506  PJiannacy  and  Medicine  in  Egypt.     { Member Pi9iT" 
Chemistry. — Chemistry  was  advancing  in  their  time.  They 
discovered  most  of  the  alkali  metals,  alkali  earths,  and,  among 
the  metals,  gold,  silver,  iron  and  their  alloys.  Glass  containers 
of  different  metallic  and  basic  colors  were  found  in  the  temples. 
The  Egyptians  of  those  remote  ages  had  a  profound  knowledge  of 
the  art  of  making  enamel  and  imitating  precious  stones,  the  com- 
position of  which  still  remains  a  mystery.  The  arts  and  industries 
of  dyeing  and  painting  were  practised  by  them.  The  wonderful 
permanent  and  shiny  appearance  of  their  paints  is  to  be  seen  in 
their  temples  and  tombs  even  to-day,  and  is  proof  of  their  ability 
and  of  their  scientific  knowledge  in  preparing  such  bright  and  clear 
colors.  A  sarcophagus  which  was  presented  to  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  Museum  is  a  handsome  piece  of  work  and  is  at  least 
3000  years  old.  Its  painting  is  so  wonderfully  perfect  in  brilliancy 
and  color  that  it  exceeds  any  painting  of  to-day. 
Ptolemies  (400  B.c-700  a.d.). — The  Ptolemaic  empire  included 
the  prosperous  reign  of  the  dynasty  founded  by  Alexander  the  Great, 
the  Macedonian  ruler  and  the  best  colonizer  the  world  has  ever  pro- 
duced. He  founded  the  city  of  Alexandria  and  its  great  libraries, 
which  was  the  rallying  point  for  all  learned  men  during  the  last  cen- 
tury and  a  half.  B.C.  Alexandria  was  the.  only  home  for  information 
and  the  seat  of  learning,  while  other  nations  were  declining  as  the 
results  of  ignorance  and  ravaging  the  earth  with  the  evils  of  war. 
The.  Egyptians  and  the  Greek  colonizers,  by  their  wide  knowledge 
and  common  sense,  kept  alive  the  sacred  flame  of  science  and  pre- 
served mankind  from  relapsing  into  its  barbarian  nature.  This  was 
due  to  the  enlightened  government  and  wisdom  and  liberal  opinion 
of  the  Ptolemaic  kings.  Alexander  the  Great,  Ptolemy  Soter 
(Savior),  and  his  immediate  successor,  Philadelphus,  were  the  first 
kings  who  bv  their  authority  and  enthusiasm  patronized  science 
and  scientific  men.  They  were  the  first  who  encouraged  physicians 
to  dissect  the  human  body,  and  prevented  the  prejudices  of  ignorance 
and  superstition  from  retarding  the  welfare  of  the  human  race.  To 
Hrophilus.  Erasistratus,  and  others  we  are  indebted  for  our  first 
knowledge  of  anatomy  and  histology.,  Erasistratus  described  the 
valves  of  the  heart  and  distinguished  them  by  the  names  bicuspid 
and  tricuspid,  and  he  studied  and  described  the  blood  circulation. 
Ptolemy  himself  was  present  at  some  of  these  post-mortems,  and 
among  the  discoveries  which  may  be  credited  to  them  are  the  fact 
that  the  nerve  trunk  originated  in  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  and  that 
