CRUELTY THE NURSE OF CIVILIZATION. 9 



desert, and out of such wars arose a military caste. 

 These allied themselves with the intellectual caste, 

 who were also priests, for among the primitive nations 

 religion and science were invariably combined. In 

 this manner the bravest and "wisest of the Egyptians 

 rose above the vulgar crowd, and the nation "was 

 divided into two great classes, the rulers and the 

 ruled. 



Then oppression confirmed the "work which Avar and 

 famine had begun. The priests announced, and the 

 armies executed, the divine decrees. The people were 

 reduced to servitude. The soldiers discovered the gold 

 and emerald mines of the adjoining hills, and filled 

 their dark recesses with chained slaves and savage 

 overseers. They became invaders ; they explored dis- 

 tant lands with the spear. Communications with Syria 

 and the fragrant countries at the mouth of the Red 

 Sea, first opened by means of war, "were continued by 

 means of commerce. Foreign produce became an 

 element of Egyptian life. The privileged classes found 

 it necessary to be rich. Formerly the priests had 

 merely salted the bodies of the dead; now a fashion- 

 able corpse must be embalmed at an expense of two 

 hundred and fifty pounds, with asphalt from the Dead 

 Sea and spices from the Somauli groves ; costly incense 

 must be burnt on the altars of the gods ; aristocratic 

 heads must recline on ivory stools ; fine ladies must 

 glitter with gold ornaments and precious stones, and 

 must be served by waiting-maids and pages with woolly 

 hair and velvety black skins. War and agriculture 

 were no longer sufficient to supply these patrician 

 wants. It was no longer sufficient that the people 

 should feed on dates and the coarse doura bread, while 

 the wheat which they raised was sold by their masters 



