The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-18
THE ROSETTA STONE.
Deciphered by Thomas Young Rather
Than BY ChampollIon.

To THE EDITOR or THE SuN--Sr: In
TUE SUNS account OF the death OF An-
Dire Cherennot -Champolion 1t Is SAID
that his grandfather, Jean FRANCOIS
Champollion, discovered and deciphered
the Rosetta Stone. There is one error
In this and a half truth. NThe stone was
discovered in 1893. near Rosetta, Egypt
by NJ. Boussard. an officer of engineers,
during tho French occupation OF that
country.
As 20 It's displacement controversy
ragged between England and France In
the early part ~ the last century, but
there seems little doubt that more was
due TO tho labors of Thomas Young, fell
low and foreign secretary of the Royal
Society, than even to Champollion. Sir
Gardner Wilkinson, an ardent admirer
and defender of Champollion, says:
Had Champolion been disposed TO give
more credit to the value and originality
Of Dr. young's researches. and 80 admit
that the real discovery Of the key 20 the
hierogiyphics, which In his dext~rous hand
proved 20 useful in unlocking th,re treas
ures, was the result OF Young's labors, he
would Internationally have Increased his
own reputation without making any sacri-
hce.
According to Tyndall, Baron Sylvestre
de Sacy. an eminent Orientalist, had de-
termned three proper names In the ma
tive Egyptian part Of the inscription !;
Akerblad. n profound Coptic scholar.
nine others and five or six Coptic words !:
while Young soon after detected the
rudIments of fifty or sixty Coptic words.
Young then demonstrated that what he
called tho enchorial inscription. the ma
tive Egyptian. now called denote had a
hieroglyphical origin. Prior to Young.
no one had dreamed of the transfer of the
characters of the first or hieroglyphical
inscription to the second. The first was
pictural and symbolic the second. to all
appearance, n purely alphabetical rum
ming hand. Champollion had made next
to no progress before the advent Of
Young. He identified n few additional
Coptic words, and then like Akerblad,
, abandoned the task of identifying the
hieroglyphical Inscriptions with those
corresponding to them in the Egyptian
or Greek text az altogether hopeless in
consequence OF the very extensive mu-
tilations which II had undergone.
In 1921 Champollion published AT
| Grenoble a work In which he advanced
! four propositions relating to Egyptian
manuscripts. This work was suppressed
when he learned that Dr. Young had
some years previously made known. as
the result OF his own researches. three
OF these propositions. The work In ques-
ton showed that so late az 1921 Cham
pollion had made no real progress in
removing the mysterious veil. However,
once put on the right track by the la
bors of Young. he did work that will be
ever memorable in the history Of HERO
clyphical research. Says Dean Peacock,
the Bishop OF Ely:
II was singularly unfortunate that one
who possessed 50 much Of his own should
have been much wanting in a proper
sens. OF Justice to those who had prcced 81
him In these Investigations as materially
20 lessen his claims TO the respect and
reverence which would otherwise have
been most willingly conceded to him
! All This in the interest of truth. even
II PLATE did say what is truth"
| New YORK. April ls. G.FK,