罗塞塔石碑上到底有几种文字? 签名信 1801年9月13日

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罗塞塔石碑(Rosetta Stone)黑色玄武岩,长118厘米(46.5英寸),高77厘米(30英寸),宽30厘米(12英寸)

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大英博物馆 埃及雕塑画廊

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                                罗塞塔石碑由上至下共刻有同一段文字的三种语言版本。

                               最上面是14行古埃及象形文字圣书体。

                               中间是32行埃及草书世俗体。

                               下面是54行希腊文

内容:

埃及王位的正统继承人、神的虔诚的信徒、埃及王国的重建者和人类文明的维护者、不可战胜的、使埃及繁荣长达30年的、上下埃及的主人、拉神之子、永生的、普塔神的爱子托罗密王,在他在位的第9年的Xandikos季的第四个月,为了鼓励与赞扬那些决定永远侍奉神的人们,根据埃及人的第18Mekhir的惯例,颁布诏令。诏令

来自埃及各地庙宇的大祭司们和预言家们以及神圣的雕刻家们,为了参加给托勒密王封神的节日,而来到蒙菲斯朝见国王。他们在节日的当天在蒙菲斯的神庙中宣布:

永生的普塔神的爱子托勒密王,THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTONS,即老托勒密王和王后Arsinoe的儿子,他有恩于所有的庙宇及住在庙宇中的人们。是他捐献了自己的物品—— 这 些物品代替了神庙的税收;是他带来了埃及的繁荣,并且捐助建立了神庙;还有所有他的其他慷慨恩赐。他减免了各种苛捐杂税。为了使他的臣民在他的统治期间能 更富裕的生活,他减免了王国中的穷人们的债务。他赦免了那些有罪的人。他声称,众神应该继续享有神庙的供奉,就像他父亲时代所做的。他还宣布,考虑到祭司 的 (特殊身份),他们仍旧可以继续只交从他父亲时代起直至他即位以来所规定的税收量的权利。并且他还减少了年度前往亚历山大城听取神谕的人数。他指出,对于海军的印象将不再被雇佣。他还为神庙因购买上等的亚麻衣物而要交的税支付2/3的税款。并且对任何过去被忽视的事情,他现在都要令它们重新享有正确的待遇,即要仔细地做到将贸易所得的一部分来谢神,并且这部分费用将被公平地奉献给各个神。

他命令归还那些属于武士阶级以及在动乱时期遭受损失的人们的所有财产。 他派遣骑兵、步兵和舰队去抵挡那些想从陆地、海洋入侵埃及的敌人。这样做虽然需要许多经费,但是它们却能为神庙以及所有居住在埃及的人们带来安全。而且他的部队已经消灭了那些聚集在Busirite的Lycopolis的不虔诚的反叛者。在他统治的第八年,由于他事先做了充分的准备,已将那些叛军包围住了,当尼罗河的河水泛滥时,他利用洪水及他的军队将叛军的基地给予摧毁,就像当年Thot和Horus神征服国家的叛离者一样,他把那些给埃及带来不安定的叛徒带到蒙菲斯后予以严厉的惩罚。

同时他也举行了丰收祭典。 他支付了在他统治的第八年属于神庙的一大笔开销。并且免除了属于神庙的神圣土地上的所有东西的税收。 由于他比他的前任们想的更周到,他赠送了许多礼物给那些在埃及生活的神兽比如Apis和Mnevis,并且给那些死去的神兽在特殊的圣殿按照埃及的法律,举行隆重的祭奠仪式。

他还花费巨资装饰了Apis神 庙。他建立了神庙、圣殿和祭坛,也修葺了所有要求修葺的建筑。他拥有向神奉献的精神,事实上是属于宗教(的精神)。而且他在探访之后,在他的统治期间,不 停地重建着最雄伟的神庙。相适应地,作为回报,神给予了他健康、胜利、权力和所有最好的东西,以及保佑他和他的子孙永远享有王位。根据命运,这个国家所有神庙里的祭司都决定给我王永生的普塔神的爱子托罗密王THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTONS增 加更多的存在的荣耀,就和他的先祖们一样,将为他在每一座神庙中主神的身边竖立雕像并尊称为“托勒密,埃及的守卫者”。所有的祭司每天都将穿着神圣的衣 服,像礼拜其他诸神一样,对他的雕像礼拜三次表示敬意。而且在重大的节日中将扛着他的雕像游行。他的神像的制作必须精致且有特色。进一步诏令 ;以后每月的这几天都将举行这个节日来赞美永生的普塔神的爱子托勒密王,THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTONS,并且要让埃及所有的臣民都记住和参加这个节日。这份诏令应该被神圣地用本地语和希腊语雕刻在一块坚硬的石头上并且竖立在每一等级的神庙中的永生的国王的雕像旁边。

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英译 大英博物馆网站

The Rosetta Stone: translation of the demotic text [Year 9, Xandikos day 4], which is equivalent to the Egyptian month, second month of Peret, day 18, of the King 'The Youth who has appeared as King in the place of his Father', the Lord of the Uraei 'Whose might is great, who has established Egypt, causing it to prosper, whose heart is beneficial before the gods', (the One) Who is over his Enemy 'Who has caused the life of the people to prosper, the Lord of the Years of Jubilee like Ptah-Tenen, King like Pre', [the King of the Upper Districts and] the Lower Districts 'The Son of the Father-loving Gods, whom Ptah has chosen, to whom Pre has given victory, the Living Image of Amun', the Son of Pre 'Ptolemy, living forever, beloved of Ptah, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine', son of Ptolemy and Arsinoe, the Father-loving Gods, (and) the Priest of Alexander and the Saviour Gods and [the Brother-and-Sister Gods and the] Beneficent [Gods] and the Father-loving Gods and King Ptolemy, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, Aetos son of Aetos; while Pyrrha daughter of Philinos was Prize-bearer before Berenice the Beneficent, while Areia daughter of Diogenes was [Basket]-bearer [before Arsi]noe the Brother-loving, and while Eirene daughter of Ptolemy was Priestess of Arsinoe the Father-loving: on this day, a decree of the mr-sn priests and the hm-ntr priests, and the priests who enter the sanctuary to perform clothing rituals for the gods, and the scribes of the divine book and the scribes of the House of Life, and the other priests who have come from the temples of Egypt [to Memphis on] the festival of the Reception of the Rulership by King Ptolemy, living forever, beloved of Ptah, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, from his father, who have assembled in the temple of Memphis, and who have said:Whereas King Ptolemy, living forever, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, son of King Ptolemy [and Queen] Arsinoe, the Father-loving Gods, is wont to do many favours for the temples of Egypt and for all those who are subject to his kingship, he being a god, the son of a god and a goddess, and being like Horus son of Isis and Osiris, who protects his father Osiris, and his heart being beneficent concerning the gods, since he has given much money and much grain to the temples of Egypt, [he having undertaken great expenses] in order to create peace in Egypt and to establish the temples, and having rewarded all the forces that are subject to his rulership; and of the revenues and taxes that were in force in Egypt he had reduced some or(?) had renounced them completely, in order to cause the army and all the other people to be prosperous in his time as [king; the arrear]s which were due to the King from the people who are in Egypt and all those who are subject to his kingship, and (which) amounted to a large total, he renounced; the people who were in prison and those against whom there had been charges for a long time, he released; he ordered concerning the endowments of the gods, and the money and the grain that are given as allowances to their [temples] each year, and the shares that belong to the gods from the vineyards, the orchards, and all the rest of the property which they possessed under his father, that they should remain in their possession; moreover, he ordered concerning the priests that they should not pay their tax on becoming priests above what they used to pay up to Year 1 under his father; he released the people [who hold] the offices of the temples from the voyage they used to make to the Residence of Alexander each year; he ordered that no rower should be impressed into service; he renounced the two-thirds share of the fine linen that used to be made in the temples for the Treasury, he bringing into its [correct] state everything that had abandoned its (proper) condition for a long time, and taking all care to have done in a correct manner what is customarily done for the gods, likewise causing justice to be done for the people in accordance with what Thoth the Twice-great did; moreover, he ordered concerning those who will return from the fighting men and the rest of the people who had gone astray (lit. been on other ways) in the disturbance that had occurred in Egypt that [they] should [be returned] to their homes, and their possessions should be restored to them; and he took all care to send (foot)soldiers, horsemen, and ships against those who came by the shore and by the sea to make an attack on Egypt; he spent a great amount in money and grain against these (enemies), in order to ensure that the temples and the people who were in Egypt should be secure; he went to the fortress of Sk3n[which had] been fortified by the rebels with all kinds of work, there being much gear and all kinds of equipment within it; he enclosed that fortress with a wall and a dyke(?) around (lit. outside) it, because of the rebels who were inside it, who had already done much harm to Egypt, and abandoned the way of the commands of the King and the commands [of the god]s; he caused the canals which supplied water to that fortress to be dammed off, although the previous kings could not have done likewise, and much money was expended on them; he assigned a force of footsoldiers and horsemen to the mouths of those canals, in order to watch over them and to protect them, because of the [rising] of the water, which was great in Year 8, while those canals supply water to much land and are very deep; the King took that fortress by storm in a short time; he overcame the rebels who were within it, and slaughtered them in accordance with what Pre and Horus son of Isis did to those who had rebelled against them in those places in the Beginning; (as for) the rebels who had gathered armies and led them to disturb the nomes, harming the temples and abandoning the way of the King and his father, the gods let him overcome thein at Memphis during the festival of the Reception of the Rulership which he did from his father, and he had them slain on the wood; he remitted the arrears that were due to the King from the temples up to Year 9, and amounted to a large total of money and grain; likewise the value of the fine linen that was due from the temples from what is made for the Treasury, and the verification fees(?) of what had been made up to that time; moreover, he ordered concerning the artaba of wheat per aroura of land, which used to be collected from the fields of the endowment, and likewise for the wine per aroura of land from the vineyards of the gods' endowments: he renounced them; he did many favours for Apis and Mnevis, and the other sacred animals that are honoured in Egypt, more than what those who were before him used to do, he being devoted to their affairs at all times, and giving what is required for their burials, although it is great and splendid, and providing what is dedicated(?) in their temples when festivals are celebrated and burnt offerings made before them, and the rest of the things which it is fitting to do; the honours which are due to the temples and the other honours of Egypt he caused to be established in their (proper) condition in accordance with the law; he gave much gold, silver, grain, and other items for the Place of Apis; he had it adorned with new work as very fine work; he had new temples, sanctuaries, and altars set up for the gods, and caused others to assume their (proper) condition, he having the heart of a beneficent god concerning the gods and enquiring after the honours of the temples, in order to renew them in his time as king in the manner that is fitting; and the gods have given him in return for these things strength, victory, success(?), prosperity, health, and all the (sic) other favours, his kingship being established under him and his descendants forever:With good fortune! It has seemed fitting to the priests of all the temples of Egypt, as to the honours which are due to King Ptolemy, living forever, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, in the temples, and those which are due to the Father-loving Gods, who brought him into being, and those which are due to the Beneficent Gods, who brought into being those who brought him into being, and those which are due to the Brother-and-Sister Gods, who brought into being those who brought them into being, and those which are due to the Saviour Gods, the ancestors of his ancestors, to increase them; and that a statue should be set up for King Ptolemy, living forever, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine - which should be called 'Ptolemy who has protected the Bright Land', the meaning of which is 'Ptolemy who has preserved Egypt' - together with a statue for the local god, giving him a scimitar of victory, in each temple, in the public part of the temple, they being made in the manner of Egyptian work; and the priests should pay service to the statues in each temple three times a day, and they should lay down sacred objects before them and do for them the rest of the things that it is normal to do, in accordance with what is done for the other gods on the festivals, the processions, and the named (holi)days; and there should be produced a cult image for King Ptolemy, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, son of Ptolemy and Queen Arsinoe, the Father-loving Gods, together with the (sic) shrine in each temple, and it should be installed in the sanctuary with the other shrines; and when the great festivals occur, on which the gods are taken in procession, the shrine of the Manifest God whose excellence is fine should be taken in procession with them; and in order that the shrine may be recognized, now and in the rest of the times that are to come, ten royal diadems of gold should be added - there being one uraeus on them each, like what is normally done for the gold diadems - on top of the shrine, instead of the uraei that are upon the rest of the shrines; and the double crown should be in the centre of the diadems, because it is the one with which the King was crowned in the temple of Memphis, when there was being done for him what is normally done at the Reception of the Rulership; and there should be placed on the upper side of (the) square(?) which is outside the diadems, and opposite the gold diadem that is described above, a papyrus plant and a 'sedge' plant; and a uraeus should be placed on a basket with a 'sedge' under it on the right of the side on top of the shrine, and a uraeus with a basket under it should be placed on a papyrus on the left, the meaning of which is 'The King who has illumined Upper and Lower Egypt'; and whereas fourth month of Shemu, last day, on which is held the birthday of the King, has been established already as a procession festival in the temples, likewise second month of Peret, day 17, on which are performed for him the ceremonies of the Reception of the Rulership - the beginning of the good things that have happened to everyone: the birth of the King, living forever, and his reception of the rulership - let these days, the 17th and the last, become festivals each month in all the temples of Egypt; and there should be performed burnt offerings, libations, and the rest of the things that are normally done on the other festivals, on both festivals each month; and what is offered in sacrifice(?) should be distributed as a surplus(?) to the people who serve in the temple; and a procession festival should be held in the temples and the whole of Egypt for King Ptolemy, living forever, the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, each year, from first month of Akhet, day 1, for five days, with garlands being worn, burnt offerings and libations being performed, and the rest of the things that it is fitting to do; and the priests who are in each of the temples of Egypt should be called 'The Priests of the Manifest God whose excellence is fine' in addition to the other priestly titles, and they should write it on every document, and they should write the priesthood of the Manifest God whose excellence is fine on their rings and they should engrave it on them; and it should be made possible for the private persons also who will (so) wish, to produce the likeness of the shrine of the Manifest God whose excellence is fine, which is (discussed) above, and to keep it in their homes and hold the festivals and the processions which are described above, each year, so that it may become known that the inhabitants of Egypt pay honour to the Manifest God whose excellence is fine in accordance with what is normally done; and the decree should be written on a stela of hard stone, in sacred writing, document writing, and Greek writing, and it should be set up in the first-class temples, the second-class temples and the third-class temples, next to the statue of the King, living 

forever.Translation by R.S. SimpsonRevised version from R.S. Simpson, Demotic Grammar in the Ptolemaic Sacerdotal Decrees (Oxford, Griffith Institute, 1996), pp. 258-71Copyright of R.S. Simpson and the Griffith Institute

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石碑背面

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托马斯·杨在1814年发现了椭圆形的王名圈并认出了法老王托勒密的名字。但他无法完全理解符号和语音是如何适应的就放弃了翻译,但发表了他的初步结果。他的发现为让-弗朗索瓦·商博良的成功奠定了基础。

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托马斯·杨写于1818年2月10日的一封关于象形文字的信。

公元391年,拜占庭皇帝狄奥多西一世关闭了整个帝国的所有异教寺庙。读写象形文字的知识就消失了。直到罗塞塔石的发现和许多学者大量的工作,使得困惑了几个世纪的学者的古埃及的象形文字从沉睡中醒来。

在19世纪初期,学者们能够用这块石头上的铭文作为破解象形文字的钥匙,其中英国的托马斯·杨(1773-1829)和法国让-弗朗索瓦·商博良(1790-1832)做出了巨大贡献。甚至在今天,英国和法国也在讨论象形文字翻译中真正的胜利者以及哪个国家拥有(或应该拥有)这块石头。

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商博良在1822年发表的这篇论文中写上了字母的象形文字,意思是“给我的朋友杜博伊斯”

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1822年,他从一个短小的王名圈入手,王名圈里面有四个字符,最后两个是相同的。商博良这时已经认出最后两个字是字母“s”。第一个字符是一个圆圈,他猜想它可能代表太阳

第一个符号是太阳,商博良并不知道它的读音。但他知道在科普特语(Coptic)中,太阳这个词读作“Ra”或者“Re”。而科普特语是古埃及语发展的最终阶段,曾经在埃及被广泛使用。假定太阳符号读作“Ra”后,从之前破译的字母表中商博良知道最后两个符号应该表示“s”的读音。把这两个读音加在一起,这个法老的名字应该是:Ra__ss或者Ra__ses很明显,这是一个在古埃及历史中很出名的法老名字:拉美西斯(Rameses)。拉美西斯也是“圣经”中提到的最著名的法老。

虽然商博良之前曾经用类似的方法辨认出了很多法老的名字,但这一位法老与之前被识别出的法老有着本质上的区别。之前被辨认出来的名字都属于希腊或罗马统治时期的法老,而拉美西斯是来自于埃及本土的法老。这就是说,埃及人并不是只有在书写外国人名字的时候才不得已用上了拼音的办法,就连本国法老的名字也是用象形文字拼出。也许,埃及象形文字并不是真正的“象形文字”,而是一种像法语、英语一样的表音文字。

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《古埃及圣书字导读》商务印书馆出版。作者:[英] 马克·科利尔/[英] 比尔·曼利

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商博良发现,如果符号在本质上是表音的,那么两个名字中的一些符号一定相同的。

商博良(1790-1832)首先意识到象形文字记录了埃及语的声音。这为我们掌握古埃及语言和文化奠定了基础。当他拼凑用来书写非埃及法老名字的象形文字”(“给我的朋友杜博伊斯”)时,商博良在理解古埃及文字方面迈出了关键的一步。基于对罗塞塔石和其他文本的分析,1822年9月27日星期五在巴黎,他宣布了他的发现,观众包括他的英国对手杨。

商博良确定象形文字和科普特之间的联系证明象形文字不是基于符号或寓义:它是一种语音语言--一种与声音相对应的语言。托马斯·杨被他的发现弄得不知所措,几乎当场晕倒。

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生活·读书·新知三联书店出版  作者:[英]莱斯利 /[英] 罗伊·亚京斯

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签名信,总部,1801年9月13日,致克拉克。“我非常感谢你抄写石刻上的铭文。我把你说的不准确的前一份寄给你。告诉特纳上校,不仅是石头,而且我们从法国得到的每一件东西都应该存放在安全的地方。我不太重视法国学者的威胁。不过,最好不要相信他们。你听说过更多的科普特或阿拉伯文手稿吗?“

1799年拿破仑回到法国后,他在埃及的军队暂时阻止了英国和奥斯曼的进攻,法国学者们把罗塞塔石碑从开罗搬到亚历山大,1801年3月,英国人在亚历山大附近登陆并包围了这座城市。包围亚历山大的英国将军约翰·赫利-哈钦森(JohnHely-Hutchinson)伯爵二世,拒绝解除这座城市的困境,直到法国人同意交出埃及的文物。法国人起初犹豫不决。最后,他们被迫达成一致,因为开罗于6月27日陷落,法国人于8月30日投降在亚历山大向英国投降。

哈钦森将军立即派遣了一支英国学者小组,监测法国遵守他们的承诺的情况,根据“亚历山大条约”第十六条要求将所有埃及文物为英国王室的财产。这个英国学者小组的负责人是爱德华·丹尼尔·克拉克,他在亚历山大搜索了这些收藏品,发现了许多法国人没有透露的文物。

克拉克是一位平民,著名的旅行者和科学家,他在书中记录了他在世界各地的历险经历,书中详细叙述了他在亚历山大的工作。按照哈钦森的命令,他于1801年9月9日到达那里,当时他开始调查档案。11号,他在书中写到,会见了法国将军德梅努,德梅努在欣然交出许多古物的同时,却没有提供石碑。“他坚持认为,这块珍贵的石碑是‘他的私人财产’,因此与‘他衣橱里的亚麻布或他刺绣的马鞍’一样,不受征用。”因此,他试图保持法国对石碑的控制。

克拉克明确表示,他“即将回复哈钦森勋爵,并希望他服从收到的的命令。”在那个时刻,它仍然被法国人“小心地隐藏”。哈钦森写了一封简短的便条给克拉克,“对此不屑一顾,告诫德梅努…遵守亚历山大条约投降的条件。

托姆肯斯·希格罗夫·特纳上校曾在开罗战斗过。哈钦森派特纳执行投降条款,并帮助克拉克获得石碑。9月12日,“石碑被从…仓库取走。一名法国军官…警告特纳和克拉克,如果石碑在埃及停留得太久,法国的学者和士兵可能会破坏英国的计划。

那天,克拉克向哈钦森转达了他对石碑安全的担忧,哈钦森给了他这封信,命令不仅把石头,而且把所有的东西都带到一个安全的地方,为英国人保管它们。他还要求在英国人手中写下石头的第一本抄本。

签名信,总部,1801年9月13日,致克拉克。“我非常感谢你抄写石刻上的铭文。我把你说的不准确的前一份寄给你。告诉特纳上校,不仅是石头,而且我们从法国得到的每一件东西都应该存放在安全的地方。我不太重视法国学者的威胁。不过,最好不要相信他们。你听说过更多的科普特或阿拉伯文手稿吗?“

尽管英国人总共声称拥有了15件古董,但这块宝石是罗塞塔石(Rosetta Stone)。1802年2月,特纳亲自护送它到英国朴次茅斯,乘坐被俘虏的法国埃及号护卫舰。3月11日,到达伦敦。后来,它被带到大英博物馆,至今仍在那里。

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2003年7月,埃及要求归还罗塞塔石碑。开罗文物最高委员会秘书长扎希·哈瓦斯博士对媒体说:“如果英国人想要恢复他们的声誉,他们应该自愿归还罗塞塔石碑,因为它是我们埃及身份的象征。

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                                       2005年11月,大英博物馆送给他一块石头的复制品。

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最早的翻译象形文字的尝试远发生在罗塞塔石发现之前。一位名叫霍拉波洛的15世纪学者建立了一个基于象形文字与埃及寓言的关系的翻译体系。在霍拉波洛的假设之后,15世纪的学者们致力于一种错误的翻译体系。

罗塞塔石碑下面的希腊铭文是由斯蒂芬·韦斯顿牧师翻译的。1802年4月,他完成了石碑的希腊文工作。

公元四世纪,随着基督教在埃及的普及,象形文字由于与异教神的联系而被抛弃。埃及草书世俗体并不像象形文字那样是一种禁忌语言,但它最终演变成科普特语。科普特语是根据希腊字母和一些非希腊语所代表的埃及音的通俗字符。

法国学者安托万-艾萨克·西尔维斯特·德·塞西和瑞典外交官约翰·大卫·阿克布拉德都在1802年成功翻译这个石碑中间的世俗体铭文。

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1801年在埃及被英军俘获

最后,罗塞塔石碑上的第四种文字:英文。

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罗塞塔石碑被发现的时候。罗塞塔 托马斯·弥尔顿水彩画,1801-1803。

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