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 the scavans attached to the French anny, discovered in the fort St. Julian, which stands near the mouth of the Nile, on the Rosetta branch, a large broken stone of black basalt, having an inscription engraved upon it, in three different kinds of characters; namely, the sacred hieroglyphics, the usual letters of the country, or the Enchorial, and the Greek,— from this stone, a large portion of the Egyptian learning of England has been required; inasmuch, as the Greek inscription, not only details its history, and translates the other two, but it also serves as a key for the identifying of various hieroglyphics, as well as the Enchorial characters. Although, a considerable portion of the hieroglyphic inscription, and a part of the Enchorial, and the Greek, are broken, enough remains, for them to enlighten each other. The Rosetta stone, as it is called, has not been the only guide to Egyptian literature; but the discoveries made by it, have been considerably assisted by the Egyptian monuments in general; although more particularly, by the green sarcophagus of Alexander, the zodiac from the temple of Dendora, and many other ancient curiosities, which were ceded to the British after the battle of Alexandria.

In order to give the Athenians an opportunity of judging deliberately on a proposed law, it was engraven on a tablet, which was hung up for some days at the statue of the heroes, the most public and frequented place in the city of Athens. And that no man might plead ignorance of his duty, the laws, when passed, were engraven on the walls of the royal portico; and persons were appointed to transcribe such as were worn or defeced, and enter the new ones.

The Romans engraved on brass, even so late as the reign of the emperors. The Roman soldiers, were allowed in the field of battle, to write their wills, on their bucklers or scabbards; and in many cabinets are preserved the discharges of soldiers, written on copper-plates. Tablets of brass of a cubical form, were also used for the writing of public documents; as Plutarch mentions, the finding of a brass plate, with Egyptian characters, at Thebes, in Bæotia; and Pollux states, that the laws of Solon were inscribed brass, as well as wood. Polybius mentions, that the treaty made between the Romans and the Carthagenians, at the end of the first Punic war, (b. c.241) was engraven on brazen tablets; but, Dionysius remarks, that the Roman laws were engraved on tablets of oak, because they were not then accustomed to recording on brass, Some account of two brazen books will be found in the Archaologia, vol. 12, and the Gentleman´s Magazine, vol. 72. The Rev. Claudius Buchanan, in 1807, found the [..] in India, in possesion of several tablets of brass.

was employed as well as brass, for preserving treaties and laws. In 1699, fancon purchased at Rome, a book of eight leaden leaves, including two which wned the cover, four inches long, and three inches wide; leaden rings were fastened on the