. August Eisenlohr published a facsimile of this papyrus accompanied by a translation and commentary under the title. Ein niathcmatisches Handlnirh der altcn Acpypter (l^ipzig. 1877), and a facsimile in colors was later issued by the trustees of the British Museum (London, 1898). It is a mere handbook containing the solution of a number of arithmetical and geometrical prob- lems of practical application. How, for example, to divide so manj' loaves of bread or so many jars of beer among a certain number of persons so that each shall receive a certain proportion; how to calculate the number of bushels of corn that can be contained in a granary of given dimensions: how to calculate the area of a field ijf given linear dimensions, etc. .ddition and subtraction were easily handled, but nuiltiplication or division by any number larger than two involved a very long and tedious process. Of the astronomy of the Egyptians little is known at present, though it is evident that they paid much attention to the subject. They mapped out the constellations, distinguished between planets and fi.xed stars, and constructed charts exhibiting the positions of the stars during the twelve hours of the niglit The Egj-ptian year contained 305 days divided