Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-05-09

! c6y P.ah monuments: they have pre-
sente d us with ipiere sting dissertations
Ingenious h, potheses, and, in a word
hex have enriched The arts and til,
seienSes ) But they have ,hrown no ne W
light .Ipeh the early period Of the his.
tory OF Egypt.
Colonies fo"ndedby the Egyptians.
All the world knows that the Greeks.
tho venerable models of good tas. e,
OF arts and OF science, received from
the Egyptians the first germs of their
knowledge and, if we NAV be permi :
- g behsve the plausible theory OF
TX FuBncs, the Chinese Of our daf
were originally colony from EpypA
M. de-L'6ignes thinks he has discover.
cd that the sovefeigns of China are
precisely the same as those Of Thebes
In me Upper Egypt. He demons tra,es
a considerable resemblance between
the Chinese alphabet and lie Egypt
an hieroslyphics. Whether The con-
Jec ures ct this gentlem man be true or
not, 1t Is Certain that he has discovered
an extraordinary similitude in he nan.
ners, the genius, the morals, and the
characters OF these two widely separat.
ed nations.
Monuments left By the Egyptians.
These are the pyramids, The obelisks,
lake Mareotis, the famous Labyrinth.
FS<&S 10 general, al! these celebrat.
NdEorfs astonish more by their colos
tal kp3ensity, and the patience posses
sed by those who erected them, than
by their taste and their utility. Some
OF them are still to be seen. On
the road TO Cairo three pyramids are
in view, which have resisted the de-.
s'ructive interval of many thousand
years. II is said that the largest Of
these is 2o4o French feet IN circum-
ference & 500 feet in height, that LOG.
Oco men were constantly emplove ed,
and that the labor Of erection endured
Tor 80 wears. The general OPT i'm is
that they were destined 10 be recepta-
cles for the dead (; but some have I'M
agined that their immense surface was
intended 10 receive and perpetuate. in
hieroglypbics, the annals and The learn
ing of this astonishing people. What
is remarkable, in mathe mario i point
OF view, Is that the four faces of these
pyramids precisely CORES POND With the
four cardinal points, and that they in
like manner designate the meridian.
As much uncertainty prevails reI,-
tive to the period at which these pyra-
mids were constructed, as upon the
subject of their utility. Herodotus,
who was initiated among the priests OF
Egypt, and to whom we are Indebted
tor all the tokens of Egyptian antique
ty which we at this time pos ess, fxes
their construction about the tine OF the
Trojan war; that is, about II "a years
before Jesus Christ.
Toe ohelIsks are simple monuments
of stone, supposed to have been erect.
edhn A polished age, before the inven-
tioh n alphabetical writing, by the
kings.of Egypt, principally at Thebes
and Heliopolis. Several ftFem were
transported to Rome by the Emperors
and the largest OF the whole, which is
to be seen in our day, was conveyed
thither by the orders of Constantine.
The lake Mareotis, calculated for
greater utility, was formed for the pur.
pose of remedying the too great ire
gularity of the foundations OF the Nile.
The ahcients computed that it was
24o miles or 80 leagues in circumfrr.
ence bot the moderns appear to agree
in the opinion that it is not more than
GO miles or 90 leagues. The ancients
must have exaggerated, or the lake
must have been considerably reduced
in its dimensions by the revolutions OF
nature.
The famous Labyrinth embraced a
magnificent congregation of twelve pa
Iaces or three hundred halls, which
with each other by an
almost Infinite number ofwindings and
intricate ways
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