THE BALSAM OF THE SOUL. 35 



could delight the eyes of those who were unable to 

 penetrate its sense. Hieroglyphics may be found on 

 everything in Egypt, from the colossal statue to the 

 amulet and gem. But the art was practised only by 

 the priests, as the painted history plainly declares. No 

 books are to be seen in the furniture of houses ; no 

 female is depicted in the act of reading ; the papyrus 

 scroll and pencil never appear, except in connection with 

 some official act. 



The library at Thebes was much admired. It had 

 a blue ceiling speckled with golden stars. Allegorical 

 pictures of a religious character and portraits of the 

 sacred animals were painted on the walls. Above the 

 door was inscribed these words, The Balsam of the 

 Soul. Yet this magnificent building contained merely 

 a collection of prayer books and ancient hymns, some 

 astronomical almanacks, some works on religious philo- 

 sophy, on medicine, music, and geometry, and the 

 historical archives, which were probably little else 

 than a register of the names of kings, with the 

 dates of certain inventions, and a scanty outline of 

 events. 



Even these books, so few in number, were not 

 open to all the members of the learned class. They 

 were the manuals of the various departments or pro- 

 fessions, and each profession stood apart ; each profes- 

 sion was even subdivided within itself. In medicine 

 and surgery there were no general practitioners. 

 There were oculists, aurists, dentists, doctors of the 

 head, doctors of the stomach, &c, and each was 

 forbidden to invade the territory of his colleagues. 

 This specialist arrangement has been highly praised, 

 but it has nothing in common with that which has 

 arisen in modern times. 



