a history of science-4-第51部分

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ratory　nature　of　light。

Young's　specific　discoveries　were　these：　（1）　That　many　of　the　pictures　of　the　hieroglyphics　stand　for　the　names　of　the　objects　actually　delineated；　（2）　that　other　pictures　are　sometimes　only　symbolic；　（3）　that　plural　numbers　are　represented　by　repetition；　（4）　that　numerals　are　represented　by　dashes；　（5）　that　hieroglyphics　may　read　either　from　the　right　or　from　the　left；　but　always　from　the　direction　in　which　the　animal　and　human　figures　face；　（6）　that　proper　names　are　surrounded　by　a　graven　oval　ring；　making　what　he　called　a　cartouche；　（7）　that　the　cartouches　of　the　preserved　portion　of　the　Rosetta　Stone　stand　for　the　name　of　Ptolemy　alone；　（8）　that　the　presence　of　a　female　figure　after　such　cartouches　in　other　inscriptions　always　denotes　the　female　sex；　（9）　that　within　the　cartouches　the　hieroglyphic　symbols　have　a　positively　phonetic　value；　either　alphabetic　or　syllabic；　and　（10）　that　several　different　characters　may　have　the　same　phonetic　value。

Just　what　these　phonetic　values　are　Young　pointed　out　in　the　case　of　fourteen　characters　representing　nine　sounds；　six　of　which　are　accepted　to…day　as　correctly　representing　the　letters　to　which　he　ascribed　them；　and　the　three　others　as　being　correct　regarding　their　essential　or　consonant　element。　It　is　clear；　therefore；　that　he　was　on　the　right　track　thus　far；　and　on　the　very　verge　of　complete　discovery。　　But；　unfortunately；　he　failed　to　take　the　next　step；　which　would　have　been　to　realize　that　the　same　phonetic　values　which　were　given　to　the　alphabetic　characters　within　the　cartouches　were　often　ascribed　to　them　also　when　used　in　the　general　text　of　an　inscription；　in　other　words；　that　the　use　of　an　alphabet　was　not　confined　to　proper　names。　This　was　the　great　secret　which　Young　missed　and　which　his　French　successor；　Jean　Francois　Champollion；　working　on　the　foundation　that　Young　had　laid；　was　enabled　to　ferret　out。

Young's　initial　studies　of　the　Rosetta　Stone　were　made　in　1814；　his　later　publication　bore　date　of　1819。　Champollion's　first　announcement　of　results　came　in　1822；　his　second　and　more　important　one　in　1824。　　By　this　time；　through　study　of　the　cartouches　of　other　inscriptions；　Champollion　had　made　out　almost　the　complete　alphabet；　and　the　〃riddle　of　the　Sphinx〃　was　practically　solved。　　He　proved　that　the　Egyptians　had　developed　a　relatively　complete　alphabet　（mostly　neglecting　the　vowels；　as　early　Semitic　alphabets　did　also）　centuries　before　the　Phoenicians　were　heard　of　in　history。　What　relation　this　alphabet　bore　to　the　Phoenician　we　shall　have　occasion　to　ask　in　another　connection；　for　the　moment　it　suffices　to　know　that　those　strange　pictures　of　the　Egyptian　scroll　are　really　letters。

Even　this　statement；　however；　must　be　in　a　measure　modified。　These　pictures　are　letters　and　something　more。　　Some　of　them　are　purely　alphabetical　in　character　and　some　are　symbolic　in　another　way。　Some　characters　represent　syllables。　　Others　stand　sometimes　as　mere　representatives　of　sounds；　and　again；　in　a　more　extended　sense；　as　representations　of　things；　such　as　all　hieroglyphics　doubtless　were　in　the　beginning。　　In　a　word；　this　is　an　alphabet；　but　not　a　perfected　alphabet；　such　as　modern　nations　are　accustomed　to；　hence　the　enormous　complications　and　difficulties　it　presented　to　the　early　investigators。

Champollion　did　not　live　to　clear　up　all　these　mysteries。　His　work　was　taken　up　and　extended　by　his　pupil　Rossellini；　and　in　particular　by　Dr。　Richard　Lepsius　in　Germany；　followed　by　M。　Bernouf；　and　by　Samuel　Birch　of　the　British　Museum；　and　more　recently　by　such　well…known　Egyptologists　as　MM。　　Maspero　and　Mariette　and　Chabas；　in　France；　Dr。　Brugsch；　in　Germany；　and　Dr。　E。　Wallis　Budge；　the　present　head　of　the　Department　of　Oriental　Antiquities　at　the　British　Museum。　　But　the　task　of　later　investigators　has　been　largely　one　of　exhumation　and　translation　of　records　rather　than　of　finding　methods。


TREASURES　FROM　NINEVEH

The　most　casual　wanderer　in　the　British　Museum　can　hardly　fail　to　notice　two　pairs　of　massive　sculptures；　in　the　one　case　winged　bulls；　in　the　other　winged　lions；　both　human…headed；　which　guard　the　entrance　to　the　Egyptian　hall；　close　to　the　Rosetta　Stone。　　Each　pair　of　these　weird　creatures　once　guarded　an　entrance　to　the　palace　of　a　king　in　the　famous　city　of　Nineveh。　　As　one　stands　before　them　his　mind　is　carried　back　over　some　twenty…seven　intervening　centuries；　to　the　days　when　the　〃Cedar　of　Lebanon〃　was　〃fair　in　his　greatness〃　and　the　scourge　of　Israel。

The　very　Sculptures　before　us；　for　example；　were　perhaps　seen　by　Jonah　when　he　made　that　famous　voyage　to　Nineveh　some　seven　or　eight　hundred　years　B。C。　A　little　later　the　Babylonian　and　the　Mede　revolted　against　Assyrian　tyranny　and　descended　upon　the　fair　city　of　Nineveh；　and　almost　literally　levelled　it　to　the　ground。　But　these　great　sculptures；　among　other　things；　escaped　destruction；　and　at　once　hidden　and　preserved　by　the　accumulating　debris　of　the　centuries；　they　stood　there　age　after　age；　their　very　existence　quite　forgotten。　When　Xenophon　marched　past　their　site　with　the　ill…starred　expedition　of　the　ten　thousand；　in　the　year　400　B。C。；　he　saw　only　a　mound　which　seemed　to　mark　the　site　of　some　ancient　ruin；　but　the　Greek　did　not　suspect　that　he　looked　upon　the　site　of　that　city　which　only　two　centuries　before　had　been　the　mistress　of　the　world。

So　ephemeral　is　fame！　　And　yet　the　moral　scarcely　holds　in　the　sequel；　for　we　of　to…day；　in　this　new；　undreamed…of　Western　world；　behold　these　mementos　of　Assyrian　greatness　fresh　from　their　twenty…five　hundred　years　of　entombment；　and　with　them　records　which　restore　to　us　the　history　of　that　long…forgotten　people　in　such　detail　as　it　was　not　known　to　any　previous　generation　since　the　fall　of　Nineveh。　　For　two　thousand　five　hundred　years　no　one　saw　these　treasures　or　knew　that　they　existed。　　One　hundred　generations　of　men　came　and　went　without　once　pronouncing　the　name　of　kings　Shalmaneser　or　Asumazirpal　or　Asurbanipal。　　And　to…day；　after　these　centuries　of　oblivion；　these　names　are　restored　to　history；　and；　thanks　to　the　character　of　their　monuments；　are　assured　a　permanency　of　fame　that　can　almost　defy　time　itself。　It　would　be　nothing　strange；　but　rather　in　keeping　with　their　previous　mutations　of　fortune；　if　the　names　of　Asurnazirpal　and　Asurbanipal　should　be　familiar　as　household　words　to　future　generations　that　have　forgotten　the　existence　of　an　Alexander；　a　Caesar；　and　a　Napoleon。　　For　when　Macaulay's　prospective　New　Zealander　explores　the　ruins　of　the　British　Museum　the　records　of　the　ancient　Assyrians　will　presumably　still　be　there　unscathed；　to　tell　their　story　as　they　have　told　it　to　our　generation；　though　every　manuscript　and　printed　book　may　have　gone　the　way　of　fragile　textures。

But　the　past　of　the　Assyrian　sculptures　is　quite　necromantic　enough　without　conjuring　for　them　a　necromantic　future。　The　story　of　their　restoration　is　like　a　brilliant　romance　of　history。　　Prior　to　the　middle　of　this　century　the　inquiring　student　could　learn　in　an　hour　or　so　all　that　was　known　in　fact　and　in　fable　of　the　renowned　city　of　Nineveh。　　He　had　but　to　read　a　few　chapters　of　the　Bible　and　a　few　pages　of　Diodorus　to　exhaust　the　important　literature　on　the　subject。　If　he　turned　also　to　the　pages　of　Herodotus　and　Xenophon；　of　Justin　and　Aelian；　these　served　chiefly　to　confirm　the　suspicion　that　the　Greeks　themselves　knew　almost　nothing　more　of　the　history　of　their　famed　Oriental　forerunners。　The　current　fables　told　of　a　first　King　Ninus　and　his　wonderful　queen　Semiramis；　of　Sennacherib　the　conqueror；　of　the　effeminate　Sardanapalus；　who　neglected　the　warlike　ways　of　his　ancestors　but　perished　gloriously　at　the　last；　with　Nineveh　itself；　in　a　self…imposed　holocaust。　　And　that　was　all。　How　much　of　this　was　history；　how　much　myth；　no　man　could　say；　and　for　all　any　one　suspected　to　the　contrary；　no　man　could　ever　know。　And　to…day　the　contemporary　records　of　the　city　are　before　us　in　such　profusion　as　no　other　nation　of　antiquity；　save　Egypt　alone；　can　at　all　rival。　　Whole　libraries　of　Assyrian　books　are　at　hand　that　were　written　in　the　seventh　century　before　our　era。　These；　be　it　understood；　are　the　original　books　themselves；　not　copies。　　The　author　of　that　remote　time　appeals　to　us　directly；　hand　to　eye；　without　intermediary　transcriber。　And　there　is　not　a　line　of　any　Hebrew　or　Greek　manuscript　of　a　like　age　that　has　been　preserved　to　us；　there　is　little　enough　that　can　match　these　ancient　books　by　a　thousand　years。　When　one　reads　Moses　or　Isaiah；　Homer；　Hesiod；　or　Herodotus；　he　is　but　following　the　transcriptionoften　unquestionably　faulty　and　probably　never　in　all　parts　perfectof　successive　copyists　of　later　generations。　　The　oldest　known　copy　of　the　Bible；　for　example；　dates　probably　from　the　fourth　century　A。D。；　a　thousand　years　or　more　after　the　last　Assyrian　records　were　made　and　read　and　buried　and　forgotten。

There　was　at　least　one　king　of　Assyrianamely；　Asurbanipal；　whose　palace　boasted　a　library　of　some　ten　thousand　volumesa　library；　if　you　please；　in　which　the　books　were　numbered　and　shelved　systematically；　and　classified　and　cared　for　by　an　official　librarian。　　If　you　would　see　some　of　the　documents　of　this　marvellous　li