4*82 MORAL AND POLITICAL 
not been obliterated by the mixture of so many dif- 
ferent races of men since the reign of the an- 
cient Egyptian kings, exhibit an astonishing proof 
of this singular fact. When, however, we turn our 
attention from the features to the minds of this 
race, we are mortified to discover few indications 
of that profound intelligence which marked the 
wisdom of the Egyptians, or of that brilliant ge- 
nius which characterized the Greeks, from whom 
the most considerable mixture of the Coptic blood 
is derived. Instructed for the most part to read 
and write, and possessing a species of hereditary 
knowledge, acquired from tradition, of the extent 
and value of the cultivated lands in the various 
districts of Egypt, they have become the deposita- 
ries of the public registers, and have almost mono- 
polized those occupations which require a superfi- 
cial degree of learning. From this class of Egyp- 
tians are selected the secretaries, the intendants* 
and the collectors of government. Melancholic in 
their temperament, and fond of tranquillity, they 
distinguish themselves more in situations which re- 
quire assiduity and attention, than in those which 
demand exertion and activity. Minute and labo- 
rious in their habits, they often amass large for- 
tunes by indefatigable patience, and they generally 
use them without ostentation. With such a tem- 
perament and with such habits, they are addicted 
to gross sensuality, and fond of the exhilaration of 
