[3] 



This war engrossed the attention of all classes at home, 

 so that the philosophers were enabled to prosecute their 

 studies unmolested. It also in many other ways was a 

 means of furthering the scientific efforts of that and of 

 future ages. For the first time the Macedonians beheld 

 the ebbing and flowing of the tides ; they discovered and 

 examined the Chaldean astronomical instruments, and 

 learnt their calculations, extending over several thousand 

 years ; and they observed the Chaldean division of the 

 zodiac into twelve portions, and of the day and night into 

 twelve hours each. The particulars of these they sent 

 home to Aristotle. What a field was here opened out 

 for Greek speculation ! The Chaldeans had detected 

 the precession of the equinoxes, and were well acquainted 

 with the causes of eclipses; they printed from a revolving 

 roller, on which they had engraved cuneiform letters ; 

 they possessed magnifying instruments ; and were, in fact, 

 the tail-end of a mighty and advanced Accadian civilisa- 

 tion which had been in existence for thousands of years. 

 Not satisfied with these achievements, the conquering 

 Alexander next subdued the ancient monarchy of Egypt, 

 learnt the great feat of the Pharaohs viz., the circum- 

 navigation of Africa by the Cape of Good Hope and the 

 pillars of Hercules, and founded the celebrated city of 

 Alexandria. He died at Babylon B.C. 323, after which 

 his huge empire was divided among his generals ; his 

 half brother, Ptolemy Soter, who had been governor of 

 Egypt during Alexander's lifetime, taking possession of 

 that country, and establishing his seat of government at 

 the new city of Alexandria. 



This period marks the commencement of European 

 civilisation. Owing to the excellent government adopted 

 by Ptolemy, large numbers of Arabians, Jews, and Greeks 

 were induced to take up their residence at Alexandria, 

 which quickly became the centre of learning and first 

 commercial city of the whole known world, and the 

 resort of people of all nationalities. The celebrated 

 museum, which was commenced by Ptolemy Soter and 

 completed by his successor, Ptolemy Philadelphus, con- 

 tained a library, which grew so largely that 400,000 

 volumes were soon acquired by it, and a daughter library, 

 containing 300,000 volumes, built at the Serapion, or 



