Rosetta Stone

One of the most important discoveries of the present century, from an historical point of view, is the key to Egyptian hieroglyphics, known as the "Rosetta Stone," now in the British Museum. For fourteen hundred years the hieroglyph was a dead language, and the history of Egypt, except that contained in Genesis, was a sealed book. In August of 1799 the key was accidentally found. It was discovered by the French Exploration Company, under Napoleon, while making an excavation for a fort at Rosetta, in lower Egypt, and hence is called the Rosetta Stone. This stele (an engraved stone) contains an inscription written in three different languages--Hieroglyphic, Demotic, or the more common language of the Egyptians, and Greek. From the Greek text it was discovered that the inscription was tri-lingual, and that each of the writings was a translation of the other. Beginning with this clue, Dr. Young, in 1815, finally succeeded in deciphering from the hieroglyphical character the single word Ptolemy; and, to the profound amazement of the scholars of the age, the spelling was found to be phonetic (by sound), and not ideographic (by object or idea). This learned antiquarian also made out the name Berenice, among the pictorial writings in the frescoes of Karnak. In 1822 Champollion deciphered the word Cleopatra from an obelisk found at Philae. Afterwards continuing his researches, he was able to complete the translation of the Rosetta Stone, thereby opening up the whole field of Egyptian history. It is now known that in the course of Egyptian annals, down to the time of the Roman Emperors, four systems of writing were successively employed; further back than the oldest of these, it is evident that pictorial symbols were used to represent ideas, but at what date the ideograph (or picture-writing proper) flourished, and under what circumstances it gave place to an improved style of conveying thought, cannot be known. The oldest system of writing in the world is this so-called hieroglyphic, or sacred carving. The investigations of those in Egypt, since 1822, have resulted in strong proof of the authenticity of the Old Testament Scriptures.

The Rosetta Stone is of black basalt, about three feet seven inches in length, two feet six inches in width, and ten inches thick. It was dug up by a French officer, named Bouchart, and was expected to augment the treasures of science in the Louvre; but the victory of Lord Hutchinson, and the consequent capitulation of Alexandria, transferred it to the hands of the British, and it was landed in Portsmouth in February, 1802. The stone is handsomely mounted, and is one of the highly prized treasures of the British Museum. The inscription is a decree, in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes, by the priests of Egypt assembled in a synod at Memphis, on account of the remission of arrears of taxes and dues owed by the sacerdotal body. It was set up in 195 B. C., and is the only one of the number ordered to be erected which has as yet come to light. Since its discovery, other tablets, of greater variety, far more important and more nearly perfect, have been discovered, but this is the only one with a corresponding Greek inscription. Now, by means of the Rosetta Stone, hieroglyphics can be translated as readily as any of the classic writings. The length of the inscription does not admit of more than a brief extract here. It begins,--"In the reign of the youthful king who received the kingdom from his father,"--and closes, "Write this decree upon a column of hard stone, in sacred, and enchorial and Greek letters, and place it in each of the temples of the first, second and third orders, near the image of the ever living King."