In the Rosetta stone, direct mention is made of the priest esses of the queens. It speaks of "Areia, the daughter of Diogenes, being priestess of Arsinoe, the daughter of Philadelphus and Eirene, the daughter of Ptolemy, priestess of Arsinoe, the daughter of Philopator, and Pyrrha, the daughter of Philinus, being canefora, or basket-bearer' of Be renice, the daughter of Euergetes." Diodorus also asserts, that Athyrtis, the daughter of Sesostris, was priestess to her father, and that she foretold to him the future success of his arms, by which he was stimulated to prosecute his designs of conquest.

The Military Power.

The caste which ranked next to the sacerdotal caste in Egypt, was the military. The first mention of an organized military force in Egypt occurs, Exod. xiv. xv., where we find that Pharaoh assembled very quickly a large army, both of cavalry and infantry, to pursue the Hebrews; and that this army perished in the mighty waters" of the Red Sea. The alacrity with which these were collected together, shows that a large force was constantly maintained, ready to march on any emergency. This warlike force consisted, indeed, of a numerous militia, which formed a caste by itself, whose occupation was hereditary, and which enjoyed great authority and high privileges. This militia was divided into two bo dies, namely, the Hermtoybies, and the Calasiries, the former of which consisted, at the date of their highest power, of 160,000, and the latter of 250,000 men. Herodotus relates, that they had for their subsistence certain nomes or provinces.* This property was, in general, let out to farmeis, like that of the kings and priests, who paid them a certain rent. No soldier received pay, but every man had an estate of about twelve acres, exempt from every charge, which he might cultivate if he thought proper; beyond this they were not allowed to engage in any other occupation than that of arms. Each of these great military divisions furnished a thousand men to compose the king's personal guard. These men were changed every year, and during their service, Hero

The Hermotybies lived in the provinces of Eusiris, Sais, Chemnis, Papremis, and the Isle of Prosopitis, and half of Natho: the Calasiries inhabited those of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebenytus Athribis, Pharbaethis, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anysis, and the Isle of Myecphoris,

dotus says, they were supplied with good rations of bread, meat, and wine, in addition to their own common revenues.

Very little is known concerning the internal organization, the tactics, and discipline of the Egyptian army. It would appear that the king held the privilege of commanding that army; that the right was the post of honour; and that those soldiers who quitted their post, or were disobedient, were marked with infamy, but were enabled by good conduct to regain the position they had forfeited. They were divided into regiments, or battalions, each having its standard with a peculiar emblem raised on a pike, and carried by an officer. Their arms were the bow, shield, sword, battle-axe, knife or dagger, spear, club, and sling. Their besieging engines were the battering-ram, the testudo, and the scaling-ladder. They had military music, consisting of a kind of drum, cymbals, pipe, trumpet, and other instruments. They were prepared for the fatigues of war by gymnastic exercises, such as wrestling, cudgelling, racing, sporting, and other games, of which, representations still exist on the monuments.

Some authors assert, that Egypt was first furnished with cavalry after Sesostris had conquered Libya. But this directly opposes the testimony of Scripture, from which source we learn that the Egyptians abounded in horses, and possessed numerous chariots, at the time of the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, which was several ages anterior to this event. We know, indeed, from Gen. l. 9, that the art of riding on horseback was known in Egypt in the days of the patriarch Jacob; and profane historians represent this art as an Egyptian invention, ascribing it either to Osiris himself, or to his son Orus, which intimates that they considered it to be of great antiquity. It seems to have been an object of ambition with the kings of Egyp. to keep a great number of horses; for Diodorus mentions that some princes before Sesostris had a hundred stables, each for two hundred horses, on the banks of the Nile, between Thebes and Memphis: and we learn from Scripture, that the Hebrew kings obtained their horses, and also their chariots, from Egypt. That great attention was paid in that country to the breed of horses, and that the Egyp tians possessed a valuable breed, appears evident from their being prized in other countries, as well as from their paintings; and that horses were exclusively used for both war and luxury, is confirmed by the testimony of their paintings, and the writings of ancient historians.

But notwithstanding this warlike show, the Egyptians were

not a warlike people. Egpyt loved peace, because it loved justice, and maintained soldiers only for its own security. its inhabitants, content with a country which abounded in all things, had, generally speaking, no ambitious dreams of conquest. Their kings extended their reputation by sending colonies into all parts of the world, and with them, laws and politeness. They triumphed by the wisdom of their counsels, and the superiority of their knowledge; and this empire of the mind was more noble and glorious to them, than that which is achieved by deeds of arms. Nevertheless, Egypt has given birth to a few, who, not satisfied with their own possessions, carried war and desolation into that of others, as we shall see in the section of this history which describes the kingdom of Egypt.

Husbandmen.

A third caste among the Egyptians was the husbandmen. Agriculture has been highly esteemed in that country in all ages of the world: from the earliest recorded period, indeed, Egypt was the granary of the surrounding nations. See Gen. xli. 5, 57. It is supposed by some, as before mentioned, to have been the original country of bread corn, and it is certain that wheat is first mentioned in connexion with that country. It is no wonder, therefore, that husbandmen were highly esteemed in Egpyt, and that they formed an important class in the state. The great perfection to which they had arrived, in the earliest ages, in the art of agriculture, is attested by their sculptures. From them we learn that they made use of the plough, the sickle, and other implements of husbandry, answering, in some degree, to those employed among our own husbandmen; and that the culture of the vine, which evinces a high state of agricultural knowledge, was among the Egyptians an early object of regard. To this fact Scripture alludes, Gen. xl. 9, 11; and ancient writers. affirm, that the Egyptians claimed for Osiris the honour of being the first who cultivated the vine, and extracted wine from its fruit. Athenæus, Strabo, Pliny, and Clement of Alexandria, specify districts where the vine was cultivated. Their vintage scenes, which still exist in the subterraneous temples, and sepulchral caverns of that country, exhibit the Egyptians treading the grapes with their feet, and depositing the expressed juice in jars buried nearly to their mouths in the ground. This, with the other principal products of

Egypt, described in the physical history of Egypt, tends to show how skilful the husbandmen of Egypt were in the art of agriculture. In confirmation of this fact, we may mention, moreover, that they had various breeds of large cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; and that they reared a quantity of poultry, chiefly by artificial means, the eggs being hatched in ovens.

Diodorus states, that the husbandmen were hired to till the estates of the kings, priests, and soldiers. This is confirmed by the Scripture account of the cession of all the landed property to the government on the occasion of the famine: hence we may conclude, that the husbandman had no rights in the soil, the richer peasants farming the land from the proprietor, while the poor were hired as labourers for the cultivation of the ground. The wages paid them were trifling, whence some infer that the farmer received the land on moderate terms. The cattle, in general, appears also to have belonged to the land-owner; but those employed in the plough, and for other agricultural purposes, were usually the property of the farmer. In extensive domains, the peasants appear sometimes to have acted as superintendents of the herdsmen, and to have been obliged to give an account to the steward of the number and condition of the cattle on the estate.

From the testimony of Diodorus, it is evident that the farmers were not only permitted to choose the grain they intended to cultivate, but were justly deemed the only persons of sufficient experience to form a judicious opinion upon the subject; and so skilful were they, says this historian, about these matters, that they far excelled the agriculturists of every other nation. They carefully considered the nature of the soil, the proper succession of crops, and the mode of tilling and irrigating the fields; and by constant observation, and the lessons received from their parents, were acquainted with the exact season for sowing and reaping, and with all the peculiarities of each species of grain. Gardeners were employed by the wealthy in cultivating trees and flowers in the grounds attached to their houses; and the vineyard, orchard, and tanks, which served as ornaments, as well as for the purposes of irrigation, were under their superintendence.

The peasants appear to have been divided into hundreds, each with a peculiar banner, which they followed when they presented themselves before the magistrate for the census, which is supposed to have originated in that country, and which was taken at stated periods. On these occasion, they were obliged to give an account of their conduct; and if they

were found delinquent, they were punished with the stick, their common mode of punishment, as it is at the present day in Persia and China.

In this caste, some authors place the huntsmen as another subdivision, and the boatmen as another; who, like others that composed the subdivisions of each caste, were of different grades. Thus, some belonged to the private sailing or pleasure boats of the grandees, others to those of burden; and the rank of each depended on the station he held. The office of steersman seems to have been the most important, and to have ranked above all the other grades; but, probably, in war, the pilots of ships bore the highest station.

Artificers, etc.

A fourth caste among the Egyptians was the artificers and tradesmen, and public weighers, etc., who resided in the towns. That the Egyptians excelled in science and art is evident from their monuments, paintings, and sculptures, whereon they are depicted. It is also proved by Scripture, which speaks of the "wisdom of Egypt" with reference to art; and by the fact that Egypt was deemed by other nations the fountain of arts and sciences, and that their philosophers were wont to resort thither to collect some of the "droppings of Egyptian wisdom." There is a passage in the work of Agatharchides on the Red Sea, [see page 11,] which describes their manner of working gold mines, and smelting the metal. The Egyptians were also acquainted with the art of gilding, and the art of fabricating glass was early known among them. A kind of ancient porcelain sometimes covered with enamel and varnish, is found in considerable quantities in that country. Their pottery, as exhibited in their ancient sculptures, was often of the most elegant form, and much of their furniture is not surpassed by the most refined manufactures of the present day. Specimens of their chairs and couches, which are given in Rosellini's great work are very beautiful in their forms. Linen cloths, plain or embroidered, white or dyed, was an article of Egyptian manufacture held in high repute among foreign nations. See Ezek. xxvii. 7. The art of making leather was known to them: their musical instruments, also, especially the harp, were early brought to great perfection.

According to Diodorus, all trades vied with each other in improving their own particular branch, no pains being spared