E G Y P T. 



foot, 24,000 horse, nd 27,000 - The 1700 



i.> who had been trained up along with him from his 

 infancy, and accustomed md uiilit.i: 



were well fitted lo have \. > : .iros of trust in that 



mighty army, lH>th fiom their .utnrhinent to their 

 reign, and their mi ,r. With this numerous 



lws, he over-rnn the l-.thiopians, and Africa, 



till h reached the shores of the Atlantic. Being cncou- 

 i aged by IM penetrated Asia, nnd crossed the 



Ganges. Returning into Europe, he invaded Scylhia as 

 well as Thrace; but, according to some historians, these 

 warlike people resisted his invasion, and after he had 

 made several conquests, ri>mpellod diem to retire. A co- 

 lony of Egyptians was planted by him in Colchis or a 

 part of his army settled there of their own accord ; and 

 pillars recording his triumphs have been found in vari- 

 ous parts of the world. 



He appears to have aimed at universal conquest; but 

 though his movements were rapid, and his successes 

 great, yet he was forced to return to Egypt, and aban- 

 don the kingdor.is I c had acquired. There is a certain 

 coni|>ass, beyond whii-h the powers of man cannot pre- 

 vail ; and it was never intended by nature, that one man 

 .should lord it over the whole em th. There are limits to 

 the powers of the mind, and there are boundnries amony 

 the empires and kingdoms of the earth, which it is cruel 

 and unjust to pass. While Sesostris was employed with 

 conquest abroad, his brother was perverting his authority 

 at home, and subverting the power and honour of the 

 king. Being informed of these transactions, Sesostris 

 ned his return to Egypt; and having resumed the 

 reins of his kingdom, overthrew the proceedings of his 

 brother, tranquillized the country, nnd completely re-esta- 

 blished his owo power. It is said in honour of his hu- 

 inanitv, that he saved the life of his rebel brother, who, 

 it has been asserted, fled into Greece, and was the f>&- 

 naus of that country, whose story seems to be partly true, 

 and partly fabulous. 



From this time forward, Sesostris abandoned a life 6f 

 warfare, and employed his leisure as well as his riches in 

 adorning his kingdom, and improving the condition of 

 his people. He provided for the repose of the soldiers, 

 who had been his companions in arms ; and he enriched 

 the temples of the gods, whom the people worshipped. 

 He fortified the kingdom in the most commodious parts; 

 improved the state of Lower Egypt or the Delta, and 

 in general meliorated the state of the kingdom. He 

 either divided the people into casts, or rendered the di- 

 vision more complete, which appears to have been a fa- 

 veurable arrangement in those times and circumstances, 

 though it has created a host of prejudices unfavourable 

 to successive improvements. It is recorded to the dis- 

 grace of Sesostris, not only that he retained the kings 

 captive whom he had taken in war ; but also that he 

 took a cruel pleasure in exposing their fallen state to pub- 

 lic observation, making them feel in a most sensible man- 

 ner the degradations of their captive condition. In the 

 midst of these severities, one of his captive sovereigns 

 reminded him, by the emblem of a wheel turning rapid- 

 ly upside down, that fortune was capricious, and that he 

 who sat upon the throne might soon, like him, be ranked 

 amongst slaves. The remark did not fail of its natural 

 impression ; and from that time the captive princes were 

 set free. So true is it, that health is followed by sick- 

 ness, and prosperity by pain, that Sesostris lost his sight, 

 and sinking into despair, he put a period to his-own 

 life. 



ioned in his- V |-"V*~' 

 I ' l:tr<>n - 



. 



ScsoMris II. rr 1' ,ciu 



.-i to have his nftii'o m 

 tun-; for % fife was inactive, mi i 

 Like the former Stsosttis, \\c \va.-> si 



but by patience nnd proper remedies his sight wa rc- 

 il. Wo give no heed to the fabulous manner rn 

 which his cure Ims been represented; blindness appo 

 t<> have been of old, as it is now, a common disease in 

 Egypt. Now a period fruitful of no authentic informa- 

 tion occurs again in the history of F.pypt ; for here nnd 

 there are only some casual and ill ascertained spots of 

 verdure transiently appearing ninid 1 

 of aiid wastes. About this time, though we cannot speak 

 with precision, we may ventine to supjHjsc, that thi- 

 Israelites departed from the land of Egypt. 'For in tin.- 

 reign of Actisancs, the Ethiopian adventurer, who c'. 

 the detested Amasis from the throne, there is an ob- 

 scure, and seemingly disguised account, of a foreign |>co- 

 ple being driven from Egypt toward the land of Pales- 

 tinc. 



After a long interval we meet with Cetcs, who, in the 

 language of Greece, was denominated 1'roteus. He was 

 celebrated in ancient fable, and on account of his wis- 

 dom, and jxrhaps las dexterity in the art of deception 

 nnd enchantments, was said to have the power of chan- 

 ging his form. Dwelling upon the sea-shore, or perhaps 

 encouraging commercial affairs, he was said to be a sen 

 god. Into one of his ports Paris was driven when lie 

 was carrying off Helen from her husband Menclaus. 

 Finding that Paris had violated the rights of hospitality, 

 and fled with the wife of his friend, he dismissed him 

 from his presence ; but retained the fair, though faith- 

 less lady, to be sent back to her injured lord. In the 

 mean time a war was undertaken against Troy ; for the 

 Greeks would not be persuaded that Helen was not con- 

 cealed in that devoted city. 



The reality of this memorable siege has been called 

 in question by Mr Bryant ; and in many respects his 

 opinions are singular ; but similar sentiments seem to be 

 entertained by some modern travellers ; or at least, they 

 have not been able to discover the scene of those splendid 

 actions, which have adorned the classic page, and de- 

 lighted the heart of the youthful student. We believe 

 tlie jiego nf Troy was a real and momentous transaction, 

 though disfigured by tradition, anj thot tradition em- 

 bellished by the poets. It is not wonderful, that the 

 site of Troy should not be known. Ancient cities in 

 the East consisted chiefly of mud or very perishable cot- 

 tages, except the temples and a few public buildings, 

 which were easily overthrown in a deserted city, and even 

 their fragments sunk or carried away. 



To Proteus succeeded Rhampsinitus or Remphis, who Rluunpsin:- 

 would scarcely deserve our notice, if he had not been tus. 

 the son of the last king, and raised to the throne in due 

 order of succession. He is represented as having been 

 excessively attached to riches ; and as having erected an 

 expensive building for the reception of bis treasure. In 

 times like those in which he reigned, it is natural to be- 

 lieve that means would be employed to spoil him of his 

 wealth ; but the story of Herodotus concerning the de- 

 vice of the architect for giving himself a private mode of | 



access to the king's treasure, and other circumstances at- 

 tending the abstracting of his money, are unworthy of 

 record. Snares might be laid to detect the offender who 

 had plundered the king, but that one brother should 

 cut off another's head when he was held fast, and could 

 not escape fiom the trap, which was laid to discover the 





