614 THE EGYPTIANS. 



the military system of remote antiquity Egypt was almost inaccessible ; 

 but through the changes of later times, and ever since naval expeditions 

 have been carried to any extent, her position has been that of extreme 

 weakness. The uniform experience of twenty-five centuries, from the 

 Persian wars to those of the French ^Revolution, has shown that the pos- 

 session of the mouths of the river is equivalent to the conquest of the 

 country. 



In the security of this inaccessible retreat, and under political institu- 

 tions of a favorable character, the civilization which was to be conferred 

 on the white man originated. For a succession of centuries, industrial 

 art, and its parent, natural knowledge, appear to have undergone a steady 

 development ; perhaps, as in other countries at a later time, advancing in 

 the more prosperous political seasons, and becoming stationary in the 

 decay of the empire. The statements furnished to us by Greek authors 

 are of very little value, for as long a period of time intervened between 

 the first Egyptian kings and them as from them until now. It is rather 

 from the monuments of the Egyptians that we must judge. Each year 

 since their country has been open to investigation, and their hieroglyphic 

 system understood, the impressions we have received of their intellectual 

 advancement have been more and more favorable. The vocal statue of 

 Memnon at Thebes, it is said, emitted a musical sound when touched by 

 the rays of the sun. In the light of modern criticism, every obelisk and 

 monument in those desolated palaces is finding a voice. 



The public works attest to this day the greatness and permanence of 

 Manners of the the Egyptian monarchy, and the peculiarities of the Egyp- 

 Egyptians. ^ian mind. From the statues and ruins of the temples of 

 the Greeks we see what a vivid perception that people had of the beauti- 

 ful. The statues, and tombs, and temples of the Egyptians offer a strik- 

 ing contrast ; the useful every where predominates. The vases of the one 

 were adorned with emblematical and graceful forms ; the tombs of the oth- 

 er were covered with sculptures and paintings, commemorating the ordi- 

 nary pursuits of life, and various processes in the arts and manufactures. 



These sculptures and paintings show to what an extent the physical 

 sciences and arts depending on them had been cultivated. They set be- 

 fore us the domestic life and daily business and trades of the people : 

 cookery, confectionery, glass-blowing, weaving, pottery-making, manu- 

 facture of cotton, painting on wood and stone, staining of glass, and a 

 hundred other occupations. Among the pictured representations, a chem- 

 ist sees with pleasure the apparatus of his art, siphons, bellows, blow- 

 pipes, etc. 



Shut up by its political system from the Mediterranean nations in the 

 same manner that the Chinese and Japanese empires have been in later 

 times from other states, Egypt was to the Greek a land of mystery and 



