THE HIEROGLYPHIC THEATER. 21 CHAPTER III.

A woodcut illustration displaying ancient Chinese characters (Chuen script). The characters are depicted within three rectangular frames, appearing as complex, geometric, labyrinth-like patterns composed of thick black lines. The characters are labeled with various Latin letters and numbers for reference, including G, H, I, K, C, 2, E, F, and D.

And these are the forms of letters used by the ancient Chinese; I have chosen to explain them here more fully so that their correspondence with hieroglyphics might be more clearly evident. As for the hand you see depicted with a brush, you should know that the Chinese do not use pens like ours, nor liquid ink; instead, they rub a small amount of black pigment on a marble stone to soak the brush, which they hold with their fingers in such a way—while writing, or rather, while painting—as appears in the preceding figure. For more on the properties of this language, as well as various specimens of how reading is performed, see my work On the Interpretation of the Most Ancient Chinese Monument Kircher is referring to his own book, China Illustrata (1667), which detailed the Nestorian Stele.; I did not wish to add more here, lest I delay the curious reader hurrying toward other matters, and because what has been said so far abundantly demonstrates the difference and the similarity between Chinese characters and Hieroglyphs.

CHAPTER III.

Gymnosophists or Brahmins.

Among the most ancient masters of sacred mysteries Hieromantas: from the Greek for "sacred diviners," referring here to those who interpret divine wisdom, the Gymnosophists Gymnosophists: meaning "naked philosophers," a name given by the Greeks to Indian ascetics who wore little clothing and practiced extreme self-discipline were particularly illustrious for their reputation for wisdom; later generations called them Brahmins. And what the Magi were to the Chaldeans, the Cabalists to the Hebrews, the Philosophers to the Greeks, and the Priests and Prophets to the Egyptians, the Gymnosophists were to the Indians.
Xenophon.

For these men, as recorded by Philostratus and Xenophon, left behind the deceptive company of foolish people. Casting aside all luxuries, wealth, and the pleasures of convenience, they devoted themselves solely to the study of Wisdom, living their lives in the deserts of East India.
Their way of living.

Their food consisted of the roots of herbs, fruits, and similar life-sustaining provisions which kind Mother Earth supplied to them; they quenched their thirst with the healthiest water; for a home they had a cave, and for a bed the ground spread with grasses and leaves. Through these institutions of life, they arrived at a great knowledge of things;
The character of the Brahmins or Gymnosophists.

and so that they would not seem to have lived for themselves alone, they recorded the remarkable secrets of nature in a certain type of writing—