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which may be compared with that at Denderah for preservation, and which is generally attributed to the age of the Ptolemies. The inhabitants of Apollinopolis, it is said, rivalled the Tentyrites in their enmity to, and abhorrence of the crocodile.

LATOPOLIS.

treat, would choose Canopus, though a man may be good and honest even at Canopus."

These are all the cities of which we can give any detailed information. Others are mentioned by ancient writers, but for the most part they are known only by name. And of those we have described, the reader will have observed that little remains to testify their pre-existence. They have mouldered into dust, and the plough has gone over their site, or other cities or towns and villages have been erected on their ruins; thus bearing mournful evidence to the truth of the words of the Grecian sage, that

This city was called Latopolis from the fish latus, which was worshipped in that city. About three miles to the NN.W. of the present town of Esne are to be seen the ruins of an ancient temple, which Pococke supposes to have been the temple of Pallas and the fish latus at Latopolis, where they were both worshipped. Within this temple, says this traveller, are three stories of hieroglyphics of men, about three feet high, and at one end the lowest figures are as large as life;ries them all away with a rapid course. They one of them is adorned with the head of the ibis. The ceiling is curiously adorned with all sorts of animals, and painted in beautiful colours.

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This city stood about twelve miles south of Syene, in an island of the same name, not above a quarter of a mile long, and half a quarter broad. The island of Phyla was deemed sacred from an opinion, according to Diodorus, that Osiris was buried there; and the ruins of a magnificent temple are still found on the island. It appears from the notitia, that the Romans had a garrison at Phyla, which was the most southern city of all Egypt. Between this place and Syene is the lesser cataract, and the greater at a small distance from Pselca, a town in Ethiopia. Cicero says, that the people who lived near the lesser cataract were all deaf from the noise which the river made in falling from the high mountains. But this is an error; for the fall is in no 'part above seven or eight feet, and, therefore, could have little effect on the organs of hearing.

CANOPUS.

This city stood on the coast near the outlet of the western or Canopic branch of the Nile. It was forty miles from Alexandria by land, with which it was connected by a canal. In the time of Strabo, it contained a great temple of Serapis. It is said to have been built by the Spartans, on their return from the Trojan war, and to have taken its name from Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus, who died, and was buried in this place. The city was noted for the lewd and dissolute diversions which the Alexandrians indulged themselves in here, whence Seneca writes in one of his epistles thus: "No one, thinking of a re

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"Nothing is lasting on the world's great stage."
All sublunary enjoyments imitate the change-
ableness, as well as feel the influence of the
planets they are under. Time, like a river, car-

swim above the stream for a little while, but they
are quickly swallowed up by the waves, and seen
no more. The very cities men build for their
habitations, and the monuments they raise to
perpetuate their names, consume and moulder
away, and proclaim their own mortality, as well as
testify that of others. But there are enjoyments
indestructible in their nature, and endless in their
duration! There is a city whose foundations
can never be shaken, and which God hath pre-
pared for them that love him! Like the stars
and orbs above, which shine with undiminished
lustre, and move with the same unwearied mo-
tion, with which they did from the first date of
their creation, these enjoyments are ever full,
fresh, and entire; and they will abide when sun,
and moon, and nature itself, shall be employed
The righteous shall
by Providence no more.
appear in the eternal city, when the earth and
all that is therein shall have been consumed,
and enjoy one perpetual and everlasting day-
a day commensurate to the unlimited eternity of
God himself.

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THE Egyptians attained a high degree of refinement and luxury at a time when the whole western world was involved in barbarism, when the history of Europe, including Greece, was not yet unfolded, and ages before Carthage, Athens, and Rome were founded. They were, indeed, the first people who rightly understood the rules of government, who perceived that the just design of politics is, to make life easy and a people happy. This high state of civilization was attained under a system of institutions and policy bearing some resemblance to those of the Hindoos. It was a monarchy based upon a potent

hierarchy. To enable the reader to understand this, the different orders of which the state was composed shall be described.

THE KINGLY POWER,

The kings of Egypt were anciently indiscriminately called Pharaoh. This was not a proper name: Josephus says, the word signified king in the Egyptian language; and it appears to have been used as a prefix to the proper name, in the same manner that Ptolemy was, after the subjugation of Egypt by the Greeks. When used independently of the proper name, it distinguished the king of Egypt from other monarchs.

The kingdom of Egypt was hereditary, but, according to Diodorus, the Egyptian princes (unlike other monarchies, in which the prince acknowledges no other rule of his actions than his own arbitrary will and pleasure) were under greater restraint from the law than their subjects. These laws were contained in the sacred books, and were digested by one of their earliest monarchs, so that every thing was settled by, and they lived according to ancient custom; treading the same path as their ancestors.

The king appears to have been the chief both of religion and state. He held the right of regulating the sacrifices, and of offering them to the gods upon grand occasions. The title and office of "President of the Assemblies" belonged❘ exclusively to him, and he superintended the feasts and festivals celebrated in honour of their false gods. He could proclaim peace and war; he commanded the armies, and rewarded those who deserved his approbation; and every privilege seems to have been granted him which did not interfere with the welfare of his subjects.

is further confirmed by Herodotus, and the formula in the Rosetta stone: "The kingdom being established unto him, and unto his children for ever."

But although the monarchy of Egypt was hereditary, the kings did not presume, in consequence of this right, to infringe the rules enacted for their public and private conduct. The laws of Egypt, which formed part of the sacred books, were acknowledged to be of divine origin, and were looked upon with superstitious reverence. To have disobeyed them, would have been considered rebellion against the deity, and would have called forth vengeance upon the head of the offender, even should that offender have been the monarch on his throne. These laws were framed with the strictest regard to the welfare of the community, as the ancient history of the Egyptians abundantly proves. Diodorus observes on this subject: This unparalleled country could never have continued throughout ages in such a flourishing condition if it had not enjoyed the best laws and customs, and if the people had not been guided by the most salutary regulations."

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When a sovereign, having been educated in the military class, was ignorant of the mysteries of his religion, due care was taken, on his accession to the throne, to have him informed therein, and to enrol him in the college of the priests. He was instructed in all that related to the gods, the temple, the laws of the country, and the duties of a monarch. In order to preserve his dignity, and his morality, it was carefully provided that neither slave nor hired servant should hold any office about his person, but that the children of the priestly order, who were remarkable for a refined education, should alone be permitted to attend him. This measure was dictated by the persuasion that no monarch gives way to the impulse of evil passions, unless he finds those about him ready to serve as instruments to his caprices, and abettors of his excesses.

The sovereign power in Egypt was hereditary. In the event of an heir failing, however, the claims for succession were determined by nearness of relationship. Queens were not forbidden to undertake the management of affairs, and on the demise of their husbands, they were allowed to assume the office of regent. Such, at least, are mentioned by historians, and introduced into the annals of Manetho; but their names do not appear in the lists of sovereigns sculptured in the temples of Thebes and Abydos. In some instances, the kingdom was usurped by a powerful chief, as in the case of Amasis, or by some Ethiopian prince, who, either claiming a right to the crown, or taking advantage of internal disturbances, obtained possession of it by force of arms. Synesius intimates, that the Egyptian monarchy was elective; but there is no instance on record that would lead to such a conclusion, except in the case of the twelve kings who reigned in union, and that is an exception to the general practice. Diodorus says, indeed, that, in ancient times, kings, instead of succeeding by right of inheritance, were selected for their merits; but whether this really was the case at the commencement of the Egyptian monarchy, it is difficult to determine. The same author, in fact, states in another place, that the first kings were succeeded by their offspring, and we have hiero-ishment against one who violates a free woman, glyphical evidence that such was the case during the eighteenth and succeeding dynasties. This

This, it may be mentioned, agrees very well with the sculptures, which represent priests as pages and fan bearers. Diodorus says, that the king's sons, also held such offices. Reynier, indeed, questions whether slavery existed at all in Egypt previous to the period when its ancient institutions became in a great degree changed. His doubts arise from the difficulty of reconciling the existence of slaves with the organization of the Egyptians under their theocracy. But that they did possess slaves at the earliest period, we learn from Scripture. The king of Egypt gave male and female slaves to Abraham, Gen. xii. 16; and Joseph, the beloved son of good old Israel, was sold as a slave "unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard," Gen. xxxvii. 36. This latter fact is met by the author named, by an observation, that the domination of the shepherd kings must have operated in modifying the peculiar usages of the Egyptians. Among the Egyptian laws, however, as cited by Diodorus, there is one that inflicts the punishment of death on a person who kills his slave, and another that denounces a severe pun

which proves there were some not free. The former of these laws is illustrated by the conduct

which Potiphar pursued towards his slave Jo-ligious to the gods, affable to men, moderate, just, seph. On the report of his mistress, Potiphar magnanimous, sincere, an enemy to falsehood, believed his slave had dealt most perfidiously liberal, master of his passions, punishing crimes and ungratefully towards him, acting in a way with the utmost lenity, but boundless in rewardcalculated to provoke indignation and summary ing merit. He next mentioned the faults of punishment; but he committed no violence upon which kings might be guilty, but supposed, at the him; he respected the laws of his country, and same time, that they never committed any, exsent him to the royal prison, apparently intend- cept by surprise or ignorance; and they loaded ing that, after trial and conviction, he should such of their ministers as gave them ill counsel, receive the punishment adjudged by the laws to and suppressed or disguised the truth, with imhis offence. See Gen. xxxix. 13-20. precations. After the prayers and sacrifices were ended, the counsels and actions of great men were read to the king out of the sacred books, in order that he might govern his dominions according to their maxims, and maintain the laws which had made his predecessors and their subjects happy.

The first slaves were, doubtless, prisoners taken in war, who became the property of the captors. Afterwards, these prisoners were sold to others who might require servants; and, eventually, any persons offered for sale were bought solely as a trading speculation, as we see in the case of Joseph, and as they are to this day in that country. The captives brought to Egypt were employed in the service of the monarch, in building temples, cutting canals, raising dykes and embankments, and other public works, as in the days of Sesostris; and some, who were purchased by the grandees, were employed in the same capacity as the Memlooks of the present. Women slaves were also engaged in the service of families, like the Greeks and Circassians in Modern Egypt, and other parts of the Turkish empire; and, from finding them represented in the sculptures of Thebes, accompanying men of their own nation, who bear tribute to the Egyptian monarch, we may conclude that a certain number were annually sent to Egypt from the conquered provinces of the north and east, as well as from Ethiopia. It is evident that both white and black slaves were employed as servants. They attended on the guests when invited to the house of their master; and, from their being in the families of priests as well as of the military chiefs, we may infer that they were purchased with money, and that the right of possessing slaves was not confined to those who had taken them in war. The traffic in slaves was tolerated; and it is reasonable to suppose that many persons were engaged, as at present, in bringing them to Egypt for public sale, independent of those who were sent as part of the tribute, and who were probably at first the property of the monarch.

The kings of Egypt freely permitted not only the quality and proportion of what they ate and drank to be prescribed them, but that all their hours, and almost every action, should be under the regulation of the laws. In the morning, at day-break, when the head is clearest, and the thoughts unperplexed, they read the several letters they had received, thereby forming a distinct idea of the affairs which would fall under their consideration during the day. As soon as they were dressed, they went to the daily sacrifice performed in the temple; where, surrounded by their whole court, and the victims placed before the altar, they assisted at the prayer pronounced aloud by the high priest, in which he asked of the gods health and all other blessings for the king, because he governed his people with clemency and justice, and made the laws of his kingdom the rule and standard of his actions. The high priest then entered into a long detail of his royal virtues, observing, that a king was re

The paramount function of kings is the administration of justice to their subjects. Accordingly, the kings of Egypt diligently cultivated this duty, convinced that on this depended both the comfort of individuals and the happiness of the state. To assist them in the administration of justice, they selected thirty judges out of the principal cities, as will be seen in a future page.

Great respect was paid in Egypt to the monarchs. They were honoured, indeed, whilst living, as so many visible representations of the Deity; and, after their death, lamented for as the fathers of their country. These sentiments of respect and tenderness proceeded from a strong persuasion that the Divinity himself had placed them upon the throne, as he distinguished them so greatly from all other human beings; and that kings bore the most noble characteristics of the Supreme Being, as the power and will of doing good to others were united in their persons. It was the blind adoration they paid to their monarchs, which led them to believe that after death their spirits passed into, and became the animating principle of some heavenly body, and consequently they became the object of their worship. Thus Thoth (2nd) or Hermes Trismegistus, the thirty-fifth king of Thebes, is said to have been deified, because he was the reviver and second founder of the theology, laws, and social institutions of the Egyptians, all of which he brought into that system which has been regarded with wonder in every subsequent age.

On the death of every Egyptian king, a general mourning was instituted throughout all Egypt for seventy-two days; hymns commemorating his virtues were sung; the temples were closed; sacrifices were no longer offered; and no feasts or festivals were celebrated during that period. The people tore their garments, and covering their heads with dust and mud, formed a procession of two or three hundred persons of both sexes, who met publicly twice a day, to sing the funeral dirge. A general fast was also observed, and they neither allowed themselves to taste meat or wheat bread, and abstained from wine and every luxury. In the mean time, the funeral was prepared, and on the last day the body was placed in state within the vestibule of the tomb, and an account was given of the life and conduct of the deceased. It was permitted to any present to offer himself as an accuser, and the voice of a people might prevent a sovereign from

receiving funeral honours. This was an ordeal, the dread of which would, doubtless, tend to stimulate the Egyptian monarchs to the practice of their duty; for there is planted in the human breast, in all ages, and in all countries of the world, an ardent desire that a last tribute of respect should be paid to frail humanity.

CASTES OF THE PEOPLE.

The division of Egyptian society into separate classes, or castes, has been noticed by many ancient writers. Herodotus says, they were divided into seven tribes,-priests, soldiers, herdsmen, swineherds, shopkeepers, interpreters, and boatmen. Diodorus states, that, like the Athenians, (who, being an Egyptian colony, derived this institution from the parent country,) they were distributed into three classes, the priests, husbandmen, from whom the soldiers were levied, and the artizans, who were employed in handicraft, and other similar occupations, and in common offices among the people. This author, however, in another page, extends the number of castes to five, reckoning the pastors, husbandmen, and artificers, independently of the soldiers and priests. Strabo limits them to three, the priests, soldiers, and husbandmen; and Plato divides them into six bodies,—the priests, soldiers, artificers, huntsmen,* husbandmen, and shepherds: each peculiar art, or occupation, he observes, being confined to a certain subdivision of the caste, and every one engaged in his own branch, without interfering with the occupation of another, as in India and China, where the same trade or employment is followed in succession by father and son.

From these statements it will be perceived, that the exact number of classes into which the Egyptians were divided is uncertain: the most probable inference we can draw from them is, that there were five distinct castes in Egypt, with certain subdivisions.

The Priestly Power.

The priesthood formed the second, and the ruling power in Egypt. The authority and paramount influence, indeed, of the priestly order were such as to render the Egyptian government rather ecclesiastical than monarchical. We have seen that when a king was elected who was not previously of the sacerdotal caste, he was adopted into that caste, and instructed in its mysteries and science. This may explain the union of Joseph with Asenath, the daughter of the "priest of On." The desire of the priesthood to concentrate all power into their own body, may have induced them to wish that Joseph should be connected with them; or, the king may have desired it to establish him in his position, by securing him the support and countenance of the priestly order in his undertakings, without which all his plans must have proved abortive, though dictated by ever so much wisdom.

* This class appears to have comprehended those who sought the young of gazelles, and other wild animals of the desert, and those who, as fowlers, sought for birds in a wild state, which they caught in large clap-nets. It is supposed that, like a similar class of persons in India, as described by Megasthenes, they led a wandering life, dwelling in tents.

The priests of Egypt possessed great privileges and revenues. See Gen. xlvii. 22. 26. The prince usually honoured them with a large share of his confidence, because they were better educated than any other caste, and were most strongly attached to the person of the king, and the good of the public. In the priesthood, not only must the son of a priest be a priest, but he must be a priest to the particular deity to whom his father had ministered. The priests were dispersed in parties in the several districts, where they constituted the governing body; but the large cities which had at different times been the capitals of Egypt, and where their great temples were found, formed their principal seats. Every priest was attached to some temple or other, and every temple had its chief priest, whose office was hereditary. In the principal cities, the high priests were, to a certain extent, hereditary princes, who ranked next the kings, and enjoyed nearly equal advantages. Such a person was Potipherah, "priest of On." Heeren concludes, that the organization of the inferior priesthood was different in different cities, according to the extent and wants of the locality. On the position they held in the state, this author says, that they did not constitute the ruling race merely because from them were chosen the servants of the state, but much rather because they monopolized every branch of scientific knowledge, which was entirely formed by the locality, and had immediate reference to the wants of the people. Their sole, or even their most usual employment, was not the service of the gods: they were judges, physicians, soothsayers, architects; in short, every thing in which any species of scientific knowledge was concerned. Annexed to each temple and settlement of priests were extensive estates, which were farmed out at moderate rents. The produce of these lands supplied a common fund, which furnished provisions for the priests and their families, thereby rendering it unnecessary, as Herodotus observes, for them to contribute any thing from their own private resources towards their support; from which we discover, that they had private property and estates exclusive of their common lands.

The priests had possession of the sacred books, which contained the principles of government, as well as the mysteries of divine worship, and which, like their temples, were not open to the vulgar. These were both commonly involved in symbols and enigmas, which made truth more venerable, and excited more strongly the curiosity of the multitude. The figure of Harpocrates, in the Egyptian sanctuaries, with his finger upon his mouth, seemed to intimate that mysteries were there enclosed. As much may be said of the sphinxes placed at the entrance of every temple; and it is well known, that the pyramids, obelisks, pillars, statues, etc., were usually adorned with hieroglyphics, or symbolical writings, under which was couched a hidden and parabolical meaning. It is stated by Porphyry and Clemens Alexandrinus, that the writing of the Egyptian priests was of four kinds. The first, HIEROGLYPHIC and this twofold; the more rude called curiologic, and the more artificial called tropical: the second SYMBOLIC, and this likewise was two

fold; the simple and the mysterious, that tropical, this allegorical. These two kinds of writing were not composed of the letters of an alphabet, but of characters which stood for things, not words. Thus, to signify the sun, they sometimes painted a hawk; this was tropical: sometimes a scarabæus with a round ball in its claws; this was enigmatical. The third form of writing was called EPISTOLIC, from its being first applied to civil matters; and the fourth, HIEROGRAMMATIC, from its being used only in religious matters. These last two kinds of writing expressed words, and were formed by the letters of an alphabet: thus, Y. K., in the Egyptian tongue, signifying a serpent; and a serpent, in their hieroglyphics, denoting a king; Y. K., as stated by Manetho, signified the same in the sacred dialect.

One of the principles in the religious policy of Egypt, was, that the government of the world had, by the Supreme Ruler of the universe, been committed to subordinate local, tutelary deities, amongst whom the several regions of the earth were divided; that these were the proper objects of all public and popular religion; and that the knowledge of the ONE TRUE GOD, the CREATOR of all things, was highly dangerous to be communicated to the people, but was to be secreted, and shut up in their MYSTERIES, and in them to be revealed only occasionally, and to a few; and those few the wise, the learned, and the mighty among mankind.

Another fundamental maxim in the religious policy of Egypt was, to propagate, by every means, the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, as the necessary support of all religion and government. Thus their tenets were dictated by worldly wisdom, for the support only of the state. How unlike such are the pure doctrines of the gospel! While they form a broad security for good order in a state, they teach mankind the knowledge of the one true God, and the way of salvation through a crucified Redeemer.

Diodorus observes, on the education of the Egyptians:- -"The children of the priests are taught two different kinds of writing, what is called the sacred, and the more general; and they pay great attention to geometry and arithmetic for the river, changing the appearance of the country very materially every year, is the cause of many and various discussions among neighbouring proprietors about the extent of their property; and it would be difficult for any person to decide upon their claims without geometrical reasoning, founded on actual observation.*

"Of arithmetic they have also frequent need, both in their domestic economy, and in the application of geometrical theorems, besides its utility in the cultivation of astronomical studies;

* According to some authors, Sesostris was the first who divided Egypt by a measure amongst his subjects, and thus gave a beginning to the science of geometry. Sir Isaac Newton ascribes the origin of this science to Moeris, the fifth from Sesostris, confounding Sesostris with Osiris. But it is evident from Scripture, that an exact division of private landed property existed in Egypt before the days of Joseph, whose wise administration commenced ages anterior to the period assigned by Newton. See Gen. xlvii. 20-26.

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for the orders and motions of the stars are observed at least as industriously by the Egyptians as any people whatever, and they keep records of the motions of each for an incredible number of years, the study of this science having been, from the remotest times, an object of national ambition with them. They have also most punctually observed the motions, periods, and stations of the planets, as well as the powers which they possess with respect to the nativities of animals, and what good or evil influences they exert; and they frequently foretell what is to happen to a man throughout his life, and not uncommonly predict the failure of crops, or an abundance, and the occurrence of epidemic diseases among men and beasts; foreseeing also earthquakes and floods, the appearance of comets, and a variety of other things, which appear impossible to the multitude.* It is said that the Chaldeans in Babylon are derived from an Egyptian colony, and have acquired their reputation for astrology by means of the information obtained from the priests in Egypt.

"But the generality of the common people learn only from their parents or relations that which is required for the exercise of their peculiar professions, as we have already shown; a few only being taught any thing of literature, and those principally the better classes of artificers."

In their minute observations respecting events of consequence, Herodotus observes, that the Egyptians excelled all other people; and when any thing occurs, they put it down in writing, and pay particular attention to the circumstances which follow it; and if, in process of time, any similar occurrence takes place, they conclude it will be attended with the same results.

But, if the priests were anxious to establish a character for learning and piety, they were equally solicitous to excel in propriety of conduct, and to exhibit a proper example of humility and selfdenial. In their mode of living, they were re markable for simplicity and abstinence; committing no excesses either in eating or drinking. Their food was plain, and they ate a stated quantity; their wine, also, was used with the strictest regard to moderation. So fearful were they, indeed, lest the body should not "sit light upon the soul," and excess should increase "the corporeal man," that they paid a scrupulous attention to the most trifling particulars of diet. Similar precautions were extended to the deified animals; Plutarch says that Apis was not allowed to drink the water of the Nile, on account of its fattening properties.

Their scruples were not confined to the quantity, but they extended to the quality of their food; certain viands were alone allowed to be set before them. Above all meats, that of swine was most obnoxious; and fish, both of the sea

The false science of astrology was created by the priests of Egypt, for the sake of establishing and preserving their power. Induced by the illusion of his senses to regard himself as the centre of the universe, man was easily persuaded that his destiny was influenced by the heavenly bodies, and that it was possible to foretell it by observing their aspect at his birth. This illusive notion kept its ground til the end of the seventeenth century, when knowledge generally diffused the true system of the world over Europe, and destroyed the imposing fabric of astrology, dispersing its reveries and follies, as the beams of the sun disperse the morning mists.

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