NOTES ON LITERATURE IN EGYPT IN THE TIME OF MOSES. 175 



there was none, and offered explanations which explained 

 nothing. The result Avas, in many cases, a very chaos of 

 mysticism and folly. We need not be surprised at this ; 

 for we often see examples of such in our own day. 



The Egyptians may scarcely be said to have had a written 

 history. A Turin papyrus on its reverse side furnishes us 

 with a list of kings, and various monarchs have left a brief 

 account of their achievements. Other historic events have 

 come down to us under a form more or less legendary in its 

 character. We may add to this the annals of Egyptian 

 temples with tribute lists and assignments of lands. In all 

 this we possess not history but the materials out of which 

 history may be wrought. 



The stars were regarded not indeed as divinities, as was 

 the case among the Babylonians, but as the abodes of pious 

 souls, or as the genii which were connected Avith the sun ; 

 so especially the " decan-stars" or thirty-six constellations 

 situated on the horizon. The Egyptians, however, had made 

 a beginning in real astronomy. They had formed charts of 

 different portions of the heavens on a plan which must be 

 pronounced both original and unique. Their permanent and 

 most important work Avas to lay the foundation of our modern 

 calendar. Each day of the calendar seems to have been con- 

 nected with one or more good or bad mythological incidents 

 which took place on that day and made it forever lucky or 

 unlucky. Thus the twenty-scA^enth day of the month Athyr 

 Avas lucky because on that day peace Avas concluded betAveen 

 the gods Horus and Set, Avhile the fourteenth day of the 

 month Tybi Avas held to be unlucky because on that day the 

 sister goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, mourned for their brother 

 Osiris, who had been slain by Set. 



Magic was the mightiest influence in the religious and 

 intellectual life of the Egyptians. They, believed that there 

 Avere certain words and actions by which they could control 

 nature, man, every animal, and even every god. The gods 

 themseh^es depended upon magic to constrain one another. 

 The origin of magic formulas Avas as follows. The magician 

 Avould recall some mythological incident which brought good 

 luck to some one of the divine beings, and the special Avords 

 spoken by the god in connection Avith this incident. He 

 Avould then imagine himself transformed into this same divine 

 being, and Avould utter the same words which had proved 

 poAverful in connection Avith the mythological incident, when 

 they Avould again serve the same good purpose in any similar 



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