Inscriptions

The most durable means of preserving individual records of written speech. They are termed, variously, “incised,” “impre ed,” “lapidary,” “monumental,” “numismatic,” “painted.” The famous Rosetta and Carpentras stones, and the decree of Canopus from Egypt, and the Behistun rock inscriptions, are examples of bilingual records, that serve, by means of comparison, to facilitate decipherment. The A yrian cuneiform writing and the Egyptian hieroglyphs have thus been explained, and the Chinese have in use extensive libraries of stone inscriptions at the present day. See Gesenius: “Scripturæ Linguæque Phœniciæ Monument a,” 2 vols., Leipsig, 1837.