24:0 PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 



&quot;have their individual history, which the holy scribes wrote down iii 

 the books of the temples.&quot; 



Here are kindred passages from Bunsen and Duncker: 



Diodorus (i, 44) says &quot; the priests had in their sacred books, trans 

 mitted from the olden time, and handed down by them to their 

 successors in office, written descriptions of all their kings ... In 

 these an account is given of every king^ of his physical powers and 

 disposition, and of the exploits of each in the order of time. &quot; 



A priest daily &quot;read to the king the apothegms and achievements of 

 distinguished men . . . out of the sacred books. &quot;We know that poems 

 of considerable extent on historical subjects were in existence.&quot; 

 Thus it is clear that in Egypt the priests were at once the 

 biographers and historians. 



Preceding chapters have indirectly shown the primitive 

 connexions between religion, biography, and history among 

 the Greeks. The laudation of a god s deeds, now lyrical 

 now epical, rhythmically uttered by his priests, involved 

 with the sacred element both these secular elements. But 

 a few more specific facts may be added. 



4 The history of the Greek families and states came to be systemati 

 cally represented in a manner edifying according to the sense of the 

 religion of Apollo, and dictated by theocratic interests.&quot; 



&quot;In and near the sanctuaries the most ancient traditions were 

 preserved.&quot; 



&quot; A list was kept of the priestesses at Argos, and, on account of their 

 priestly dignity, also of the kings of Sparta . . . and thus arose his 

 torical archives.&quot; 



And then, after the secularization of rhythmical speeches 

 or songs, first uttered in honour of the gods, the biographico- 

 historical character of their subject-matters is retained and 

 developed. In hexameters, first employed by the Delphic 

 priests, Homer, in the Iliad recites a story which, mainly 

 historical, is in part biographical the wrath of Achilles 

 being its most pronounced motive. And then in the Odys 

 sey, we have a narrative which is almost wholly biographical. 

 But though mainly secularized, these epics have not wholly 

 lost the primitive sacred character; since the gods are repre 

 sented as playing active parts. 



