The blessed will be free from sin, will see the face of Christ, and will love him with perfect love. Distinction of sex is no longer known. All is tranquillity, harmony and activity, Luke xix, 13. Each according to his talent, Mat. xix, 28. All limitation of space and time are removed, and all temptations of the flesh cease. Mat. viii, 11; Heb. xii, 23. 3. Perfection of the Church. The Church embraces all holy minds, Eph. iii, 10. By virtue of its union with the God-man, it is also unified with nature, and has power to reveal it. Rom. viii, 11-20. As such a unity the Church is the bride of God (or of Christ). The new Jerusalem, the city of God, Rev. xxi, 14. The Son of God is the light of it. All the multitudes of the justified and perfected saints are vitally united with the bridegroom, Heb. xii, 21; Rev. xxii, 17, and are bound to each other by love, Eph. iv, 3-16. After the conflict which precedes Christ's second advent, the marriage will be celebrated, and the Bridegroom will conduct the Bride home to eternal joy. Πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε.-1 Thes. v, 21. ART. V. THE PERSIAN CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS THE KEY TO THE ASSYRIAN.* By Professor Wm. Henry Green, D.D., Princeton, N. J. «་«ད←དོ#དྨ«་རK་«KAHI[] 'KH SHa Y AR SH A. KH SH A Ya THI Ya. Va Z Ra Ka. KH SH A Ya THI Ya. KHSH A Ya TH I Y A NA M. DA Ra Ya Va H U SH. KHSHA Ya TH f°IK==~it\FiiF、Ê «།༑ {R>{༑«༑༑ K-\ I Ya HY A. P U TRa. Ha KH A Ma N I SH I Ya. Achæmenides. filius Xerxes, the great king, the king of kings, the son of Darius the king, the Achæmenid. IN a recent notice of the Assyrian Inscriptions (July, 1872) mention was made of the trilingual texts, by the aid of which they were deciphered. These were found on the ruins of Persepolis and on other monuments in Persia, and had early attracted the notice of travelers to the East. The Assyrian is here carved in parallel columns with the ancient Persian and with another language of which less is known than either of the others, but which is supposed to have been the dialect of the Medes. All these are written in different styles of what is now known as the Cuneiform character, a character entirely sui *Die Altpersischen Keil-Inschriften, im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik und Gloss ir von Fr. Spiegel, Leipzig, 1862, 8vo., p. 223. Les Ecritures Cunéiformes, Exposé des Travaux qui ont préparé la lecture et l'interprétation des inscriptions de la Perse et de l'Assyrie, par M. Joachim Ménant. Seconde Edition, Paris, 1864, 8vo. pp. 310. Commentaire Historique et Philologique du livre d'Esther d'apres la lecture des inscriptions Peres, par Jules Oppert. 8vo. pp. 24. (Extrait des Annales de philosophie Chretienne, Janvier, 1864.) generis and which appears to stand in no sort of relation to any other species of writing, ancient or modern. Chaudin, who was twice at Persepolis during his first journey to the East (1665-1670), thus speaks of the inscriptions: "There are only two elements employed in this writing of the ancient Persians. One resembles a carpenter's square; but I can hardly say what the other resembles, unless I liken it to a pyramidal figure. These are not always set in the same direction as our letters are. The first may stand in either of two positions with its angular point downward or crosswise. The second is put in six positions; when perpendicular its apex is directed either down or up; when horizontal it has its head to the left or to the right; when inclined it may point either to one side or to the other. There are simple letters, whose form resembles, as I have said, a triangle or a pyramidal figure. And there are great numbers of composite letters. The primary elements are joined or combined in so many different ways that more than fifty letters may be counted of this description. Some believe the writing to be pure hieroglyphics; but there is no appearance of its being so and I regard it as a veritable writing like our own. And this is all that we can ever know of it. We must ever remain ignorant of all besides, as whether it had vowels, whether it was easy to decipher, and all other particulars." And the case really seemed as hopeless as Chaudin represents it. Long series of unknown characters were strung together, but without the slightest clue apparently to their meaning. Were they significant at all? and if so, were they phonetic or ideographic? if the former, were they alphabetic or syllabic? did they represent any form of human speech now existing or that ever did exist? and if so, which? There were some who contended that it was not writing at all and was not, intended to be significant. The learned Dr. Hyde, in his Religio Veterum Persarum, affirmed with great confidence that these supposed inscriptions were only a peculiar style of ornamentation in which some artist had exercised his ingenuity to produce the utmost variety of devices by every imaginable combination of the wedge and angle; and consequently any attempt to read them was simply misplaced and fruitless labor. The hypothesis even found an advocate that they were not of ART. V. THE PERSIAN CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS THE KEY TO THE ASSYRIAN.* By Professor Wm. HENRY GREEN, D.D., Princeton, N. J. <་ «དོ#དྨ« iuར《་KU༑IKAIHI 'KH SHa Y AR SHA. KH SH A Ya THI Ya. Va Z Ra Xerxes rex magnus EA《IKUIK-Yif RK--༤&༑K {UtK-IKI iÜ tK- Tr Ka. KH SH A Ya THI Ya. KHSH A Ya TH I Y Aregum rex ={TTT •YIYAUVER =={= I= €t《\t&fit KKN NA M. DA Ra Ya Va HU SH. KHSHA Ya TH F[IK==~iiv#KItF༤< «!ir - YX༑«t༑-\ I Ya HY A. PUTRa. Ha KH A Ma N ISH I Ya. Achæmenides. filius Xerxes, the great king, the king of kings, the son of Darius the king, the Achæmenid. IN a recent notice of the Assyrian Inscriptions (July, 1872) mention was made of the trilingual texts, by the aid of which they were deciphered. These were found on the ruins of Persepolis and on other monuments in Persia, and had early attracted the notice of travelers to the East. The Assyrian is here carved in parallel columns with the ancient Persian and with another language of which less is known than either of the others, but which is supposed to have been the dialect of the Medes. All these are written in different styles of what is now known as the Cuneiform character, a character entirely sui * Die Altper ischen Keil-Inschriften, im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik und Glossar von Fr Spiegel, Leipzig, 1862, 8vo., p. 223. Les Ecritures Cuneiformes, Expos des Travaux qui ont préparé la lecture et l'interprétation des inscriptions de la Perse et de l'Assyrie, par M. Joachim Ménant. Seconde Edition, Paris, 1864, 8vo. pp. 310. Commentaire Historique et Philologique du livre d'Esther d'apres la lecture des inscriptions Peres, par Jules Oppert. 8vo. pp. 24. (Extrait des Annales de philosophie (hretienne, Janvier, 1864.) generis and which appears to stand in no sort of relation to any other species of writing, ancient or modern. Chaudin, who was twice at Persepolis during his first journey to the East (1665-1670), thus speaks of the inscriptions: "There are only two elements employed in this writing of the ancient Persians. One resembles a carpenter's square; but I can hardly say what the other resembles, unless I liken it to a pyramidal figure. These are not always set in the same direction as our letters are. The first may stand in either of two positions with its angular point downward or crosswise. The second is put in six positions; when perpendicular its apex is directed either down or up; when horizontal it has its head to the left or to the right; when inclined it may point either to one side or to the other. There are simple letters, whose form resembles, as I have said, a triangle or a pyramidal figure. And there are great numbers of composite letters. The primary elements are joined or combined in so many different ways that more than fifty letters may be counted of this description. Some believe the writing to be pure hieroglyphics; but there is no appearance of its being so and I regard it as a veritable writing like our own. And this is all that we can ever know of it. We must ever remain ignorant of all besides, as whether it had vowels, whether it was easy to decipher, and all other particulars." And the case really seemed as hopeless as Chaudin represents it. Long series of unknown characters were strung together, but without the slightest clue apparently to their meaning. Were they significant at all? and if so, were they phonetic or ideographic? if the former, were they alphabetic or syllabic? did they represent any form of human speech now existing or that ever did exist? and if so, which? There were some who contended that it was not writing at all and was not intended to be significant. The learned Dr. Hyde, in his Religio Veterum Persarum, affirmed with great confidence that these supposed inscriptions were only a peculiar style of ornamentation in which some artist had exercised his ingenuity to produce the utmost variety of devices by every imaginable combination of the wedge and angle; and consequently any attempt to read them was simply misplaced and fruitless labor. The hypothesis even found an advocate that they were not of |