i ;; m Mi 45 'Js mw HISTORY THE EGYPTIANS. EDWARD "^FARR NEW YORK: ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, No. 985 BROADWAY. 1850. o ri % PREFACE. History has been well defined, by an English poet, as " Time's slavish scribe." It stands charged with the task of narrating past events, and carrying them down to that awful period when time shall give place to eternity. Looking at Ancient History in this broad hght, its importance to mankind must be obvious. Its value, however, is not confined to the mere knowledge of past events which may be derived from its pages. The har- mony which subsists between the events it records and the Divine predictions unfolded in the Bible ; the evi- dence it contains of there being a Divine Almighty Governor ruling and directing all the affairs of our lower world according to his holy will and pleasure ; the varied display of human character it presents to our view ; the response it gives in every page to the declara- tion of Holy Writ, that man has no abiding city on earth ; and the scope it affords for Christian reflection and improvement, whereby we are called to press for- ward in the ways of righteousness, — are features in this department of literature which increase its importance a hundred fold. It is true, that historical works, in general, take no note of these features. A mere detail of facts is placed before the reader, and he is left to draw his own inferences. Of the writers of such histories, it may be said that God was not in all their thoughts ; that although he was placed in legible characters before them, they carefully excluded Him from the notice of mankind. A work, therefore, upon an opposite and better plan, must be acknowledged by all Christian iv rP.EFACE. readers to be a desideratum ; and it is hoped that, in the accompanying pages, it will be in some measure sup- plied. The precious fragments, which other historians have either despised or not searched out, are here gathered together and presented to the world. There are two sources from which our knowledge of the ancients is derived — from sacred and from profane history. The Bible relates chiefly to the Jews, and does not, indeed, afford a consecutive history of any other people. They are only noticed incidentally, or in so far as some historical facts representing them are connected with the history of the ancestors of the Jewish race, or with the Jews considered as a nation. As, however, the Bible is the oldest historical record extant, these in- cidental notices are very valuable, and hence they form a prominent feature in this work. Before their light, the narratives of Ctesias and Diodorus Siculus, which Rollin has vainly endeavoured to combine with them in his history, and which have been seriously believed by some of the greatest I'lames in the literary world, whether of ancient or modern times, have been found to be but the tales of romance — tales utterly at variance with sober reason, sacred chronology, and Scripture state- ments. To separate those fictions from the truth, which have been deemed worthy of credit by many, has cost much anxious thought and care. It is hoped, however, that this desirable object has been accomplished. Not that every statement here given can be pronounced indisputably true ; for sacred history alone can be fully depended upon for veracity. Profane historians, among the ancients, were liable to err fiom superstition, preju- dice, and a love of the marvellous ; and to record the palpably erroneous emanations from these evil sources, has formed no part of the plan of this publication. A distinguishing feature of the work placed in the hands of the reader, is the concentrated view it affords of the countries and cities which the different nations inhabited, and which will be found in the various physical and topographical sections. It is strange, that while historians have dwelt upon the political history of nations,- Avhile thev have recorded the lives of mon- rjrt:FACE. t aiclis, warriors, poets, pliilosophers, orators, statesmen, etc., at great length, they have deemed a knowledge of the country in which they lived, a matter of such small importance that they have excluded it from their pages. Concerning some countries, indeed, our knowledge, till of late, has been very imperfect, such information hav- ing formerly been deemed wholly unnecessary in the routine of a general education. Now, however, this knowledge is deemed desirable ; and the researches of modern travellers have enabled us to present a concen- trated view of the different countries to our readers. These subjects are here also rendered more interesting, by illustrations from the pages of ancient poets, which throw much light on the physical condition of a large portion of both Asia and Europe in their days. The geographical and topographical information is not confined to the particular countries in which the people lived whose history is recorded. It is of little avail to tell the reader that such an event happened in such a place, by name ; the spot must be identified, and then it becomes associated in his mind as a reality. The title page states that this history is compiled from " Rollin, and other authentic sources, both Ancient and Modern." That portion which has been derived from Rolliji, is entirely re-written : he was not sufficiently cautious on some points, and much additional informa- tion has been accumulated since his time, of which great use is made in this volume. The information de- rived from the other sources alluded to, may be termed two-fold, geographical and historical. Among the geo- graphical authorities consulted, may be enumerated Ainsworth, Aristotle, Asiatic Researches, Bell, Bochan, Chardin, Clark, D'Anville, Dodwell, Frazer, Gell, Han way, Hawkins, Herbelot, Herodotus, Holland, Hughw Ker Porter, Kinnier, Laurent, Leake, Morier, Niebuhi Pausanias, Pecchio, Pliny, Ptolemy, Rennel, Rich Strabo, Tavernier, Waddington, Xenophon, etc. etc. Among the historical authorities may be mentioned Bossuet, Diodorus, Gibb6n, Gillies, Hales, Heeren, Hen- derson, Herodotus, Josephus, Keightly, Kitto, Malcolm, Mitford, Pluta»:ch, Polybius, Prideaux, Raleigh, Rosen- 1* vi PREFxiCE. miiUer, Taylor, Tliirlwall, Universal Ancient History, Wilkinson, Xenophon, etc. etc. Such is, briefly, the natiue of the following pages. They are based upon the broad and solid foundations of Christianity, and they are sent forth into the world with prayer that the Divine blessing may rest upon them ; that the Christian reader may find, in the perusal of them, his faith strengthened, and his soul animated, to pursue with alacrity his heavenly race ; and that the infidel may be convinced that there is a God who ruleth in the earth. May this History prove what ancient history ought to be, the handmaid of religion 1 CONTENTS CHAPTER L THE PHYSICAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. PAGE. The Nile 13 The Land of Goshen 20 The Climate of Egyirt 21 The Productions of Egypt 22 Gold and Silver Mines 22 CHAPTER 11. TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. No, No-Ammon, Diospolis, or Thebes 39 Zoan, or Tanis 44 On, or Heliopolis 44 Pithom and Rameses 45 "Sin," or Pelusium 46 Pibeseth, or Bubastus 46 Tahahpanes, Tahpanes, or Hanes 46 Migdol 47 Noph, Menoph, or Memphis 47 Syene 49 Alexandria 50 Arsinoe 53 Aby'dos 54 Berenice 55 Myos Hormos 56 vi5 CONTENTS. PAGE. Tentyra 56 ApoUinopolis 57 Latopolis 57 Ombos.. -•• 58 Phylifi 58 Canopus 58 CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE POLITY OF EGYPT. The Kingly Power 60 Cjistes of the People 65 The Priestly Power 66 The Militarj' Power. 72 Husbandmen.... ^ 74 Artificers, etc 76 Shepherds, etc 77 Laws 78 Division of the country into Nomes, or Provinces 84 CHAPTER IV. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. EGTPTIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. From about b. c. 2613 to b. c. 570. Salatis, Silites, or Nirmaryada 89 Apachnas, Paehman, or Rucma» 90 Assis, Apophis,or Apbohis 91 The Plagues of Egypt ; 106 The first Plague.. 106 The Second Plague 107 The Third Plague 108 The Fourth Plague 108 The Fifth Plague 109 The Sixth Plague 109 The Seventh Plague 110 The Eight Plague Ill The Ninth Plague 112 The Tenth Plague 113 Moeri8,or Myris 116 CONTENTS. IX rAGE. Sesostris 118 Pheron — 123 Osymandas 123 Proteiis 127 Rhampsinitus 129 Cheops ...- 130 Cephrenes 131 Shishak 132 Mycerinus 134 Tnephachthus 135 Bocchoris 135 Anysis 136 Sethon, or Sebecon 137 Twelve Kings 139 Psammiticus 141 Nekus 144 Psammis 147 Apries, or Pharaoh-Hophra 147 CHAPTER V. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. BABYLONIAN OOMINATI9N. From B. c. 570. to b. c. 538. Amasis 154 CHAPTER VI. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. PKRSIAN DOMINATION. From B. c. 538 to b. c. 413. Psammenltus ••• 161 Sraerdis, the Magian 163 Darius Hystaspes 163 Xerxes 164 Artaxerxes Longimanus 164 Darius Nothos ,.....,,...,.. 165 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. EGYPTIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT From B. c. 413. to b. c. 350. PAGE. Amyrteus 166 Psammiticus ii 166 Nepherites 167 Acoris 167 Psammoutis 167 Nepherites ii. and Mouthis 168 Nectanebis 168 Tachus, or Taeos 168 Nectanebus 170 CHAPTER VIII. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. PERSIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. From B. c. 350. to b. c. 332, Darius Oclius 172 Arses 173 Darius Codomanus. . , 173 CHAPTER IX THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. MACEDO-GRECIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. From B. c. 332 to b. c. 30. Alexander 175 Ptolemy La^s 176 Ptolemy Philadelphus 183 Ptolemy Euergetes 197 Ptolemy Philopater 203 Ptolemy Epiphanes 213 Ptolemy Philometer 221 Ptolemy Physcon 238 Cleopatra, Ptolemy Lathynis, Alexander i 245 Cleopatra. — Alexander ii 253 Ptolemy Auletes, Berenice, Seleucus, Archelaiis 255 Ptolemy, Cleopatra , 2(>5 Dynasties of Ejjyptian Monarclis, according to Manetho, on the outhority of Afrioiinus and Eusebius 301 THE HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS CHAPTER I. THE PHYSICAL HISTORY OP EGYPT. Egypt is generally reckoned within the limits of Africa, though several geographers have considered it as more na- turally belonging to Asia. It is situated between latitude 24° 3' and 31° 37'. It is bounded on the north by the Medi- terranean ; on the east by the little river El Arishj (supposed to be the scriptural " River of Egypt," Numb, xxxiv. 5,) on the borders of Palestine, and the Syrian or Arabian desert, which extends from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez, and from thence, southwards, by the vv^est coast of the Red Sea ; and on the west by the Libyan desert. From the ear- liest ages, jts-' boundary to the south has been fixed at the rapids or cataracts of Assouan, the ancient Syene, which are formed by a number of granite rocks that stretch across the bed of the Nile, over which this great river rolls its foaming stream. The length of Egypt is very disproportionate to its breadth : its extent from the mouth of the Nile to Syene, the border of Nubia under the tropic of Cancer, is about 500 miles, but it is little wider than the valley through which the Nile flows in Upper Egypt, until it reaches Lovver Egypt, at some distance above the head, or vortex of the Delta, (a plain so called by the Greeks from its resemblence to the letter ^,) where the valley expands itself The average breadth of the valley, from one mountain range to the other, between Cairo in Lower, and Edfou in Upper Egypt, is only aboi.U seven 12 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. miles ; and that of the land capable of cultivation, the limits of which depend on the inundation, scarcely exceeds five and a half, being in the widest part ten and three quarters, and in the narrowest two miles, including the river. The extent in square miles of the district between the pyra- mids and the sea is considerable ; that of the Delta alone, which forms a portion of it, is estimated at 1,976 square miles. This portion is very narrow about its apex, at the junction of the modern Rosetta and Damietta branches ; but it gradually widens on approaching the coast, where its base is eighty-one miles. The whole northern district, with the intermediate Delta included, contains about 4,500 square miles, or double the whole arable land of Egypt, which is computed at 2,255 square miles, exclusive of the Fyoom, a small province consisting of about 340 miles. In Scripture, Upper Egypt or Thebaid, seems to be called Pathros, as distinguished from the Lower, probably called Caphtor or Egypt. Compare Isa. xi. 11, with Ezek. xxix, 14; and Jer. xliv. 1, with Ezek. xxx. 14 — 16, Deut. ii. 23, Jer. xlvii. 4. The latter term appears to denote, generally, the whole of Lower Egypt, which is the part of the country best known to the Hebrews, but of which occasionally the Delta separately taken is called Rahab. See Psa. Ixxxix. 1 0, and Isa. li. 9. Bochart thinks the word Rahab or Raab, is the same as Rib or Riph, the Egyptian name of the Delta, which was so called from its resemblance to a pear — " Rib" being the name of that fruit. Hence there was, it is said, in the middle of the Delta, a name or district called Alhribis, " the heart of the pear." The country of Egypt attained an earlier and a higher de- gree of civilization and refinement than any other in the world. It was the seat of the royal government in the days of the pa- triarch Abraham, and it abounded at that time with provi- sions, while the neighbouring countries, and even the fertile regions of Palestine, were exposed to frequent famines, Gen. xii. 10. How far they had advanced in civilization in these remote ages, we may gather from Gen. xxxvii. 25, where we find the Ishmaelites conducting a caravan by the way of Shechem, loaded with the spices of India, the balsam and myrrh of Hadramout for the Egyptian market. From the sculptures of Beni Hassan, (grottoes on the east bank of the Nile,) we learn also that the Egyptians were well acquainted with the manufacture of linens, glass, cabinet work, and nu- merous objects indicative of art and refinement, and that vari- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANP. 13 ous g-ymnastic exercises were common at a period approach- ing these ages. The peculiar fertility of the soil of Egypt arose from the fertilizing influences of the annual inundation of THE NILE. To this we find a reference, Deut. xi. 10 — 12. The He- brew lawgiver, speaking to the Hebrews concerning Pales- tine, says, " For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs ; but the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven : a land which the Lord thy God careth for : the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year." The reader will be mindful that there is no intention here to compare the two countries as to fertility, Egypt being, without exception, the most fertile country in the world ; but there is an interesting comparison as to the process of irrigation. Of Palestine it is said, that it is watered by the rains of Heaven. But this is not the case in Egypt. In that country, rain seldom or scarcely ever falls, especially in the interior ;* but its fertility depends upon the annual overflow of the Nile, which is made available for the purpose of irrigation in the fullest extent, only, by means of the numerous canals and trenches, which require every year to be cleaned out, and the dykes carefully * Thunder occurs occasionally in the Delta, in the rainy season, or about the time of the equinoxes, especially the autumnal one. These storms constantly come from the Mediterranean, and they are accompanied with violent showers, and sometimes with hail. In general they happen either in the evening or morning, and rarely in the middle of the day. When, therefore, it is said that no rain falls in Egypt, it must be taken as a general expression, and not without some exceptions, or be under- stood of Upper Egypt, or the Thebaid, Maillet says that in Lower Egypt it rained five or six times from November to April in 1692, and the two fol- lowing years ; but that frequently three or four years pass in Upper Egypt without rain, and it is such a rarity there as to cause public rejoicings. This is confirmed by Dr. Pococke, who mentions also that the rains are frequent and hea'^y on the sea coast and in Lower Egypt, particularly from November to March, but that in Cairo they are moderate, and only in the months of December, January, and February ; and that in Upper Egypt they had rain but twice, half an hour each time, in the course of eight years. On this subject, however, there is a great variety of state- ments among travellers, from whence it is probable that Egypt is visited sometimes more and sometimes less with rain from heaven. VOL. I. 2 14 HISTORY OF THE EGYrTIANS. repaired. The word rendered " foot," is supposed by some to have been u-sed metaphorically to denote labour ; and the force of the comparison would then be, that Egypt was wa- tered by labour, while Canaan did not require such artificial means to make it fruitful. The foot, however, it must be re- membered, was literally used to conduct the streams of water which makes it more impressive. Many suppose that the digging and cleaning of canals, for the purposes of irrigation, was among the "hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick," with which the lives of the Israelites were made bitter in Egypt ; if so, it must have been a great satisfaction to them to know that no such manual labour was required in Pales- tine, and the point of the comparison must have been very emphatic. But this grand feature in the landscape of Egypt demands particular notice. The various branches of the Nile have their rise in the high lands north of the Equator, and flowing through Abyssinia and other regions westward of it, meet in the country of Senaar. The united stream flows northwards through Nubia and Egypt, and after a course of more than 1,800 miles from the farthest explored point of its principal branch, enters the Mediterranean by several mouths, which form the Delta of Egypt. In a distance of 1,350 nautical miles from the mouth of the Tacazze to the Delta, the Nile does not receive a single tributary stream, which Humboldt remarks is a solitary instance in the hydrographic history of the globe. The ancients assigned many reasons for the increase of the Nile ; but it is now universally acknowledged, that its inun- dations are owing to the copious rains which fall in Ethiopia, from whence it flows. These rains swell it to such an extent that Ethiopia first, and then Egypt, are overflowed ; and that which at first was but a large river, rises like a sea and spreads its blessings over the face of an extensive country. Herodotus says, the Nile begins to increase about the sum- mer solstice, and continues to rise for a hundred days ; and then decreases for the same time, and continues low all the winter, until the return of the summer solstice. Diodorus writes to the same efiect, stating that the inundation begins at the summer solstice, and increases till the autumnal equinox. This is confirmed by the reports of modern travellers. Ac- cording to Pococke, the river began to increase at Cairo, in 1714, June 30 ; in 1715, July 1 ; in 1738, June 20. So pre- cisely is the stupendous operation of its inundation calculated, HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS. 15 says Bruce, that on the 25th of September, only three days af- ter the autumnal equinox, the Nile is generally found at Cairo to be at its highest, and begins to diminish every day after. It would appear, then, that the river begins to swell in June, but the rise is not rapid or remarkable till early in July ; that the greatest rise is attained about the autumnal equinox, and the waters remain upon the same level until the middle of October ; and that, after this, the subsidence is very sensi- ble, and the lowest point is reached in April. The swell of the river varies in differents parts of the chan- nel. In Upper Egypt, it is from thirty to forty-five feet ; at Cairo, it is about twenty-three feet ; whilst in the northern part of the Delta it does not exceed four feet, which is owing to the artificial channels, and the breadth of the inundation. The four feet of increase is, however, as requisite to the fer- tility of the Delta, as the twenty-three or thirty feet, and up- wards, elsewhere. As the riches of Egypt depend on the inundation of the Nile, all the circumstances and different degrees of its in- crease have been carefully considered ; and by a long series of regular observations, made during many years, the inun- dation itself -discovered what kind of harvest the ensuing year was likely to produce. The kings caused to be placed at Memphis a measure on which these different increases were marked ; and from thence notice was given to all the rest of Egypt ; the inhabitants of which knew by that means, before- hand, what they might expect from the ensuing harvest. Strabo speaks of a well on the banks of the Nile, near the town of Syene, made for that purpose. The same custom is to this day observed at Grand Cairo. In the court of a mosque there stands a pillar, on which are marked the degrees of the Nile's increase: and the public criers proclaim daily in all parts of the city how much the river had risen. The tribute paid to the Grand Seignor for the lands, used to be regulated by the height of the inunda- tion. Sixteen cubits is the proper height for the opening of the canal, by cutting down the dam, that so the waters of the inundation may enter the canal which runs through the midst of Cairo to the north-east, watering the plain to the extent of twenty leagues, and filling the Lake of the Pilgrims. If the river wants a single inch of this height, no tribute is due, the produce being then scarcely sufficient to pay the cultivator. If it increases to the height of twenty-three or twenty-four cubits, it is judged most favourable. If it rise beyond that, it 10 HISTOUY OF THE EGYPTIANS. overthrows houses and destroys cattle ; and it also engenders a host of insects, which destroy the fruits of the earth. The day on which, it rises to a certain height is kept as a grand festival, and solemnized with fireworks, feastings, and all the demonstrations of public rejoicing ; and in the remotest ages, the overflowing of the Nile was always attended with a uni- versal joy throughout all Egypt, that being the fountain of its happiness. But not only the fertility and riches of Egypt depend on the overflowing of the Nile ; its very existence is owing to the same wonderful cause. We ^^.j wonderful^ for although the phenomenon is by no means peculiar to the Nile, (for it is more or less common to all rivers whose volume is annually augmented by the periodical rains which fall within the tropics,) there is no river the annual swelling of which is so replete with important consequences, or so essential to the existence of a nation. The very soil of Egypt was, no doubt, originally formed by tne earth brought down by the river from Abyssinia and the interior of Africa, and deposited during the annual inundation. That it has been progressive- ly elevated in the course of ages, from this cause, is demon- strated by a number of distinct facts. Towns and monuments for instance, which are known from history to have been originally built on mounds, to secure them from the effects of the inundation, now lie so low in the plain as to be inundated every year. Thus, in the plain of Thebes, the alluvial mud has accumulated to the height of nearly seven feet around the statutes of Amunoph in., which were erected probably about B. c. 1430. From this, however, it would not appear that the increase of the soil was so great as some authors imagine. Dr. Shaw estimates this increase at rather more than a foot in a century, and he observes that Egypt must have gained forty-one feet eight inches of soil in 4,072 years. From this cause he apprehends that, in the process of time, the river will not be able to overflow its banks, and that Egypt, from being the most fertile, will become one of the most barren countries in the universe. But this hypothesis is not well founded. There is, in the wise order of Providence, an equilibrium preserved by a nearly corresponding elevation of the river's bed, so that the point of overflow is maintained nearly in the same ratio with the elevation of soil. This is demonstrated by the ancient Nilometer near Elphantine, mentioned by Strabo, and which is still existing. The highest measure marked upon it is twenty-four cubits, about HisTOr>,Y or THE EGYPTJAAS. 17 thirty-six feet ; but the water now rises, when at its greatest elevation, nearly eight feet above this mark ; while it appears, from an inscription on the wall, made a. d. 300, that the water then rose only a foot above that level. This gives an elevation of about five inches in a century ; and it has been collected from other data, that the rise in the circumjacent soil is nearly in the same proportion. To secure the blessings of the waters of the Nile, through the whole breadth of their country, the inhabitants of Egypt have, with great labour, in different ages, cut a vast number of trenches and canals in every part.* These canals are not opened till the river has attained a certain height, nor yet all at the same time ; for if they were, the distribution of the water would be unequal. When the water begins to subside, these sluices are closed, and they are gradually opened again in the autumn, allowing the waters to pass on to contribute to the irrigation of the Delta. The distribution of the stream has always been subject to minute and distinct regulations, the necessity for which may be estimated from the common state- ment, that scarcely a tenth part of the water of the Nile reaches the sea in the first three months of the inundation. During the inundation, the whole country appears like a series of ponds and reservoirs ; and it is not merely the satu- ration of the ground, but the deposit of soil which takes place during the overflow, that is so favourable to the agriculture of Egypt. The alluvial matter annually brought down and deposited by the Nile, is estimated by Dr. Shaw as equal to a hundred and twentieth part of the volume of water which it pours into the sea. This soil contains principles so friendly to vegetation, that it is used for manure in those places which have not been adequately benefited by the iniindation ; while, on the other hand, where the deposit has been abundant, the people mingle sand with it to diminish its strength. As soon as the waters have retired, cultivation commences ; and where * At what period the system of irrigating the Delta of Egypt by canals drawn from the Nile and its branches commenced, it is impossible now to determine. The Egyptians ascribe its invention to Osiris and Sesostris. Osiris, say they, enclosed the river on both sides with strong dykes, and erected sluices in proper places for letting out the waters upon the fields, as they had need of it. The probability is, that as the demand for Agri- cultural produce would increase with the population, so the idea of in- creasing the supply to the greatest possible quantity would suggest the propriety of embanking the river, and of drawing canals from it through- out the whole breadth of the country. And this would be done, not in tlie reign of one prince, but in several successive reigns. 2* 18 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the soil has been sufficiently inundated, very little labour is demanded. The seed is sown in the moistened soil, and vegetation and harvest follow with such rapidity, as to allow a succession of crops wherever water can be commanded. The influence of the Nile upon the condition and appear- ance of the country can only be estimated by comparing its aspect in the season which immediately precedes, with that which follows the inundation. Before it occurs, it exhibits a parched desert of sand and dust, but afterwards a level ver- dant plain. There cannot be a finer sight in nature than Egypt ex- hibits at two seasons of the year. In the months of July and August, if a traveller should ascend some mountain or one of the far-famed pyramids, he would behold a vast sea, in the midst of which numerous towns and villages appear, with several causeways leading from place to place, the whole in- terspersed with groves and fruit trees, whose tops only are visible. This view is bounded by mountains and w'oods, which terminate, at the utmost distance the eye can discover, the most beautiful horizon that can be imagined. On the contrarj?^, in January and February, the whole country is, like one continued scene of beautiful meadows, whose ver- dure, enamelled with flowers, charms the eye. The specta- tor beholds on every side flocks and herds dispersed over all the plains, with infinite numbers of husbandmen and gar- deners. The air is then perfumed by the great quantity of blossoms on the orange, lemon, and other trees, and is so pure that breezes more salubrious or agreeable are not enjoyed in the wide expanse of creation. Contrasting the country at such a season with its inhabitants, we may adopt the language of the poet, who said of the isle and the natives of Ceylon, with beautiful simplicity : " Every prospect pleases, And only man is vile." — Heber. " A man cannot," says De Bruyn, in his Travels, " help observing the admirable providence of God towards this country, who sends, at a fixed season, such great quantities of rain in Ethiopia, in order to water Egypt, where a shower of rain scarcely ever falls ; and who, by that means, causes the most barren soil to become the richest and most fruitful country in the universe." But the Egyptians did not look at this wonderful circum- stance in such a pure and Christian light Feeling their HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 19 entire dependence on the Nile, and prone by nature, like the rest of mankind, to look to secondary causes rather than to the infinitely great and good God, from whom all blessings are derived, the Egyptians were led to deify their Nile. Heliodorus says : " They paid divine honours to this river, and revered it as the first of their gods. They declared him to be the rival of heaven, since he watered the country with- out the aid of clouds and rains." The priests of Egypt told Herodotus, that one of their kings, Pheron, the son of Sesos- tris, was struck blind by the river god for an act of impiety • that at a time when the inundation had risen to the extraor- dinary height of more than eighteen cubits, a violent storm of wind having arisen, which greatly agitated the waters, the king, with a foolish temerity, took a javelin in his hand, and flung it into the midst of the foaming billows, for which he was immediately seized with a pain in his eyes, which made him blind for ten years. The principal festival of this imagi- nary god, was at the summer solstice, when the inundation commenced ; at which season, by a cruel idolatrous rite, the Egyptians sacrificed red-haired persons, principally foreign- ers, to Typhon, or the power said to preside over tempests, at Busiris, Heliopolis, etc., by burning them alive, and scatte ing their ashes in the air for the good of the people. Bryai inifers the probability that these victims were chosen from among the Israelites during their residence in Egypt. From all this we learn how excessive was the superstitious adoration which the Egyptians paid to their river. How im- pressive, then, must those miracles have been in which their sacred river was turned into blood, and made to pour forth loathsome frogs in such abundance, that they covered the whole land of Egypt. See Exod. vii. 15 — 25, and viii. 1 — 15. At the present day, though under the sway of the sterner Moslem religion, the reverence entertained for this stream, still called the Most Holy River, and the rites with which its benefits are celebrated, exhibit in the present inhabi- tants of Egypt a tendency towards the same superstitious form of adoration and gratitude. One feature of the Nile remains to be noticed, namely, the qualities of the water. Ancients and moderns, with one voice, declare it to be the most pleasant and nutritive in the Avorld. Why it should be so, Plato could not conceive, but he states such to be the case ; and he relates that the Egyp- tian priests refrained from giving it to their bull-god Apis on account of its fattening properties. 20 HISTOE.y OF THE EGYPTIANS. Savary, in his " Letters on Egypt," says, in a note, that Ptolemy Philadelphus, marrying his daughter Berenice to Antiochus king of Syria, sent her water from the Nile, which alone she could drink, [AthencRus ;) that the kings of Persia sent for the waters of the Nile and sal ammoniac, {Dino, Hist, of Persia ;) and that the Egyptians are the only peo- ple who preserve the water of the Nile in sealed vases, and drink it when it is old with the same pleasure that we do old wine, {Aristides Rhetor.) The same author also bears his own testimony to the agreeable qualities of the water of the Nile. He says, " The waters of the Nile, also, lighter, softer, and more agreeable to the taste than any I knou', great- ly influence the health of the inhabitants. All antiquity ac- knowledges their excellence, and the people certainly drink them with a kind of avidity without being ever injured by the quantity. Being lightly impregnated with nitre, they are only a gentle aperient to those who take them to excess." Maillet is more enthusiastic in his description of the Nile water ; affirming, that when a stranger drinks it for the first time, it seems like a drink prepared by art, and that it is among waters what champagne is among wines. THE LAND OF GOSHEN. With reference to this part of Egypt, so celebrated in the sacred page, Michaelis remarks : — " Concerning the situation of the land of Goshen, authors have maintained very different opinions ; but have withal made it impossible for themselves to ascertain the truth by concurring in the representation of Goshen as the most beautiful and fertile part of Egypt. But is it at all probable that a king of Egypt would have taken the very best part of his territory from his own native subjects to give it to strangers, and these, too, a wandering race of herdsmen, hitherto accustomed only to traverse with their cattle the deserts and uncultivated commons of the east ?" But, notwithstanding that it would appear from this learned writer doubtful w'here the land of Goshen was, and whether it was a rich land, it has been satisfactorily shown that the "best of the land," as applied to Goshen, means no more than that it was the richest pasture ground of Lower Egypt. It was called Goshen from Gush, in Arabic signifying " a heart," or whatever is choice or precious ; and hence it was that Joseph recommended it to his flimily as the " best," and as " the fat of the land." See Gen. xlv." IS ; xlvii. 1 1. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 21 The land of Goshen lay along the Pelusaic, or most easterly- branch of the Nile, towards Palestine and Arabia ; for it is plain that the Hebrews did not cross that river in their ex- ode from Egypt, as they otherwise must have done. Thus situated, it must have included part of the district of Heliopo- lis, of which the " On " of the Scriptures is supposed to have been the capital, and which lay on the eastern border of the Delta. Eastward of the river, the land of Goshen appears to have stretched into the desert, where the noinade shepherds might find sustenance for their flocks. In some places it may have extended in this direction to the Gulf of Suez. Thus defined, the land of Goshen included a quantity of fertile land, answering to Joseph's description of it. In the territory of the tribe of Judah, there was another Goshen, and it was probably so called from being, like the Goshen of Egypt, a district chiefly appropriated to pasture. THE CLIMATE OF EGYPT. It will be seen, from the foregoing pages, that Egypt pos- sessed in an eminent degree the three elements of fertility — water, soil and warmth. Without the latter blessifig, the two former would have been of little avail. The climate of Egypt, during the greater part of the year, is indeed most salubrious. The khamseen, or hot south wind, however, which blows in April and May, is oppressive and unhealthy. The exhala- tions from the soil, also, after the inundation, render the latter part of the autumn less healthy than the summer and winter, and cause opthalmia, dysentery, and other diseases. The summer heat is seldom very oppressive, being accompanied by a refreshing northerly breeze, and the air being extremely dry. But this dryness causes an excessive quantity of dust, which is peculiarly annoying. The thermometer in Lower Egypt, in the depth of winter, is from 50° to 60° in the after- noon, and in the shade : in the hottest season, it is from 90° to 100°, and about ten degrees higher in the southern parts of Upper Egypt. The climate of this part of Egypt, though hotter, is much more healthy than that of the lower country. This is proved by the fact that the plague seldom ascends far above Cairo, and that ophthalmia is mote common in Lower than in Upper Egypt. The winds in Egypt are in some degree periodical, and governed by the seasons, Thunder occurs in the Delta, accompanied with violent showers, and' sometimes with hail. In Lower Egypt, dew is very abundant. 22 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Even the sands of the desert, says Clarke, partake largely ot the dew of heaven, and in a certain degree of the fatness of the earth. THE PRODUCTIONS OF EGYPT. Under this section of the " Physical History of Egypt," it will be sufficient to treat only of some of the principal plants indigenous to Egypt, and of the abundance of corn it produced. Linum. — This plant is an annual, and has been cultivated from time immemorial for its textile fibres, which are spun into thread and woven into cloth. It has a green stem, from a foot and a half to two feet high, and it puts forth a blue flower, which is succeeded by a capsule, containing ten flat oblong seeds of a brown colour, from whence an oil is pro- cured, which is used both in manufactures and painting. We learn from Scripture that Egypt was anciently celebrated for the production of and manufacture of linen from this plant. It was one of the plants which the plague of hail destroyed. See Exod. ix. 31. The fine linen which was composed of flax is also spoken of in several passages. Joseph was arrayed in " vestures of fine linen" when he interpreted Pha- raoh's dream. Gen. xli. 42 ; and Solomon makes mention of it in the book of Proverbs, ch. viii. 16. The prophet Isaiah also speaks of those that worked in " fine flax " of Egypt, ch. xix. 9 ; and Ezekiel, enumerating the luxuries of Tyrus, says, " Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail," ch. xxvii. 7. To the same effect ancient authors write. Herodotus says, that, wrought into inner garments, it constituted the principal dress of the inhabitants, and the priests never put on any other kind of clothing. The mummy chests, also, which occur in the ancient tombs of Egypt in large quantities, and of many dif- ferent qualities and patterns, appear upon examination, to be made with flax. In the ancient tombs, moreover, which are found in the neighbourhood of all the great cities of Egypt, the culture and manufacture of flax is a very common subject of the paintings with which their sides are covered ; and it is clear that the Jews derived their fine stuffs from Egypt, and that from the variety of terms employed, fabrics of different qualities, and all highly appreciated by foreign nations, were produced by the Egyptian loom. The manufacture of flax, indeed, is still carried on in that country, the articles of which are represented as being of the most beautiful texture, and so fflSTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 23 finely spun that the threads are with difficulty ohserved. There appear to have been two kinds of flax, the Abestinum and the Byssus. Pliny holds the former in the highest esti- mation, and notices a remarkable property peculiar to itself, that of being incombustible ; but this partakes of the fabulous, an error that too frequently mars the pages of ancient writers. This author says of the Byssus, that the dress and the orna- ments were made of it, and this may have been the material of which " the fine linen with broidered work" was com- posed, as mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel. Papyrus. — This was the Egyptian reed, or the Cyperus Papyrus of Linneeus. It is described by two names in Scrip- ture, which our translators render " rush " and " bulrush." It is distinguished by its cluster of elegant little spikes, which consists of a single row of scales ranged on each side in a straight line. These clusters hang in a nodding position, a circumstance alluded to by the prophet Isaiah, ch. Iviii. 5. The root of the Cyperus is about the thickness of a man's wrist, and more than fifteen feet in length, and it is so hard that it is used for making utensils. Its stem is about four cubits in length, and being an esculent plant, was eaten in ancient days either raw, roasted, or boiled. It served also as a mate- rial for boats, sails, mats, clothes, beds, and books : our word " paper " is, indeed, derived from the Greek name of this plant : the delicate rind or bark of which was anciently used for the purpose of writing upon, an invention ascribed by Varro to Alexander the Great when he built Alexandria. There are two allusions in Scripture to the papyrus being used as a material for boats : the one records the fact that the infant Moses was saved in a vessel of this description, Exod. ii.; and the other speaks of ambassadors being sent from beyond the rivers of Ethopia " in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters," Isa. xviii. 2. The manner of constructing these ves- sels was simply by making the papyrus into bundles, and tying them together in such a manner as to give them the necessary shape and solidity. That vessels were made of this material in Egypt, is proved by the testimony of profane writers also : Pliny notices " ships made of papyrus, and the equipments of the Nile." Reeds. — This plant, of which there are many varieties, appears to have grown in immense quantities on the banks of the Nile. Hence it is, in connection with the well-known fragility of reeds in general, that they were adopted by the Assyrian general to symbolize the Egyptian nation. " Now, 24 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it |\'ill go into his hand, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him," 2 Kings xviii. 21. See also, Ezek. xxix. 6, 7. The Cucumber. — This well-known fruit is mentioned in Scripture, Numbers xi. 5, as a portion of the diet which the Israelites enjoyed so freely in Egypt, and over the loss of which they mourned as they passed through the wilderness. That country, indeed, as well as Arabia, produces many varie- ties of the cucumber, some of which are softer and more easily digested than those with which we are acquainted ; a circum- stance attributable to the mellowing effects of the rays of the sun in those climates, which never can be compensated for by artificial heat. Hasselquist thinks that the cucumber referred to by the murmuring Hebrews was the cucumis chate, or " queen of cucumbers," of which he gives the following des- cription : — " It grows in the fertile earth round Cairo, after the inundation of the Nile, and not in any other place in Egypt, nor in any other soil. It ripens like water-melons ; its flesh is almost of the same substance, but is not near so cool. T^e grandees eat it as the most pleasant food they find, and that from which they have least to apprehend. It is the most excellent of this tribe of any yet known." The Melon. — The cucurbita citrullus, or water melon, abounded in Egypt and the Levant in the days of the ancients, as it does at the present day. The fruit is about the size of the common pumpkin, the pulp of which is of a blooming appearance, and serves both for meat and drink. Dr. Shaw says, that it is, doubtless, providentially calculated for the southern countries, as it affords a cool, refreshing juice, assuages thirst, mitigates fevers and disorders, and compen- sates thereb}', in no small degree, for the excessive heats. An elegant writer also says of it : "A traveller in the east, who recollects the intense gratitude which the gift of a slice of melon inspired, while journeying over the hot and dry plains ; or one who remembers the consciousness of wealth and secu- rity which he derived from the possession of a melon while prepared for a day's journey over the same plains — he will readily comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons of Egypt." The water melon is cultivated on the banks of the Nile, in the rich clayey earth which subsides during the inundation. This serves the Egyptians for meat, drink, and physic. It is eaten in abundance during the season, even by the richer HISTOE.Y OF THE EGYPTIANS. 25 sort of people ; but the common people scarcely eat any thing else, and account this the best tiine of the year, as they are obliged to put up with worse fare at other seasons. This fruit hkewise serves them for drink, the juice so refreshing these poor creatures that they have much less occasion for water than if they were to live on more substantial food in this burning climate. Garlic. — Discorides says that garlics anciently grew in Egypt, and that they were both eaten and worshipped ; a cir- cumstance to which Juvenal has alluded in one of his satires. " How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, Makes gods of monsters but too well is known, 'Tis mortal sin an onion to devour ; Each clove of garlic is a sacred power. Religious nation sure, and blest abodes, Where every garden is o'errun with gods. — Dryden. Herodotus, moreover, asserts, that on the great pyramid in Egypt there was an inscription which recorded the expense of onions, radishes, leeks, and garlic, which the workmen haa consumed during its erection, namely, 1,600 talents of silver. A variety of the species of garlic alluded to is at the present day cultivated in France, where it is called the " onion of Egypt." It is held in high estimation for the small bulbs that grow among the flowers, which are eaten like onions, and are very agreeable to the palate. It has been observed of this vegetable, that of all plants it has the greatest strength, affords the most nourishment, and supplies most spirits, to those who eat little animal food ; a fact to which the poet Homer alludes : " Honey new pressed, the sacred flour of wheat, And wholesome garlic crowned with sav'ry meat. Hasselquist says that garlic does not now grow in Egypt, from whence he questions Avhether it grew there anciently. But such an argument is by no means sound : for in the phy- sical history of our country, plants might be adduced which were formerly cultivated here, but which are now extinct. Leeh. — Hasselquist, speaking of this plant, says that the karraC or leek, which is the allium rporum of Linnaeus, is surely one of those plants after which the Israelites repined ; for it has been cultivated in Egypt from time immemorial. The inhabitants are extremely fond of it, and the poor people eat it raw with their bread, especially for breakfast, and would scarcely exchange their leeks and bit of bread for a royal dinner. VOL. T. 3 •26 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. u^/itcns. — The same autnor. speaifing oi onions with refer- ence to Egypt, remarks. "Whoever Has tasted onions m Egypc. must allow that none can oe naa Detter m any pan of the world ; here they are sweet, in other countries they are nau- seous and strong ; here they are soft, whereas in the nortn ana other parts they are hard, and the coats so compact, that they are nard of digestion. Hence they cannot, in any place, be eaten with less prejudice and more satisfaction than in Egypt. They eat them roasted, cut into four pieces, with some bits of roasted meat, which the Turks m Egypt call Kehan ; ana with this dish they are so delighted, that I have heard them wish they might enjoy it in paradise. They likewise maKe a soup of them, cutting the onions in small pieces ; this is one of the best dishes I ever ate." Onions appear to have been a staple article of diet in Egypt in ancient times, as they are at the present day in warm countries. Most of the people of Western Asia are remarkably fond of onions, and the Arabs have a childish passion for them. Travellers also mention, that in Greece and Africa raw onions arc excellent. Lentils. — The lentil is the lens escvlenta of some writers, and the Ervum lens of Linnsus ; and it belongs to the legu- minous or podded family, all of which are a sort of pulse ; The stem of the plant is branched, and the leaves consist of about eight pair of smaller leaflets. The flowers are small, and prettily veined ; the pod contains about two seeds ; and it flourishes most in a dry, warm, sandy soil. Lentils are much used as food in Egypt, Barbary, and Syria. Dr. Shaw states, that the manner of dressing them in Barbary, is by boiling and stewing them with oil and garlic, which makes a pottage of a chocolate colour ; similar, it is supposed, to the " red pot- tage" for which Esau sold his birth-right. Gen. xxv. 30 — 34. In Syria, they are eaten after having been simply parched in a pan over the fire. Three varieties are cultivated in France, " small brown," " yellowish," and the " lentil of Provence." Beans. — In ancient times, according to Herodotus, the bean was held in abhorrence by the Egyptian priesthood. It is, however, at the present day, no inconsiderable part of the diet of the poor of that country ; and Dr. Shaw states, that ir\ Bar- bary, beans, after they are boiled and stewed with garlic, are the principal food of persons of all distinctions. The Nigella. — This plant forms a singular exception to the family to which it belongs. While they are poisonous in the highest degree, it produces seeds which are not only aromatic, but possess medicinal qualilies of the most useful kind. Auso- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 27 nius asserts of it, that it is pungent as pepper : and Pliny, that its seed is good for seasoning food, especially bread. It is cultivated in Egypt, as well as in Persia and India, for the sake of its seeds, which, have been used in all ages as a condi- ment, in the same manner as we use coriander and carraway seeds. Al-henna. — The henna is a tall shrub, endlessly multiplied in Egypt. The leaves are of a lengthened oval form, opposed to each other, and of a faint green colour. The flowers grow at the extremity of the branches, in long and tufted boquets ; the smaller ramifications which support them are red, and likewise opposite ; from the arm-pit cavity springs a small leaf, almost round, but terminating in a point ; the corolla is formed of four petals, curling up, and of a light yellow. Between each petal are two white stamina with a yellow summit: there is only one pistil. The pedicle, reddish at its issuing from the bough, dies away into a faint green. The calix is cut into four pieces of a tender green, up toward their extremity, which is reddish. The fruit, or berry, is a green capsule previous to its maturity ; it assumes a red tint as it ripens, and becomes brown when it is dried ; it is divided into four compartments, in which are inclosed the seeds, triangular and brown- coloured. The bark of the stem and of the branches is of a deep grey, and the wood has, internally, a light cast of yellow. In truth, this is one of the most grateful plants to both the sight and smell. The pleasing colour of its bark, the light green of its foliage, the softened mixture of white and yellow with which the flowers, collected into long clusters like the lilac, are coloured, and the red tint of the ramifications which sup- port them, form a combination of the most agreeable efiect. These flowers, whose shades are very delicate, diffuse around the sweetest odours, throughout the gardens and the apart- ments which they embellish. They accordingly form a fa- vourite nosegay : the women take pleasure to deck themselves with these beautiful clusters of fragrance, to adorn their apart- ments with them, to carry them to their bath, to hold them in their hand ; in a word, to perfume their persons with them. They attach to their possession, which the mildness of the climate, and the facility of culture seldom refuse them, a value so high, that they would willingly appropriate it exclusively to themselves ; and they suffer with impatience Christian women and Jewesses to partake of it with them. The same importance seems to have been attached to this species of plant in ancient times. See Sol, Song, iv. 14, ■ 28 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Aloe Soccotrina — This tree grows in the island of Soccoto- ra, in Egypt, of which it is a native. It bears the reputation of producing the best aloes. When old, it has a round stem, three or four feet high ; leaves of a sword form, a foot and a half to two feet long, sharp-edged, sawed, hard, and pungent at the apex, often collected in clusters at the top of the stem ; and red flowers tipped with green, borne in clusters on tall stalks, which rise erect from among the leaves. Cummin. — This is an umbelliferous plant of annual dura- tion, found wild in Egypt, Syria, and Asia, and cultivated from time immemorial for the sake of its agreeable aromatic fruit, which, like that of caraway, dill, anise, etc., possesses stimulating and carminative properties. The plant grows about a foot high, and is very little branched. As the seeds are suspended by delicate threads, like the nigella, when ripe they may be readily removed. Calamus Aroviaticus. — This is a species of cane which is sweet scented, and which grows in Egypt, Judea, Syria, Ara- bia, and India. The plant emits a powerful fragrance even while growing: and when dried, and reduced into powder, it forms a precious perfume. The Flag. — This plant is mentioned as affording a hiding- place for Moses, Exod. ii. 3 — 5. It is not certain what plant is intended ; probably the original was a general term for sea or river weed, of which we may suppose there was a great va- riety on the margin of the waters of the Nile. Lili/. — That the lily anciently grew in Egypt is testified by the hieroglyphics, among which it appears. What species, of the lily grew there, is, however, unknown : probably it was the amaryllis lutea^ with which the fields of the Levant are overrun. Be it what species it may, it was doubtless full of meaning among that people, as it was among the ancients ge- nerally. The fact, indeed, of its being an hieroglyphical representation is sufficient to prove this ; for these representa- tions are all fraught with meaning, though many of them are hard to be understood. An heraldic work, published in France, gives the foJlowing singular and interesting account of the lily as an emblem ; It is the symbol of divinity, of purity, and abundance, and of love; most complete in perfection, charity and benediction ; as that mirror of chastity, Susanna, is defined Susa, which signifies the " lily flower ;" the chief city of the Persians bearing that name for excellency. Hence the lily's three leaves, in the arms of France, meaneth, piety- justice, and charity. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTiANS. 29 The Sycamore tree. — This tree, the ficus sycamorus of bot- anists, is celebrated in Palestine, Egypt, and Abyssinia, to the present day. It is a wide spreading tree, attains a consid- erable height, and exhibits a trunk of large dimensions, strik- ing its bulky diverging roots deep into the soil. Its fruit seems to have been an important article in the diet of the ancient Egyptians ; for the psalmist, recording in holy song the plagues wherewith God had visited that people, says, " He destroyed their sycamore trees with frost," Psa. Ixxviii. 47. Travellers inform us, indeed, that it constitutes the greater part of the diet of the people of Egypt at the present day. Give them a piece of bread, a couple of sycamore figs, and a jug of water from the Nile, and they think themselves well regaled. The wood of the sycamore has obtained a high reputation for du- rability, notwithstanding its porous and spongy appearance. This has arisen from the circumstance that the coffins of the Egyptians, which were made of that wood, remained for many ages in a state of preservation. Dr. Shaw states, that he saw some mummy chests three thousand years old, and he contends from this fact for its extreme durability. Bruce, howeA^er, affirms, that some of the wood which he buried in his garden, perished in four years, which has given rise to a probable conjecture on the subject ; namely, that the preservation of the sycamore mummy-chests arises partly from a particular pre- paration, or coating of the coffins: and partly from the dry- ness of the climate and the sandy soil of Egypt. The wood of the sycamore was also used for boxes, tables, doors, and other objects which required large and thick planks, as well as for making idols and wooden statues. TheVine. — We learn from Scripture that Egypt was an- ciently celebrated for its vine trees. It does not appear, however, that the grapes of Egypt were so fine as those of Palestine ; for those which the spies brought from Eschol, as a proof of the fertility of the promised land, astonished the Hebrews, and had they seen such in Egypt, it could have been no matter of surprise. Bochart informs us that, in the east, the vine produces three crops in the course of one year. Thus in March, after the tree has produced the first crop of blossoms, the dressers cut away from it that wood which is bar- ren, and in the succeeding month a new shoot, bearing fruit, springs from the branches, Avhich being lopped also, shoots forth again in May, laden with the latter grapes. Those clusters, which blossomed successively in March, April, and May 30 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. become ripe, and are gathered in August and the two suc- ceeding months. Besides the vine bearing good grapes, there appears to be a wild vine growing in Egypt, that is, the solanum incanuvi, or the hoary night-shade. Hasselquist says, that the Arabs call this plant aneb el dib, or "wolf grapes ;" that it grows much in the vineyards, and is very pernicious to them, and that it likewise resembles a vine by its shrubby stalk. The Cypress. — The cypress, cupressus sempervire7is, ap- pears to have been indigenous to Egypt; for we learn from history that coffins and mummy cases were made of its wood. The tree is too well known, being cultivated in our own coun- try to a considerable degree of perfection, to need description. The Pomegranate. — The punica granatum^ or pomegra- nate tree, in its native state, is a lowly shrub, about eight or ten feet in height, extremely bushy and covered with thorns ; when cultivated, however, it is nearly twice that size, more especially in the south of Europe. The flowers differ in dif- ferent varieties, and while the fruit of the wild plant is only about the size of a walnut, that of the cultivated tree is larger than the largest apple. This is filled with seeds imbedded in a red pulp, which is the part eaten. It seems to have been highly esteemed by the ancients, for we find the Hebrews specifying it as one of the luxuries they had lost by leaving Egypt ; and it is enumerated by Moses, with wheat, barley, etc., as a recommendation of the promised land, Deut viii. 8. The Date Palm. — This tree is an evergreen, and, to attain perfection, it requires a hot climate, with a sandy soil, yet humid, and somewhat nitreous. Hence, its favourite place is along the rivers which border the hot and sandy deserts, and beside old wells, in the very heart of the desert itself; a cir- cumstance which renders the distant prospect of it a delight to the wanderer in those parched regions, from the assurance of water Avhich it conveys. Mariti says that this tree grows to th5 height of a man in five or six years' growth ;and this is a very rapid growth, if we consider that the trunk rises from the ground of a thickness which never increases. It appears to have been cultivated in Egypt in all ages of the world, and at the present day trees of this kind are very abundant there. Clarke says that the natives are chiefly engaged in the care of them, tying up their blossoms with bands formed of the foliage, to" prevent their being torn ofT, and scattered by the wind. The trunk of the date palm tree served for beams, either HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 31 entire or split in half: while the gereet, or branches, were, as they are now, used in making wicker baskets, bed- steads, coops, and ceilings of rooms, answering for every purpose for which laths or other thin wood-work might be required. The Doum Palm. — Instead of one trunk without branches, the doum throws up two trunks, or more properly, branches, at the same time from the soil. From each of these spring two branches, which are also frequently bifurcated more towards the top of the tree. The terminal branches are crowned with bundles of from twenty to thirty palm leaves from six to nine feet in length. The fruit of the doum is most essentially different from that of the date palm. The tree grows in Upper Egypt, but seldom in the lower country. The wood is more solid than that of the date palm, and will even bear to be cut into planks, of which the doors in Upper Egypt are frequently made. Barley.— Ot all cultivated grain, barley comes to perfection in the greatest variety of climates, and is consequently found over the greatest extent of the habitable globe. The heat and the drought of tropical climates does not destroy it, and it ripens in the short summers of those which verge on the frigid zone. In Egypt, were the climate is mild, two crops may be reaped in the same year ; one in the spring from seed sown in the autumn, and one in the autumn from seed sown in the spring. This explains a passage in Scripture, which speaks of the destruction of this plant in one of the ten plagues, Exod. ix. 31, 32. Commentators are generally agreed that this even happened in March : the first crop of barley was therefore nearly ripe, and the flax ready to gather ; but the wheat and the rye sown in spring were not sufficiently advanced in growth to be injured. This is confirmed by the testimony of modern travellers. Dr. Richardson, writing in Egypt in the early part of March, says, " The barley and flax are now advanced ; the former is in the ear, and the latter is boiled, and it seems to be about this season of the year that God brought the plague of thunder and hail upon the Egyptians, to punish the guilty Pharaoh, who had hardened his presumptuous heart against the miracles of Omnipotence." Rye. — It is uncertain whether the Hebrew KusemethjVihxch. occurs Exod. ix. 32, and which is there spoken of as anciently growing in Egypt, signifies rye. Most commentators con- tend that it was spelt, which the word is usually rendered . 32 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIAN:5. Other versions. No plant, however, bearing this name grows now in Egypt ; and, as the modern state of agriculture in that country affords no data to assist us in our conjectures on the ancient agriculture, it is as likely to have been rye as spelt. Dr. Shaw supposes that rice is the grain intended by the original, and cites Pliny as affirming that rice, or oryza, was the olyra of the ancients. Hasselquist, however, states that the Egyptians learned the cultivation of rice under the caliphs. Ensete. — We are told by Horus Apollo, that the Egyp- tians, wishing to describe the antiquity of their origin, figured a bundle of papyrus, as an emblem of the food they first subsisted on, when the use of wheat was yet unknown among them. Bruce affirms this to be the ensete, an Ethio- pian plant, which was cultivated in Egypt till the general use of wheat superseded it as a diet. The stalk of this herba- ceous plant, when boiled, has the taste of the best wheaten bread not perfectly baked, and if eaten with milk or butter, is wholesome, nourishing, and easy of digestion. This symbol, therefore, by no means proves that the ancient Egyptians ate plants before they discovered corn, but only that ensete was one of the articles they used for food, and which occasionally supplied the place of wheat. Lotus. — The Egyptian lotus, an aquatic plant, and a species of water lily, was also used by the ancient Egyptians for food. Herodotus thus describes it : " The water lily grows in the inundated lands of Egypt. The seed of this flower, which resembles that of the poppy, they bake and make into a kind of bread. They also use the root of this plant, which is round, of an agreeable flavour, and about the size of an apple. This the Egyptians call the lotus." Theophraslus, in his History of Plants, bears similar testimony. It is the nym.'phma lotus of Linnaeus, and the colocassia of Pliny. It is mentioned by Prosper Alpinus, under the name of culcas. At the present day it is called eddow, and the inundated places of the Nile produce an abundance of it. Its root is also the food of numbers both in the East and West Indies, and in the South Sea Islands. Holcus Sorghum. — This plant, which in Latin is called Milium, a name which points to a stalk bearing a thousand grains, appears to have been known in the early ages of the world in the countries bordering upon Egypt, and we may safely conclude that it was known in that country also. It is now extensively cultivated there, and three harvests are ob- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. ^ tained in one year. In the countries south of Eygpt, It is frequently to be met with, from sixteen to twenty feet in height, and wheat being almost unknown there, both man and beast subsist chiefly upon it. In Egypt, it forms part of the diet of the poorer classes. But that whi&h forms the chief food of the Egyptians is, what it has been from the remotest period of time, bread-corn. Wheat. — We learn from the interesting history of Joseph, as well as from the narrative of the ten plagues, that Egypt was famous in those days for this species of grain. Some, indeed, point out that country as the parent of wheat ; and, as the earliest mention of it is connected with that country, and it might have extended from thence to the islands of the Mediterranean and. to Greece and her colonies, the conjecture is probable. The matchless wealth of Egypt arose from its corn, which, even in almost universal famine, enabled it to support neigh- bouring nations, as it did under Joseph's wise administration. In latter ages, it was the vast granary of Rome and Constan- tinople. A calumny was raised against St. Athanasius, charging him with having threatened to prevent in future the importation of corn into Constantinople from Alexandria, which greatly incensed the emperor Constantine against him, because he knew that his capital city could not subsist without the corn exported from Egypt thither. The same reason induced the emperors of Rome to take so great a care of Egypt, which they considered as the nursing mother of the world's metropolis.* The same river, however, which enabled Egypt to feed the two most populous cities in the world, sometimes reduced its own inhabitants to the most terrible famine ; and it is astonishing that Joseph's wise fore- sight, which in fruitful years had made provision for seasons of sterility, should not have taught these wise politicians to * If what Diodorus affirms to be true, that in his day, Egypt containeu thirteen millions of people, and that the population consisted before his time of seventeen millions, the fertility of Egypt must have been prodi- gious indeed. And the wonder is heightened, when we reflect on the above-mentioned facts, that it exported vast quantities of grain to Rome, and afterwards to Constantinople. Eollin states the exportation to Rome to have been twenty millions of bushels of wheat, Vvrhich is equal to 2,500,000 quarters. Such a quantity was more than sufficient to have supplied the whole population of Rome, though it should have doubled that of the metropolis of England at the present day. His error arises from mistranslation. The word " modi," which he translates bushels, according to Arbuthnot and Adam, signifies pecks. Hence 635.000 quar- ters only were exported to Rome annually. 34 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. adopt similar precautions against the contingency of the failure of the Nile. Pliny, in his panegyric upon Trajan, paints with great strength the extremity to which that country was reduced by a famine in the reign of that prince, and the relief he generously afforded to it. " The Egyptians," says he, " who gloried that they needed neither sun nor rain to produce their corn, and who believed they might confidently contest the prize of plenty with the most fruitful countries of the world, were condemned to an unexpected drought and a fatal sterility, from the greatest part of their territories being deserted and left unwatered by the Nile, whose inundation is the source and standard of their abundance. They then im- plored that assistance from their prince, which they had been accustomed to expect only from their river. The delay of their relief was no longer than that which employed a courier to bring the melancholy news to Rome ; and one would have imagined that this misfortune had befallen them only to dis- play with greater lustre the generosity and goodness of Cesar. It was an ancient and general opinion, that our city could not subsist without provisions drawn from Egypt. This vain and proud nation boasted, that though conquered, they neverthe- less fed their conquerors ; that, by means of their river, either abundance or scarcity were entirely at their disposal. But we now have returned the Nile his own harvests, and given him back the provisions he sent us. Let the Egyptians be, then, convinced by their own experience, that they are not necessary to us, and are only our vassals. Let them know that their ships do not so mucli bring us the provision we stand in need of, as the tribute which they owe us. And let them never forget that we can do without them, but that they can never do without us. This most fruitful province had been ruined, had it not worn the Roman chains ! The Eygptians, in their sovereign, found a deliverer and a father. Astonished at the sight of their granaries, filled without any labour of their own, they were at a loss to 'know to whom they owed this foreign and gratuitous plenty. The famine of a people, though at such a distance from us, yet so speedily stopped, served only to let them feel the advantage of living under our empire. The Nile may, in other times, have diffused more plenty in Egypt, but never more glory upon us. May Heaven, content with this proof of the people's patience, and the prince's generosity, restore for ever back to Egypt its ancient fertility." The reproach of this ancient author to the Egyptians for HISXOE.'i OF THE EGYPTIANS. 35 their vain regard to the inundations of the Nile, points out one of their peculiar characteristics ; and which is aptly and beautifully illustrated by the prophet Ezekiel in a passage wherein God speaks to Pharaoh-hophra, or Apries, thus: " Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that Ueth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said. My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself" Ezek. xxix. 3. The Almighty perceived an insupportable pride in the heart of this prince, a sense of security, and con- fidence in the inundations of the Nile, as though the effects of this inundation had been owing to nothing but his own care and labour, or those of his predecessors, and not, as in reality they were, dependent on the gracious influences of Heaven. So prone is man by nature to forget the source -from whence all blessings flow. Besides the plants enumerated above, which grew anciently in Egypt, at the present day the following are successfully cultivated in that country: winter plants, which are sovm after the inundation, and reaped in about three or four months after ; peas, vetches, lupins, clover, coleseed, lettuce, poppy, and tobacco : summer plants, which are raised by artificial irrigation, by means of water wheels, and other machinery j Indian corn, sugar cane, cotton, indigo, and madder. Rice is sown in the spring, and gathered in October, chiefly near Lake Menzaleh. Fruit trees, which grow mostlyin gardens near the principal towns ; the mulberry, and Seville orange, which ripens in January; apricots in May; peaches and plums in June ; apples, pears, and caroobs at the end of June; grapes at the beginning of July ; figs in July ; prickly pears at the end of July; pomegranates and lemons in August; citrus medica in September ; oranges in October ; and sweet lemons and banana in November. Some of these plants may have grown anciently in Egypt, but we know of no data whereon to make such an assertion. GOLD AND SILVER MINES. Egypt was proverbial for its riches. See Exod. xii. 35 ; Ezek. xxxii. 12 ; Heb. xi. 26. This arose partly from its fertility, and partly from its extensive commerce. But that which chiefly rendered the people rich in gold and silver, for which they were celebrated, was their mines of these precious metals. Their gold mines were in the desert of the upper 36 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. country. Their position, still known to the Arabs, is about s. E. from Bahayreh, a village opposite the town of Edfou, in latitude 24° 58', on Apollinopolis Magna, and at a distance of nearly ten days' journey from that place in the mountains of the Bishareeh. Arab authors place them at Gebal Ollagee, a mountain situated in the land of Bega, which word points out the Bisharee desert, being still used by the tribe as their own name. The gold lies in veins of quartz, in the rocks, bordering an inhospitable valley and its adjacent ravines ; but the small quantity they are capable of producing by immense labour, added to the difficulties of procuring water, and other local impediments, would' probably render the re-opening of them an unprofitaijle speculation. In the time of Aboolfidda, indeed, who lived about a.d. 1334, they only just covered their expenses, from which circumstance, they have ever since been abandoned by the Arab caliphs. The toil of extracting the gold in ancient times, according to the account of Agatharchides, was immense, and the loss of life in working the mines appalling. He thus describes the process: "The kings of Egypt compelled many poor people together with their wives and children, to labour in the mines, wherein they underwent more suffering than can well be imagined. The hard rocks of the gold mountains being cleft by heating them with burn- ing wood, the workmen then apply their iron implements. The young and active, with iron hammers, break the rock in pieces, and form a number of narrow passages, not running in straight lines, but following the direction of the vein of gold, which is as irregular in its course as the roots of a tree. The workmen have lights fastened on their forehead, by the aid of which they cut their way through the rock, always fol- lowing the white veins of stone. To keep them to their task, an overseer stands by, ready to inflict a blow on the lazy. The material that is thus loosened, is carried out of the o-al- leries by boys, and received at the mouth of the mine by old men and the Vv'eaker laboijrers, who then carry it to the .Epnpta or inspectors. These are young men, under thirty years of age, strong and vigorous, who pound the broken fragments with a stone pestle, till there is no piece larger than a pea. It is then placed on grinding-stones, or a kind of mill- stone, and women, three on each side, work at it till it is re- duced to fine powder. . , . The fine powder is then passed on to a set of workmen called Sdlayigeca^ who place it on a HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 37 finely-polished board, not lying- in a flat position, but a little sloping. The Sellangee after pouring some water on the board, rubs it with his hand, at first gently, but afterwards more vigorously, by which process the lighter earthy parti- cles slide off along the slope of the board, and the heavier parts are left behind. He then takes soft sponges, which he presses on the board rather gently, which causes the lighter particles to adhere to the sponge, while the heavy shining grains still keep their place on the board, owing to their weight. From the Sellangees the gold particles are trans- ferred to the roasters, who measure and weigh all that they receive, before putting it into an earthen jar. With the gold particles they mix lead in a certain proportion, lumps of salt, a little tin, and barley bran, and putting a cover on the jar that fits tight, and smearing it all over, they burn it in a fur- nace for five days and nights without intermission. On the sixth day, they cool the vessel, and take out the gold, which they find somewhat diminished in quantity : all the other substances entirely disappear. These mines were worked under the ancient kings of Egypt, but abandoned during the occupation of the country by the Ethiopians, and afterw^ards by the Medes and Persians. Even at the present day, (about b.c. 150,) we may find copper chisels or imple- ments in the galleries, (the use of iron not being known at that time,)* and innumerable skeletons of the wretched be- ings who lost their lives in the passages of the mine. * The excavations are of great extent, and reach down to the sea coast." This process appears to be represented in the paintings of tombs executed during the reign of Osirtasen, and some of the ancient Pharaohs. We are not informed when they were first discovered, but Ave may suppose that the mines were worked at the earliest periods of the Egyptian monarchy. The total of their annual produce is said by Hecata)us to have been recorded in a temple founded by a monarch of the 18th dynasty. He also notices an immense sum produced annually from the silver mines of Egypt, which amounted to 3,200 myriads of minse, each of which was 1 lb. 4 oz. 6 dwt. English weight. In a sculpture of Thebes, also, Osy- mandas is represented dedicating to the deity the gold and silver he annually received from the mines through- * This author must, therefore, mean copper in the early part of this extract, though he uses a word properly rendered iron. VOL. I. A 38 HISTORY OF THE EGYFXlAiSS. out Egypt, which in silver alone amounted to this enormous sum. Besides these mines, there were others of copper, lead, iron, and emeralds, all of which were valuable. These mines still exist in the deserts of the Red Sea. The same districts also abound in sulphur, which was most probably made use of by the ancient Egyptians. CHAPTER II. TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. In ancient times, Egypt comprehended a great number of cities. Herodotus relates, indeed, that under Amasis, who lived about 570 years b. c, there were 20,000 inhabited cities in that country. Diodorus, however, with more judgment and caution, calculates 18,000 large villages and towns ; and states that, under Ptolemy Lagus, they amounted to upwards of 30,000, a number which remained even at the period when he wrote, about 44 years b.c, when the population of Egypt was reduced from seventeen to thirteen millions of inhabi- tants. According to Theocritus, the number of towns, at an earlier period, was 33,339 ; he may here, however, include some of the neighbouring provinces belonging to Egypt, as he comprehends Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Arabia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Caria, and Lycia, within the dominions of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Other authors may also occasionally have extended the name of Egypt to its possessions in Libya, Ethi- opia, and Syria ; since, making every allowance for the flour- ishing condition of this highly fertile country, the number of towns they mention is too disproportionate for the sole valley of Egypt. Our knowledge of the more ancient cities of Egypt is very limited, and that knowledge for the most part is preserved by existing remains. Among the most re- markable of these cities is NO, NO-AMMON, DIOSPOLIS, OR THEBES. Thebes was indeed the most ancient capital and renowned city of Egypt. It was probably built by the first settlers, Misraim and his family, whence Egypt is generally styled " the land of Misraim" in the original Scriptures, though usually rendered the land of Egypt. The origin of the city 40 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. is certainly lost in the remote infancy of human settlements and institutions. The Egyptian name of the city was No, Ezek- xxx. 14; .0 which was added Amon, or Amoun, which was, accord- ing to Herodotus, a title of Jove among the Egyptians. This would suggest that the city denoted was the chief seat of the worship of Jupiter Amraon. And such was No ; for the Septuagint renders it, Ezek. xxx. 15, by Diospolis, " The city of Jove," on account of its devotion to the worship of Jupiter. Dr. Hales says, that it has been mistakenly supposed that the term Anion, or Amoun, denotes Ham, the youngest son of Noah, and the father of Misraim ; and he adds, that its real signification is " Truth," or " Veracity,-' whence the Lord is styled yEZ Amunah, " God of truth," Deut. xxxii. 4. Plato says, that " the secret and invisible creative power supreme among the Egyptians was called Ammon ;" and Plutarch, that the term signified " hidden." This was also an epithet of the true God : " Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?" Judg. xiii. 18 ; and it accords with the inscription on the temple of Neith, or " Wisdom," at Sais, in Lower Egypt, as recorded by Plutarch : I AJI ALL THAT HATH BEEN, "AND IS, AND WILL BE ; AND JIY VEIL NO MORTAL YET UNCOVERED. MY OFFSPRING IS THE SUN. This may explain the ancient aphorism, " Truth lies hid m a well;" as primarily relating to the incomprehensible nature of the Supreme Being, "the only true God," John xvii. 3, who was styled by the Egyptians Scotos agnoslon^ meaning " darkness that cannot be pierced," and by the Athenians, Agnnstos Theos, " The Unknown God." See Acts xvii. 23. The Grecian name of this city, Thebes, was probably derived from Thebeh, " an ark,"' like Noah's, the memory of which would naturally be preserved by the first settlers after the deluge in all parts of the earth. Bruce, in- deed, observes, that " the figure of the temples in Thebes do not seem to be far removed from the idea given us of the ark." Thebes was the metropolis of the country of Egypt ; far eclipsing the metropolitan cities which arose in Middle and Lower Egypt. It was venerated by the ancient Egyptians as the parent city, the seat of sacred mysteries, and of learning and the arts. Long after Memphis had become the politicnl metropolis of the united kingdom, and from its more advan- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 41 tageous situation for trade had diverted from Thebes the wealth it derived from commerce, it survived ia splendour and magnificence. Even at the present day, it has been said, while Zoph, and Zoan, and On, have scarcely left behind a vestige of their existence, the desolate temples of Thebes re- main in almost all their pristine glory, and promise to carry down the records of her glory and desolation to the end of time. The. poet Homer, in his immortal verse, speaks of the great wealth of Thebes, and mentions its hundred gates, from each of which issued 200 men with horses and cha- riots, etc. This poetical allusion has been taken by some for history. Diodorus, however, intimates that the force was not raised in the vicinity of Thebes; and with reference to the hundred gates, he states the conjecture of some persons that the city derived its title of Hecatompylos from the numerous propyla, or gateways of temples and public buildings. The notion of its having gates is strongly objected to by some tra- vellers, inasmuch as not the least indication can be discovered that the city was enclosed by a wall. Concerning the buildings of the city we have no detailed description from ancient sources, but only of the public monu- ments. It is probable, however, that in this and other ancient cities of Egypt, while the temples were erected with such strong materials as would resist very long the power of time, the mass of private dwellings were of a very lowly character, such as mud or brick. When we speak, indeed, of the splen- dour of ancient cities, we must understand it exclusively of its public buildings and monuments, and not of handsome streets and comfortable habitations, which a modern city exhibits. But we not only learn from profane history that Thebes was one of the most powerful cities in days of yore ; Scrip- ture bears testimony to the same fact. There is a striking passage in Nahum iii. 8 — 10, wherein there is an implied comparison between No, or Thebes, and Nineveth, with an apparent preference given to the former. The prophet in- terrogates Nineveh thus : " Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wail was from the sea?" And then in the next verse he says, ''Ethi- opia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite." How strong and great Thebes was, history and its existing monu- ments testify ; and its population may be inferred from its be- 4* 42 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. ing cal ed " populous," in comparison with the great city Nineveh, as well as from the accounts of its extent. These accounts differ greatly, but D'Anville, analyzing the various statements, deduces that its circuit was equal to twenty-seven Roman miles, being an extent to which few modern capitals approach, and which London itself does not greatly exceed. Of the wealth of Thebes some idea may be formed from the accounts of the spoils obtained by the Persians under Cambyses, and the quantity of precious metal collected after the burning of the city. This last, according to Diodorus, amounted to upwards of 300 talents, about 26,020 pounds troy, of gold, and 2,300 talents, or 199,518 pounds of silver ; the former worth 1,248,960/., and the latter 598,544Z. ster- ling. This destruction is said to have levelled not only the private house, but the greater part of its numerous temples. But this was not the first time that Thebes had suffered from the desolations of war. The prophet Nahum intimates, in the passage referred to, that it was devastated before Nineveh. After drawing the comparison between the two cities, he says, " Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity : her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets ; and they cast lots for her honourable men,* and all her great men were bound in chains." This corresponds to the first blow which the splendour of Thebes received when the Ethiopians invaded Egypt, 769 years b. g. It suffered again, very probably, when Nebuchadnezzar ravaged Egypt, 570 years b. c, after which it was burned by the Persian king. But it even then survived, and was still a city of some note. Eighty-six years b. c. it was indeed of such strength and consequence, as to dare to rebel against Ptolemy Lathyrus, and it endured a three years' siege before it was taken and plundered. It was again punished for re- bellion by Gallus, in the reign of Augustus ; after which the zeal of the early Christians led them to deface and destroy, as much as lay in their power, its remaining monuments, on account of the outrageous idolatry there displayed. But some of its monuments still remain, testifying at once to its ancient grandeur and to the truth of the inspired volume, which fore- told its destruction. See Jer. xlvi. and Ezek. xxx. 14 — 16. The ruins of Thebes, as described by travellers, testify an extent of magnificence of architectural design almost without a parallel. Karnac and Luxor are situated on the eastern * It was customary with many of the ancient nations to cast lots for the principal captives who were taken In war. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 4S side of Thebes, distant from each other about two miles. Karnac, which is the largest edifice in Egypt, was dedicated to Priapus. The mole is 1 40 paces in length, and twenty- five in thickness. • It leads to a court 1 10 paces in length, and the same in breadth. Two ranges of six columns conduct to a portico of 136 columns. The two middle ranges of these are eleven feet in diameter, the others are seven feet, the length of the vestibule is seventy-eight paces, the breadth twenty-five ; this leads into a court where there are four obelisks, and twelve colossal figures. Two other courts conduct to what are supposed to be the apartments of the kings ; besides which, there are many extensive buildings connected with the palace by avenues of sphinxes, lions, and rams. Some of these avenues extend towards Luxor. The entrance to Luxor is composed of two obelisks, which at present rise seventy feet above the surface of the ground, and are understood to be about thirty below it ; two colossal statues of black granite, each thirty-eight feet high ; and two masses of building of an oblong shape, and tapering sides fifty-five feet high, and covered with hieroglyphics. These large masses are so crowded together that from the front of the moles to that of the obelisks the distance is only fourteen paces. On the western side of Thebes, is the site of Mem- nonium, and the statue of red granite thrown down by Cam- byses. The space between the Memnonium and Medineet Abou, about a mile and a quarter, is covered with fragments of Colossus. The tomb of Osyraandas is supposed by some to have been here. The palace of Mendineet Abou has a covered passage still preserved. This is fifty-five paces long, and sixty-five broad, and is formed by four rows of columns placed on the four sides of the court. These columns are forty-five feet high, and seven feet in diameter. The tombs of the kings are situated in a narrow valley between the mountains of Libya, about four miles from the river. Strabo says, that there were seventeen tombs remaining in his time ; and if we include a grotto near the Memnonium, the same number still remains. From the nature of the sculptures, and the distribution of the apartments, Karnac, Luxor, and Memnonium, are sup- posed to have been residences of the kings of Egypt. All other buildings are considered as having been appropriated to religious purposes. Some, however, think, from the na- ture of the authority exercised by the Egyptian priesthood that the palace and the temple were commonly united. 44 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. ZOAN, OR TANIS. Zoan is rendered by the Septuagint, Tanin, or Tajiis, which was a city of Egypt, situated near the mouth of one of the branches of the Nile, thence called GBtinm Taniticum. It appears to have been one of the most ancient capitals of Egypt. The sacred historian tells us, indeed, that it was built only seven years after Hebron, the chief residence of the patriarch Abraham and his family, Numb. xiii. 22 : and that it was one of the royal cities, we gather from the fact that the plagues of Egypt were inflicted " in the field of Zoan." Psa. Ixxviii. 12. Even in the days of Isaiah, it is mentioned as a seat of government. " Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish," Isa. xix. 11. As, however, in verse 13, Noph, or Memphis, is similarly noticed, and as it is certain there were not at that time two kings in such close vicinity, it is supposed that the kings of that period divided their residence between Zoan and Noph, as those of Persia did between Susa and Ecbatana. Bryant and others think that Tanis was too dis- tant from the land of Goshen to have been the scene of the miracles recorded in Exodus, and they look for Zoan at Sais, which Bryant determines to have been situated a little above , the point of the Delta, not far from Heliopolis, and therefore bordering close on the land of Goshen. But this is restrict- ing the regions of Goshen within narrower limits than are assigned it by the best authorities whom we have followed in our description of that land; and therefore the Septuagint may be correct. ON, OR HELIOPOLIS. On, which is mentioned as early as in the days of Joseph, who married the daughter of the high priest of that city. Gen. xli. 45, is noticed under several names in Scripture. The Hebrew name for it was Bethshemesh, or " house of the sun," which, or " city of the sun," is the meaning of all the names given to the place, except that of Aven, or Bethaven, Ezek. XXX. 17, Hos, X. 5, which means " vanity," or " house of vanity," a nick-name the Hebrews were accustomed to apply to noted places of idolatrous worship. The Greek name of the place was Heliopolis, by which name the Septuagint ver- sion renders it, a rendering that has not been disputed. The city derived its name from the worship of the sun, to HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS. 45 which a celebrated temple was here consecrated. It was a famous seat of the Egyptian science and learning. Herodo- tus says, that the Heliopolitans were reckoned the wisest of the Egyptians ; and, according to Berosus, it was the city of Moses, which well accounts for his scriptural character, that he '' was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," Acts vii. 22. It is certain that in the college of priests at this place, Eudoxus, Plato, and Herodotus received their instruc- tion in astronomy, philosophy, and history ; and in all that learning of the Egyptians which sacred and profane writers concur in celebrating. Very little is known of the history of Heliopolis. Josephus says, that it was given to the Israelites for a habitation when they first went down into Egypt ; but this is not mentioned in Scripture. Its destruction was foretold by the prophets, Jeremiah, chap, xliii. 13, and Ezekiel, chap, xxx. 17 ; which predictions were probably accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar. Heliopolis was situated in the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about five miles below the point of the ancient Delta. Its form and size may be inferred from the remaining mounds of the wall of circuit, from which it would appear to have been of an irregular shape, and in its extent not exceeding 3,750 by 2,870 feet. The houses stood on the north side, covering a space of about 575,000 feet ; to the south of which stood the temple of the sun. There are now no ruins of an- cient buildings unless the mounds be considered such, but there are still existing many fragments of the materials em- ployed in their construction. An obelisk still stands entire upon the spot, which, from its great antiquity, has received much attention from the learned. In the adjoining villages there are many fragments of antiquity, which have evidently been removed from thence, and one standing in its immediate vicinity bears the name of Matarieh, signifying "fresh water ;" which name is taken from a spring of excellent Avater, supposed to be the same as " the fountain of the sun" of ancient days. PITHOM AND RAMESES. Pithom and Rameses are mentioned, Exod. i. 1 1, as having been built by the Hebrews, for the Egyptian monarch under whom they were oppressed, for " treasure" or store cities. Authors vary in their opinions concerning the sites of Pithom and Rameses. Benjamin of Ti^dela, in the twelfth century 46 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. was informed by the Jews that the latter was the same as Heliopolis ; but Niebuhr thinks tiiat it lay to the north-west of it, about four leagues from Cairo, in the way to Suez, where there is a heap of ruins, called Tel el Jhud, or Tourbet el Jhud. As the land of Goshen is also called " the land of Rameses," we may conclude, that the town of Rameses was in that district, and that it either gave or received from it, its name. We may mention, that some authors conceive that Pithom and Rameses were the names of two kings of Egypt, but this is by no means a well founded theory. " SIN," OR PELUSIDM. In Arabic, the term " sin" signifies mud, and was there- fore the same as Pelusium, from pelos, mud. By the prophet Ezekiel, who predicted its overthrow, chap. xxx. 15, it is called " the strength of Egypt," and by Suidas, the " key of Egypt," or, its strong barrier on the side of Syria and Arabia. But notwithstanding its strength, according to the prediction of the prophet, it is laid prostrate by the hand of time and the destroyer, PIBESETH, OR BUBASTUS. By the Septuagint, Pibeseth is regarded as the famous cit\ of Bubastis, on the Pelusian branch of the Nile ; whence this branch, which is the eastern, was indiscriminately called the Bubastic or the Pelusiac. The city derived its name from a magnificent temple dedicated to the troddess Bubastis, whom Herodotus identifies with Diana. The site still bears the name of Td Bastah, but the great mass of ruins is some- what more than half a mile west of the Tel, at Chobrah and Heryeh. There is no edifice remaining. All is one scene of desolation, testifying at once to its ancient splendour, and to the truth of Holy Writ, which foretells its destruction. " The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword : and these cities shall go into captivity," Ezek xxx. 17. T.YHAIirAISES, TAIIPANES, OR HaNES. This city was the same as the Daphnnc Pelusiacse, noticed by Herodotus. The prophet Jeremiah resided here in his exile, Jer. xliii. 8. Isaiah abridged it to Hanes, T.sn. xxx. 4. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 47 The former, while there, under a significant type, predicted the conquest of Egypt by the Babylonians, which prediction was verified by Nebuchadnezzar. The name Migdol signifies " a tower," and may have been common to several places distinguished by objects of that kind. There appears, indeed, from Scripture, to have been two cities of that name ia ancient times. Thus the pro- phet Jeremiah represents one as belonging to Egypt Proper, see ch:i,i. xlvi. 14 ; and in the neighbourhood of Tahpanes, or Daphiij3. This favours the supposition of its being the present Migdol ; and Bochart observes on this text, that we find the places named exactly in the order of the distance from .Tudea : first, Migdol, or Magdolus ; secondly, Tahpan- hes, or Daphnse ; thirdly, Noph, or Memphis ; and, lastly, the district of Pathros, or Thebais. We may presume this city to have been that which Herodotus mentions under that, name, and which the itinerary of Antoninus reckons a little to the south of the Delta, about twelve miles from Pelusium. But this was too far distant from the Red Sea to be in the route of the Israelites when departing from Egypt ; and therefore we may conclude that there was a second Migdol in Lower Egypt, towards the Red Sea, and at which the Israelites encamped. See Exod. xiv. 2. NOPH, MEMOPH, OR MEMPHIS. Memphis was the renowned capital of Lower Egypt. On what site it stood, however, has been much disputed. Dr. Shaw, and others, contend that it must be sought at Ghizeh, nearly opposite to Old Cairo ; but other eminent travellers and geographers, comparing the statements in ancient authors with existing appearances and traditions, have fixed its posi- tion with greater probability considerably more to the south, near the village of Metrahenny, on the western bank of the Nile. On this spot there are indications of extensive ruins in the form of mounds, channels, and blocks of granite, many of which are covered with sculptures and hieroglyphics, and which are considered, in the locality, to form the remains of Menf, or Memphis, the royal seat of the Pharaohs. We have seen, in the article Thebes, that Memphis super- seded that city as the capital of Egypt. To explain this, we 48 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. would observe, that Egj^ptian traditions, as preserved by the Greek historians, and confirmed by modern research, state, that Upper Egypt was the first settled and brought under cul- tivation. From thence colonies proceeded into Middle and Lower Egypt, which became the parents of other colonies, till the whole was settled. The principal of these colonies, it would appear, soon assumed or acquired the character of in- dependent states or kingdoms, each with its own metropolis ; and Memphis seems to have been the earliest of those settle- ments below the Thebais, as the seat of such a state or king- dom. According to Herodotus, it was founded by Menes, the first king of Egypt, who turned the channel of the river, and built the city in the ancient bed, where the strait between the Arabian and Libyan mountains is narrowest. This state- ment, in the opinion of many travellers, is corroborated by the actual appearance of the river at the spot where, accord- ' ing to this historian, the stream was " dyked off;" namely, at 100 stades, or about twelve miles, above Memphis. Herodo- tus thought that the valley above Memphis, where it widens, was once a bay of the sea, but was gradually raised by the alluvions of the Nile, which also in his opinion formed the Delta. This opinion seems to have been formed by a mis- take as to the meaning of a passage in Homer ; but it would confirm the supposition that the Mediterranean was once \ much higher than at present, and that it was lowered by the disruption of the straits of Gibraltar. At what time Memphis became the paramount metropolis of Egypt, it would be difficult to state ; but as the capital of Lower Egypt, and as the metropolis of the country, it would appear that Noph, or Memphis, was the great city of the Pharaohs with which the Old Testament Hebrews were best acquainted, and to which there are the most frequent refer- ences in Scripture, from the time that good old Israel went down into Egypt to the days of the prophet Jeremiah. At the former date, it was, probably, the capital of that part of Egypt with which the Hebrews were most familiar ; and at the latter, it still remained as the metropolis, notwithstanding that, since the reign of Psammetichus, the kings of Egypt had made Sais the usual seat of their residence. The wealth and the glory of Memphis are spoken of by most ancient writers ; but concerning the details little or no- thing is recorded ; and Noph is so utterly waste, according .to the prediction of the prophet, Jer. xlvi. 19, that the de- ficiency cannot be supplied from existing remains, as at HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 49 Thebes. Its magnificent temples are, however, mentioned, particularly those of Apis and Vulcan ; and Diodorus de- scribes the city as about 150 stades, or between seventeen and eighteen miles, in circumference. There are, moreover, ibt mains of a different and not less striking kind, which denote its ancient grandeur. These are the pyramids ; for the situ- ation of Memphis, regarded as near Metrahenny, is central with respect to these far-famed structures, being as it were in the midst of them ; and it is to be observed, that ancient his- torians usually considered the pyramids as pertaining to Memphis. Other monuments marking the city itself, save that of the mounds, a few fragments of granite, some sub- struction, and a colossal statue of Ramases ii., there are none j so completely has the prediction of its desolation been accom? plished. This desolation is the more remarkable when we consider that the glory of Memphis was only impaired by the devastations of the Persians, and that when eclipsed by Alex- andria it continued to be the second city of Egypt, as recorded by Strabo, and that about as late as the time of our Saviour, The Arabian geographer, Abulfeda, notices, indeed, in the fourteenth century, the extensive remains of Menf, as still evincing the ancient importance of that renowned city. But these appear to have been employed in the erection of the more modern cities which have arisen in that part of Egypt where Memphis stood ; or to have been gradually covered by the encroaching sands of the desert, or the alluyions of the Nile, so that nothing now remains of all its glory but that described. Syene was the most southern city of the Thebais, border- ing on Nubia. By the prophet Ezekiel, the whole extent of Egypt, from north to south, is described as " from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia," Ezek. xxix. 10; XXX. 6. Migdol, which is incorrectly rendered " tower" in our version, and which should be preserved as the proper name of the town near the Red Sea, as noticed before, was in the north of Egypt, while Syene was its southern frontier. The cataracts of the Nile, which occur above this place, and the difficult navigation of the river, form a natural boundary line ; so that Syene, now called Assouan, has always been considered the frontier town of Egypt in this direction, Strictly speaking, the boundary is formed by the mighty ter- 50 HISTORY OF THE EGYrTTANS. races of that peculiar reddish granite called syenite, which, shaped into peak's, stretch across the bed of the Nile, and from which the Egyptians obtained the stone so frequently em- ployed by them in their obelisks and colossal statues. The town of Syene retained its importance for many ages. This is certified by the ruins of works and buildings reared by the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, the Romans, and the Ara- bians, which are still seen on and around the site of the old town. The town Assouan, which succeeded it, so closely adjoins the old town on the north, that the northern wall of the latter forms the southern wall of the former. The scenery in this part is very striking. Madox, in his " Excursions in the Holy Land, Egypt, etc.," thus describes it: " The river is rocky here, and the navigation, by night at least, danger- ous. At the pass of Assouan ruin and devastation reign around. This pass, which nature has so well fortified, seems ill treated by man. Hardly any thing Avas to be seen but the vast remains of the old town of Sycne, with mud-built walls and hovels on every side. Rocks, forming islands, were in the middle of the stream, upon which shrubs were growing. The scene altogether vv^as wild and forlorn. In the distance appear high mountains, or masses of stone, with trees, corn, and grass of great height, extending to the water's edge." The removal of the town is said to have occurred a. d. 1403, in consequence of a plague, which destroyed 21,000 of its in- habitants, from which fact the reader may discern the ancient and also the comparatively modern importance of the town. ALEXANDPaA. This renowned city of Egypt owed its origin to Alexander the Great, who, during his visit to that country, (about b. c. 332,) gave orders for its erection, between the sea and the Mareotic Lake. The architect was Dinocrates, a Macedo- nian. A large part of it was contained within the present walls, which are chiefly the work of the Arabs. One main street, about four miles in length, ran through the city from the eastern extremity to the Necropolis, or '■ city of the dead," at the western, and this was intersected by another main street, about one mile and a quarter in length, running nearly north, in a direction from the Mareotic Lake. This was to obtain the benefit of ventilatioa from the north winds. The main land and the isle of Pharos was connected by a dyke, called the Heptastadium, in which there was a passage for HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 51 vessels, from one port to the other at each end. Over these passages there were bridges, probably of great height, since we are told that water was conveyed, along this dyke to the Island of Pharos. On the rocks occupied by the present Pharos, a magnificent light-house was constructed by Sostra- tus of Cnidus, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the height of which, report says, was 400 feet. The point op- posite to the Pharos, was called Lochias, and as this point was prolonged towards the Pharos along some rocks, it re- ceived the name of Acro-Lochias, or the " Point of Lochias." Between this point and the obelisks, the palace of the Ptole- mies, the theatre, and various temples once stood. There were two ports; one bounded by the north-east part of the city, and the Heptastadium, called the great port, and the other called Eunostus, or " safe return." This latter also contained a small port, called Kibotos, or " the chest," because the entrance could be completely closed. No traces of this can now be discovered. A canal, uniting the lake with port Eunosius, terminated in or near port Kibotos, and was nearly the south-west limit of the city. There was also a canal from the lake to the town of Canopus, situated near the mouth of the western branch of the Nile, by means of which the city was supplied with river water, which was kept in cisterns. These, it would appear, were very numerous. A Roman writer says, " Nearly all Alexandria was undermined, and furnished with subterranean aqueducts, to convey the Nile water to private houses, where, after a short time, it became purified." Traces of such are now found on the site of an- cient Alexandria. The city of Alexandria was divided into five quarters, but neither the limits nor the names of each can be assigned. The court end, or Bruchion, comprised the part between the Lochias, the site of the obelisks, and the eastern or Rosetta gate. This part contained also the museum. The part called Rhacotis, which bordered on port Eunostus, contained the great temple of Serapis, which, after the establishment of Christianity, was a grievous offence to the Christians, and as such was destroyed by Theophilus, the patriarch of Alexan- dria, A. D. 390, by permission of the emperor Theodosius. The city of Alexandria was embellished by the Ptolemies with the spoils of the more ancient towns of Egypt, and it continued to receive accessions and improvements for several centuries. At one period of time, it was the rival of Rome in magnitude, and the greatest commercial city of the earth. 52 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Like Tyre of old, it was the point of exchange for the eastern and western world. Diodorus, who visited the city just he- fore the downfall of the empire of the Ptolemies, says, that it contained, according to the registers, more than 300,000 free citizens. The remains of Old Alexandria are surrounded by a double wall, flanked with lofty towers. They are an almost shape- less mass of rubbish, in which are discerned fragments of broken columns, pieces of wall, cisterns, choked up with earth, pieces of pottery, glass, etc. There are five gateways or entrances into this enclosure. Of the two granite obelisks, called Cleopatra's Needles, one is still standing ; the other is lying prostrate on the ground. These obelisks formed the entrance to the palace of Cesar, as it is called, though it is most probable they were removed from some of the ancient cities of Egypt thither. > Near these obelisks is part of a tower, called, " The Tower of the Romans." About the cen- tre of the enclosure stands the mosque of St. Athanasius, on the cite of a Christian church erected by this patriarch dur- ing the fourth century. In this mosque the beautiful Sarco- phagus, of Egyptian Breccia, which is now in the British Museum, was discovered. The cisterns, mentioned for keep- ing Nile water, are still in a great measure preserved ; they consist of vaulted chambers, supported by columns which form arcades of two or three stories. The interior walls are covered with a thick red plaster which water cannot pene- trate. The level of these cisterns varies, but some of them are from fifteen to eighteen feet below the level of the sea. When the French invaded Egypt, the number iu use was 207, and there were about 100 more known to exist. The only remarkable monument between the wall and the Lake is the column called " Pompey's Pillar." This column stands on a mound of earth about forty feet high, which con- tains remains of previous constructions. According to a Greek inscription on the plinth of the base, on the west side, it appears to have been erected (though probably not for the first time) in honour of the emperor Diocletian, by a prefect of Egypt, whose name cannot be further deciphered than that it begins with P O. The foundation of the pillar appears to have been frequently examined, probably in hope of find- ing treasures ; it is, perhaps, owing to this cause, that the column is inclined about seven inches to the south-west. In this direction, on the other side of the canal, are some cata- combs, cut in a small elevation of a sandy calcareous stone; HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 58 iand farther south in the calcareous rock that faces the sea, are discerned numerous excavations, in the sides of which niches are formed. These formed part of the Necropolis of Old Alexandria. The most spacious of these excavations, vv^hich in common with the rest, communicates with the sea by a narrow passage, is about 3830 yards from the column. In the interior there is a great number of chambers and pas- sages, Avhich, judging from the style in which they are cut in the rock, are of Greek origin. This monument was doubt- less intended for a king. The history of this city is very remarkable. From b. c. 323 to B. c. 30, when it fell into the hands of the Romans, it was the residence of the Greek kings of Egypt, the resort of commerce, and of many foreign nations, especially Jews, and it was also the centre of the scientific knowledge of that day. Of the five wards into which the city was divided, two were entirely occupied by Jews, and they had, besides, resi- dences dispersed in the other quarters. They enjoyed, as will be seen in the history of that period, full civil privileges, and had a prefect or governor of their own. Alexandria sus- tained much damage in the campaigns of Julius Cesar, b. c. 48. From b. c. 30, to the Arab conquest under Omar, a. d. 640, who, it is said, found forty thousand Jews paying tribute there, Alexandria was still a flourishing city under the Ro- man, and afterwards under the eastern empire. The Chris- tian religion was early adopted there, and it became one of the strong-holds of the true faith. Clemens, Origen, Atha- nasius, and others of equal note in the Christian church, flourished at Alexandria. In 969, the Fatemite caliphs seized on Egypt, and built New Cairo, from which time Alexandria declined still more, and sunk to the rank of a secondary city. The discovery of the route round the Cape of Good Hope, a. d. 1497, tended still further to diminish the importance of Alexandria ; so that at the present day, the city that bears its name no longer enjoys its ^yonted celebrity, though it appears to have recovered in some slight degree from its downfall by a revival of its commerce. The Roman power partly restored Alexandria as the channel of commerce with the east, but when their power was broken, it ceased. ARSINOE, This city stood at the head of the western branch of the Red Sea, and near the termination of the canal which unites 54 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the Red Sea, and the Eastern branch of the Nile, It was founded by the second Ptolemy ; and Pliny states, that it de- rived its name from Arsinoe, his sister. Its name was changed afterwards to Cleopatris. It was chosen for a sea port; but though vessels anchored there, and rode secure from the violence of the sea, its exposed situation, and the dangers they encountered in working up the narrow extrem- ity of the gulf, rendered it- less eligible for the Indian trade than either Myos Hormos, or Berenice. Its chief advantages were the convenience of establishing a communication with the Nile by a canal, and the shortness of the journey across the desert in that part. The town of Arsinoe gave its name to a nome, or one of the ancient provincial divisions of Egypt, which corresponds to the modern Faioum. The old name of the town was the " City of Crocodiles," that animal being, as we are told by Strabo, highly reverenced there. aby'dos. Aby'dos was a city of Upper Egypt, the remains of which are found near two villages, Elkherbeh and Harabat, about six miles from the west bank of the Nile N. lat. 26° 12'. The chief building which still remains is nearly covered with sand, but the interior is in good preservation. This edifice is constructed of limestone and sandstone. It is said that arches are found in the interior, similar to those of brick which Bel- zoni describes at Thebes. The numerous apartments in this building, and the style of decoration, show that Abydos was once a place of importance. Some conjecture that it was a royal residence. When Strabo visited Egypt, about the com- mencement of the Christian era, Abydos was a mere village ; but he learned that the great building was called Memnoneion or palace of Memnon, and that tradition assigned to Abydos a rank in ancient times next to Thebes. There was a canal leading to the city from the river ; but besides this communi- cation with the main stream, Abydos had the advantage of standing on the large canal running northward, which is known by the name of the Rahr Youssuf On an interior wall of a building at Abydos, not belonging to the great edifice, a kind of tablet, or genealogy of the early kings of Egypt, which is generally called the table of Aby- dos, was discovered. This tablet consists of three compart- ments lying horizontally one above another ; and each com- partment has been divided into twenty-six rectansfles, so that HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. .55 the whole once contained seventy-eight rectangles. Each of these rectangles contains an elliptical ring, or cartouche, such as may be seen on the Egyptian monuments in the British Museum; and each cartouche contains various figures, which are generally supposed to indicate the names or titles of sove- reigns. The lowest of the three compartments contains, in the nineteen rectangles which are complete, the title and name of Rameses the Great; the same prsenomen, or title, and name, having each, probably, been repeated thirteen times in the whole twenty-six rectangles, of which seven are erased. Deducting these twenty-six, there remain in the other two compartments fifty-two rectangles. The fifty-first and fifty- second contain the title and name of a Rameses, who may be a predecessor of Rameses the Great. The cartouches prece- ding these are thought to be the titles of kings : this is very probable, for the forty-seventh is the same as that on the great colossal statue at Thebes, and on the entire colossal statue in the British Museum, which is Amenophis ii. in Manetho's ca- talogue. BERENICE. Berenice was a port on the west side of the Red Sea, at the bottom of a bay, which is described by Strabo under the name of Acathartus. Belzoni describes the place which he takes to be the site of Berenice as being a little south of the parallel of 24°, in which D' Anville concurs. Ptolemy gives the latitude of Berenice at 23° 40', which is also the latitude of Syene. The town, according to Belzoni, measured 1,600 feet from north to south, and 2,000 from east to west. A small temple of Serapis, built of soft calcareous and sand stone, in the Egyptian style of architecture, is 102 feet long, and 43 wide. A part of the wall which was uncovered by digging was sculptured with well executed figures in basso-relievo, in the Egyptian style ; on the wall hieroglyphics were also dis- covered. The town of Berenice was built or restored by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who called it after the name of his mother, the wife of Lagus, or Soter. The town was very extensive, and though the harbour was neither deep nor spacious, its position in a receding gulf tended greatly to the safety of the vessels lying within it, or anchored in the bay. A road led thence direct to Coptos, furnished with the usual stations, or hydreu- mas ; and another, which also went to the emerald mines, 56 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. joined, or rather crossed it, from ApoUinopolis Magna. Wlien Strabo visited Egypt, the Myos Hormos seems to have super- seded Berenice ; but the latter, in the later age of Pliny, was again preferred to its rival. From both these ports the goods were taken on camels, by an almost level road across the desert to Coptos, and thence distributed over different parts of Egypt. In the time of the Ptolemies and Cesars, those Suited for exportation to Europe went down the river to the city of Alexandria, where they were sold to merchants who resorted to that city at a stated season BTYOS HORMOS. The Myos Hormos, called also Aphrodite, and, according to Agatharchides, the Port of Venus, stood in latitude 27"^ 22', upon a flat coast, backed by low mountains, distant from it about three miles, where a well called the Fons Tadnos supplied the town and ships with water. The port was more capacious than those of Berenice and Philoteras ; and though exposed to the winds, it was secure against the force of a tempestuous sea. Several roads united at the gates of the town, from Berenice and Philoteras on the south, Arsinoe on the north, and from Coptos on the west ; and stations sup- plied those who passed to and from the Nile with water and other necessaries. "Many other ports," says Mr. Wilkinson, "the Portus Multi of Pliny, occur along the coast, particularly between Berenice and Kossayr ;* but though they all have landmarks to guide boats in approaching their rocky entrances, none of them have any remains of a tower, or the vestiges of habita- tions." They teach the beholder the important lesson, that nothing on earth is enduring ; and that " He builds too low, who builds below the skies." — Ycung. TENTYRA. The ruins of Tentyra are supposed to be those seen at Amara, about a mile from the river Erment. It stood in the midst of a large plain, and seems to have been between three and four miles in compass. The ruins of two ancient build- ings are still to be seen there. The inhabitants of this city * Myos Hormos ceded its place to this town, which was afterwards called Philoteras, and was resorted to ailer the Arab conquest. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 57 were famous for their enmity to the crocodile, which they en- deavoured to destroy by all the means in their power. They even waged war with the worshippers of that animal, es- pecially with the people of Ombos. To this circumstance Juvenal alludes in one of his satires. He says, " Ombus and Tentyr, neighbouring towns, of late Broke into outrage of deep fester'd hate. A grudge in both, time out of mind, begun And mutually bequeathed from sire to son : Rehgious spite and pious spleen bred first This quarrel, which so long the bigots nursed. Each called the other's god a senseless stock, His own, divine ; though from the self-same block One carver framed them, differing but in shape ; A serpent this resembling, that an ape." — Tale's Juvenal. At Rome, the Tentyrites were employed to take the croco- diles with nets out of the ponds, where they were kept as a curiosity, and to show them to the people, which they did without receiving the least harm. Some have supposed tha* this people possessed a natural ascendency over the croco dile ; but Seneca more justly ascribes their power over it ts their temerity in facing and attacking this dangerous crea> ture. Their power over the ci-ocodile is attested by one of the marbles of the Townley Collection in the British Mu seum, which is usually explained to represent an Egyptian tumbler exercising his feats on the back of a tame crocodile. APOLLINOPOLIS. This city is thought to have been situated where the town of Edfou (on the left bank of the Nile, in 25° N. lat.) now stands. There are still the ruins of a magnificent temple here, which may be compared v>rith that at Denderah for preservation, and which is generally attributed to the age of the Ptolemies. The inhabitants of Apollinopolis, it is said, rivalled the Tentyrites in their enmity to, and abhorrence of the crocodile. LATOPOLIS. This city was called Latopolis from the fish latus, which was worshipped in that city. About three miles to the n.n.w. of the present town of Esne are to be seen the ruins of an ancient temple, which Pococlwe supposes to have been the 58 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. temple of Pallas, and the fish latus at Latopolis, where they were both worshipped. Within this temple, says this tra- veller, are three stories of hieroglyphics of men, about three feet high, and at one end the lowest figures are as large as life ; one of them is adorned with the head of the ibis. The ceiling is curiously adorned with all sorts of animals, and painted in beautiful colors. OMBOS. This city, according to ancient geographers, stood to the south of Thebes. It is identified with Comombo, or '• The Hill of Ombo," where the ruins of an ancient temple are still to be seen. The inhabitants of Ombos, as before hinted, were famous for the worship of the crocodile, ^lian says, they fed them in their ponds, where they became so tame as to obey them when called. PHYL.S:, This city stood about twelve miles south of Syene, in an island of the same name, not above' a quarter of a mile long, and half a quarter broad. The island of Phylae was deemed sacred from an opinion, according to Diodorus, that Osiris was buried there ; and the ruins of a magnificent temple are still found on the island. It appears from the nolitia, that the Romans had a garrison at Phylas, Avhich was the most southern city of all Egypt. Between this place and Syene is the lesser cataract, and the greater at a small distance from Pselca, a town in Ethiopia. Cicero says, that the people Avho lived near the lesser cataract were all deaf from the noise which the river made in falling from the high moun- tains, But this is an error ; for the fall is in no part above seven or eight feet, and, therefore, could have little effect on the organs of hearing. CANOPUS. This city stood on the coast near the outlet of the western or Canopic branch of the Nile. It was forty miles from Alexandria by land, with which it was connected by a canal. In the time of Strabo, it contained a great temple of Serapis. It is said to have been built by the Spartans, on their return from the Trojan war, and to have taken its name from Canopus, the pilot of Menelaiis, who died, and was buried in HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 59 this place. The city was noted for the lewd and dissolute diversions which the Alexandrians indulged themselves in here, whence Seneca writes in one of his epistles thus : " No one, thinking of a retreat, would choose Canopus, though a man may be good and honest even at Canopus." These are all the cities of which we can give any detailed information. Others are mentioned by ancient writers, but for the most part they are known only by name. And of those we have described, the reader will have observed that little remains to testify their pre-existence. They have mouldered into dust, and the plough has gone over their site, or other cities or towns and villages have been erected on their ruins ; thus bearing mournful evidence to the truth of the M'^ords of the Grecian sage, that " Nothing is lasting on the world's great stage." All sublunary enjoyments imitate the changeableness, as well as feel the influence of the planets they are under. Time, like a river, carries them all away with a rapid course. They swim above the stream for a little while, but they are quickly swallowed up by the waves, and seen no more. The very cities men build for their habitations, and the monuments they raise to perpetuate their names, consume and moulder away, and proclaim their own mortality, as well as testify that of others. But there are enjoyments indestructible in their nature, and endless in their duration ! There is a city whose foundations can never be shaken, and which God hath pre- pared for them that love him I Like the stars and orbs above, which shine with undiminished lustre, and move with the same unwearied motion, with which they did from the first date of their creation, these enjoyments are ever full, fresh, and entire ; and they will abide when sun, and moon, and nature itfeelf, shall be employed by Providence no more. The righteous shall appear in the eternal city, when the earth and all that is therein shall have been consumed, and enjoy one perpetual and everlasting day — a day commensu- rate to the unlimited eternity of God himself "There is a place beyond that flaming hill, Prom whence their stars their thin appearance shed ; A place beyond all place, where never ill Nor impure thought was ever harboured : But saintly heroes are for ever said To keep an everlasting sabbath's rest ; Still wishing that of which they're still possessed, Enjoying but one joy — but one of all joys best." — Giks Fktcker. CHAPTER 111. HISTORY OF THE POLITY OP EGYPT. The Egyptians attained a high degree of refinement and luxury at a time when the whole western world was involved in barbarism, when the history of Europe, including Greece, was not yet unfolded, and ages before Carthage, Athens, and Rome were founded. They were indeed, the first people who rightly understood the rules of government, who perceived that the just design of politics is, to make life easy and a peo- ple happy. This high state of civilization was attained under t system of institutions and policy bearing some resemblance to tliose of the Hindoos. It was a monarchy based upon a potent hierarchy. To enable the reader to understand this, the different orders of which the state was composed shall be described. THE KINGLY POAVER. The kings of Egypt were anciently indiscriminately called iPharaoh. This was not a proper name : Josephus says, the word signified king in the Egyptian language ; and it appears to have been used as a prefi.x to the proper name, in the same manner that Ptolemy was, after the subjugation of Egypt by the Greeks. When used independently of the proper name, it distinguished the king of Egypt from other monarchs. The kingdom of Egypt was hereditary, but according to Diodorus, the Egyptian princes (unlike other monarchies, in which the prince acknowledges no other rule of his actions than his own arbitrary will and pleasure) were under greater restraint from the law than their subjects. These laws were contained in the sacred books, and were digested by one of their earliest monarchs, so that every thing was settled by, HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS 61 atid they lived according to ancient custom ; treading the same path as their ancestors. The king appears to have been the chief both of religion and state. He held the right of regulating the sacrifices, and of offering them to the gods upon grand occasions. The title arid office of " President of the Assemblies" belonged exclusively to him, and he superintended the feasts and festi- vals celebrated in honour of their false gods. He could pro- claim peace and vrar ; he commanded the armies, and re- warded those who deserved his approbation ; and every privilege seems to have been granted him which did not interfere with the welfare of his subjects. The sovereign power in Egypt was hereditary. In the event of an heir failing, however, the claims for 'succession were determined by nearness of relationship. Clueens Avere not forbidden to undertake the management of affairs, and on the demise of their husbands, they were allowed to assume the office of regent. Such, at least, are mentioned by histo- rians, and introduced into the annals of Manetho ; but their names do not appear in the lists of sovereigns sculptured in the temples of Thebes and Abydos. In some instances, the kingdom was usurped by a powerful chief, as in the case of Amasis, or by some Ethiopian prince, who, either claiming a right to the crown, or taking advantage of internal disturb- ances, obtained possession of it by force of arms. Synesius intimates, that the Egyptian monarchy was elective ; but there is no instance on record that would lead to such a con- clusion, except in the case of the twelve kings who reigned in union, and that is an exception to the general practice. Diodorus says, indeed, that, in ancient times, kings, instead of succeeding by right of inheritance, were selected for their merits ; but whether this really was the case at the commence- ment of the Egyptian monarchy, it is difficult to determine. The same author, in fact, states in another place, that the first kings were succeeded by their offspring, and we have hiero- glyphical evidence that such was the case during the eigh- teenth and succeeding dynasties. This is further confirmed by Herodotus, and the formula in the Rosetta stone : " The kingdom being established unto him, and unto his children for ever. But although the monarchy of Egypt was hereditary, the kings did not presume in consequence of this right, to infringe the rules enacted for their public and private conduct. The laws of Egypt, which formed part of the sacred books, were VOL. I, 6 62 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. acknowledged to be of divine orig^in, and were looked upon with superstitious reverence. To have disobeyed them, would have been considered rebellion against the deity, and would have called forth vengeance upon the head of the offen- der, even should that offender have been the monarch on his throne. These laws were framed with the strictest regard to the welfare of the community as the ancient history of the Egyptians abundantly proves. Diodorus, observes on this subject : " This unparalleled country could never have con- tinued throughout ages in such a flourishing condition if it had not enjoyed the best laws and customs, and if the people had not been guided by the most salutary regulations." When a sovereign, having been educated in the military class, was ignorant of the mysteries of his religion, due care was taken, on his accession to the throne, to have him informed therein, and to enrol him in the college of the priests. He was instructed in all that related to the gods, the temple, the laws of the country, and the duties of a monarch. In order to preserve his dignity, and his morality, it was care- fully provided that neither slave nor hired servant should hold any office about his person, but that the chiidreaof the priestly order, who were remarkable for a refined education, should alone be permitted to attend him. This measure was dictated by the persuasion that no monarch gives way to the impulse of evil passions, unless he finds those about him ready to serve as instruments to his caprices, and abettors of his excesses. This, it may be mentioned, agrees very well with the sculptures, which represent priests as pages and [cin bearers, Diodorus says, that the king's sons also held such offices. Reynier indeed, questions whether slavery existed at all in Egypt previous to the period when its ancient institutions became in a great degree changed. His doubts arise from the difficulty of reconciling the existence of slaves with the organization of the Egyptians under their theocracy. But that they did possess slaves at the earliest period, we learn from Scripture. The king of Egypt gave male and female slaves to Abraham, Gen. xii. 16 ; and Joseph, the beloved son of good old Israel, was snld as a slave "unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharoah's, and captain of the guard," Gen. xxxvii. 36. This latter fact is met by the author named, by an observation, that the domination of the shepherd kings must have operated in modifying the peculiar usages of the Egyp- tians. Among the Efrvptian laws, however, as cited by Dio- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 63 dorus, there is one that inflicts the punishment of death on a person who kills his slave, and another that denounces a severe punishment against one who violates a free woman, which proves there were some not free. The former of these laws is illustrated by the conduct which Potiphar pursued towards his slave Joseph. On the report of his mistress, Potiphar believed his slave had dealt most perfidiously and ungratefully towards him, acting in a way calculated to pro- voke indignation and summary punishment; but he commit- ted no violence upon him ; he respected the laws of his coun- try, and sent him to the royal prison, apparently intending that, after trial and conviction, he should receive the punish' ment adjudged by the laws to his offence. See Gen. xxxix. 13—20. The first slaves were, doubtless, prisoners taken in war, who became the property of the captors. Afterwards, these prisoners were sold to others who might require servants ; and, eventually, any persons offered for sale were bought solely as a trading speculation, as we see in the case of Joseph, and as they are to this day in that country. The captives brought to Egypt were employed in the service of the mon- arch, in building temples, cutting canals, raising dykes and embankments, and other public works, as in the days of Sesostris ; and some, who were purchased by the grandees, were employed in the same capacity as the Memlooks of the present. Women slaves were also engaged in the service of families, like the Greeks and Circassians in Modern Egypt, and other parts of the Turkish empire ; and, from finding them represented in the sculptures of Thebes, accompanying men of their own nation, who bear tribute to the Egyptian monarch, we may conclude that a certain number were annually sent to Egypt from the conquered provinces of the north and east, as well as from Ethiopia. It is evident that both white and black slaves were employed as servants. They attended on the guests when invited to the house of their master ; and, from their being in the families of priests as well as of the military chiefs, we may infer that they were purchased with money, and that the right of possessing slaves was not confined to those who had taken them in war. The traffic in slaves was tolerated ; and it is reasonable to suppose that many persons were engaged, as at present, in bringing them to Egypt for public sale, independent of those who were sent as part of the tribute, and who were probably at first the property of the monarch. 64 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. The kings of Egypt freely permitted not only the quality and proportion of what they ate and drank to be prescribed them, but that all their hours, and almost every action, should be under the regulation of the laws. In the morning at day- break, when the head is clearest, and the thoughts un per- plexed, they read the several letters they had received, thereby forming a distinct idea of the affairs which would fall under their consideration during the day. As soon as they were dressed they went to the daily sacrifice performed in the tem- ple ; where, surrounded by their whole court, and the victims placed before the altar, they assisted at the prayer pronounced aloud by the high priest, in which he asked of the gods health and all other blessings for the king, because he governed his people with clemency and justice, and made the laws of his kingdom the rule and standard of his actions. The high priest then entered into a long detail of his royal virtues, observing, that a king was religious to the gods, affable to men, moderate, just, magnanimous, sincere, an enemy to falsehood, liberal, master of his passions, punishing crimes with the utmost lenity, but boundless in rewarding merit. He next mentioned the faults of which kings might be guilty, but supposed, at the same time, that they never committed any, except by surprise or ignorance ; and they loaded such of their ministers, as gave them ill counsel, and suppressed or disguised the truth, with imprecations. After the prayers and sacrifices were ended, the counsels and actions of great men were read to the king out of the sacred books, in order that the king might govern his dominions according to their maxims, and maintain the laws which had made his prede- cessors and their subjects happy. The paramount function of kings is the administration of justice to their subjects. Accordingly, the kings of Egypt diligently cultivated this duty, convinced that on this depended both the comfort of individuals and the happiness of the state. To assist them in the administration of justice they selected thirty judges out of the principal cities, as will be seen in a future page. Great respect was paid in Egypt to the monarch. They were honoured, indeed, whilst living, as so many visible representations of the Deity ; and, after their death, lamented for as the fathers of their country. These sentiments «f respect and tenderness proceeded from a strong persuasion that the Divinity himself had placed them upon the throne, as he distinguished them so greatly from all other human HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 65 beings ; and that kings bore the most noble characteristics of the Supreme Being, as the power and will of doing good to others were united in their persons. It was the blind adora- tion they paid to their monarchs, which led them to believe that after death their spirits passed into, and became the ani- mating principle of some heavenly body, and consequently they became the object of their worship. Thus Thoth (2nd) or Hermes Trismegistus, the thirty-fifth king of Thebes, is said to have been deified, because he was the reviver and second founder of the theology, laws, and social institutions of the Egyptians, all of which he brought into that system which has been regarded with wonder in every subsequent age. On the death of every Egyptian king, a general mourning was instituted throughout all Egypt for seventy-two days; hymns commemorating his virtues were sung ; the temples were closed ; sacrifices were no longer offered ; and no feasts or festivals were celebrated during that period. The people tore their garments, and covering their heads with dust and mud, formed a procession of two or three hundred persons of both sexes, who met publicly twice a day, to sing the funeral dirge. A general fast was also observed, and they neither allowed themselves to taste meat or wheat bread, and abstained from wine and every luxury. In the mean time, the funeral was prepared, and on the last day the body was placed in state within the vestibule of the tomb, and an account was given of the life and conduct of the deceased. It was permitted to any present to offer himself as an accuser, and the voice of a peo- ple might prevent a sovereign from receiving funeral honours. This was an ordeal, the dread of which would, doubtless, tend to stimulate the Egyptian monarchs to the practice of their duty ; for there is planted in the human breast, in all ages, and in all countries of the world, an ardent desire that a last tribute of respect should be paid to frail humanity. CASTES OF THE PEOPLE. The division of Egyptian society into separate classes, or castes has been noticed by many ancient writers. Hero- dotus says, they were divided into seven tribes, — priests, soldiers, herdsmen, swineherds, shopkeepers, interpreters, and boatmen. Diodorus states, that like the Athenians (who, being an Egyptian colony, derived this institution from the parent country,) they were distributed into three 6* 66 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. classes, the priests, husbandmen, from whom the soldiers were levied, and the artizans, who were employed in handicraft, and other similar occupations, and in common offices, among the people. This author, however, ia another page, extends the number of castes to five, reckoning the pastors, husband- men, and artificers, independently of the soldiers and priests. Strabo limits them to three, the priests, soldiers, and husband- men ; and Plato divides them into six bodies, — the priests, soldiers, artificers, huntsmen,* husbandmen, and shepherds ; each peculiar art, or occupation, he observes, being confined to a certain subdivision of the caste, and every one engaged in his own branch, without interfering with the occupation of another, as in India and China, where the same trade or employment is followed in succession by father and son. From these statements it will be perceived, that the exact number of classes into which the Egyptians were divided is uncertain : the most probable inference we can draw from them is, that there were five distinct castes in Egypt, with certain subdivisions. The Priestly Power. The priesthood formed the second, and the ruling power in Egypt. The authority and paramount influence, indeed, of the priestly order were such as to render the Egyptian government rather ecclesiastical than monarchical. We have seen that when a king was elected, who was not previously of the sacerdotal caste, he was adopted into that caste, and instructed in its mysteries and science. This may explain the union of Joseph with Asenath, the daughter of the " priest of On." The desire of the priesthood to concentrate all power into their own body, may have induced them to wish that Joseph should be connected with them ; or, the king may have desired it to establish him in his position, by securing him the support and countenance of the priestly order in his undertakings, without which all his plans must have proved abortive, though dictated by ever so much wis- dom. The priests of Egypt possessed great privileges and reve- * This class appears to have comprehended those who sought the young of gazelles, and other wild animals of the desert, and those who, as fow- lers, sought for birds in a wild state, which they caught in large clap-nets. It is supposed that, like a similar class of persons in India, as described by Mcgasthcncs, they led a wanderuig life, dwelling in tents. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 67 nues. See Gen. xlvii. 22, 26. The prince usually honoured them with a large share of his confidence, because they were better educated than any other caste, and were most strongly attached to the person of the king, and the good of the public. In the priesthood, not only must the son of a priest be a priest, but he must be a priest to the particular deity to whom his father had ministered. The priests were dispersed in parties in the several districts, where they constituted the governing- body : but the large cities which had at different times been the capitals of Egypt, and where their great temples were found, formed their principal seats. Every priest was attached to some temple or other, and every temple had its chief priest whose office was hereditary. In the principal cities, the high priests were, to a certain extent, hereditary princes, who ranked next the kings, and enjoyed nearly equal advantages. Such a person was Potipherah, " priest of On." Heeren concludes, that the organization of the inferior priest- hood was different in different cities, according to the extent and wants of the locality. On the position they held in the state, this author says, that they did not constitute the ruling race merely because from them were chosen the servants of the state, but much rather because they monopolized every branch of scien- tific knowledge, which was entirely formed by the locality, and had immediate reference to the wants of the people. Their sole, or even their most usual employment, was not the service of the gods ; they were judges, physicians, soothsayers, architects ; in short, every thing in which any species of scientific knowledge was concerned. Annexed to each tem- ple and settlement of priests were extensive estates, which were farmed out at moderate rents. The produce of these lands supplied a common fund, which furnished provisions for the priests and their families, thereby rendering it unne- cessary, as Herodotus observes, for them to contribute any thing from their own private resources towards their support ; from which we discover, that they had private property and estates exclusive of their common lands. The priests had possession of the sacred books, which con- tained the principles of government, as well as the mysteries of divine worship, and which, like their temples, were not Dpen to the vulgar. These were both commonly involved in symbols and enigmas, which made truth more venerable, and excited more strongly the curiosity of the multitude. The figure of Harpocrates, in the Egyptian sanctuaries, with his finger upon his mouth, seemed to intimate that mysteries were 68 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. there enclosed. A% much may be said of the sphinxes placed at the entrance of every temple ; and it is well known, that the pyramids, obelisks, pillars, statues, etc., were usually adorned with hieroglyphics, or symbolical writings, under which was couched a hidden and parabolical meaning. It is stated by Porphyry and Clemens Alexandrinus, that the writing of the Egyptian priests was of four kinds. The first, HIEROGLYPHIC and this twofold ; the more rude called curiolo- gic, and the more artificial called tropical : the second sym- bolic, and this likewise was twofold ; the simple and the mys- terious, that tropical, this allegorical. These two kinds of writing were not composed of the letters of an alphabet, but of characters which stood for things not words. Thus, to signify the sun, they sometimes painted a hawk ; this was tropical : sometimes a scarabseus with a round ball in its claws ; this was enigmatical. The third form of writing was called EPiSTOLic, from its being first applied to civil matters ; and the fourth, hierogrammatic, from its being used only in religious matters. These last two kinds of writing expressed words, and were formed by the letters of an alphabet: thus, Y. K., in the Egyptian tongue, signifying a serpent ; and a serpent, in their hieroglyphics, denoting a king; Y. K., as stated by Manetho, signified the same in the sacred dialect. One of the principles in the religious policy of Egypt, was, that the government of the world had, by the Supreme Ruler of the universe, been committed to subordinate local, tutelary deities, amongst whom the several regions of the earth were divided ; that these were the proper objects of all public and popular religion ; and that the knowledge of the one true God, the Creator of all things, was highly dangerous to be communicated to the people, but Avas to be secreted, and shut up in their mysteries, and in them to be revealed only oc- casionally, and to a few ; and those few the wise, the learned, and the mighty among mankind. Another fundamental maxim in the religious policy of Egypt was, to propagate, by every means, the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, as the necessary support of all religion and government. Thus their tenets were dictated by worldly wisdom, for the support only of the state. How unlike such are the pure doctrines of the gos- pel ! While they form a broad security for good order in a state, they teach mankind the knowledge of the one true God, and the way of salvation through a crucified Redeemer. Diodorus observes, on the education of the Egyptians : — HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 69 " The children of the priests are taught !wo diiFerent kinds of writing, what is called the sacred, and the more general ; and they pay great attention to geometry and arithmetic : for the river, changing the appearance of the country very ma- terially every year, is the cause of many and various discus- sions among neighbouring proprietors about the extent of their property ; and it would be difiicult for any person to decide upon their claims without geometrical reasoning, founded on actual observation.* " Of arithmetic they have also frequent need, both in their domestic economy, and in the application of geometrical theorems, besides its utility in the cultivation of astronomical studies ; for the orders and motions of the stars are observed at least as industriously by the Egyptians as any people whatever, and they keep records of the motions of each for an incredible number of years, the study of this science hav- ing been, from the remotest times, an object of national am- bition with them. They have also most punctually observed the motions, periods, and stations of the planets, as well as the powers which they possess with respect to the nativities of animals, and what good or evil influences they exert ; and they frequently foretell what is to happen to a man through- out his life, and not uncommonly predict the failure of crops, or an abundance, and the occurrences of epidemic diseases among men and beasts ; foreseeing also earthquakes and floods, the appearance of comets, and a variety of other things, which appear impossible to the multitude.! It is said that the Chaldeans in Babylon are derived from an Egyptian * According to some authors, Sesostris was the first who divided Egypt by a measure amongst his subjects, and thus gave a beginning to the sci- ence of geometry. Sir Isaac Newton ascribes the origin of this science to Moeris, the fifth from Sesostris, confounding Sesostris with Osiris. But it is evident fi-om Scripture, that an exact division of private landed property existed in Egypt before the days of Joseph, whose wise admin- istration commenced ao-es anterior to the period assicrned by Newton. See Gen. xlvu. 20—26. t The false science of astrology was created by the priests of Egypt, for the sake of establishing and preserving their power. Induced by the illusion of his senses to regard himself as the centre of the universe, man was easily persuaded that his destiny was influenced by the heavenly bodies, and that it was possible to' foretell it by observing their aspect at his birth. This illusive notion kept its ground till the end of the seven- teenth century, when knowledge genersdly diffused the true system of the world over Europe, and destroyed the imposing fabric of astrology, dis- persing its reveries and follies, as the beams of the sun disperse the morning mists. 70 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. colony, and have acquired their reputation for astrology by means of the information obtained from the priests in Egypt. " But the generality of the common people learn only from their parents or relations that which is required for the exercise of their pecuHar professions, as we have already shown ; a few only being taught any thing of literature, and those principally the better classes of artificers." In their minute observations respecting events of conse- quence, Herodotus observes, that the Egyptians excelled all other people ; and when any thing occurs, they put it doAvn , in writing, and pay particular attention to the circumstances which follow it ; and if, in process of time, any similar oc- currence takes place, they conclude it will be attended with the same results. But, if the priests were anxious to establish a character for learning and piety, they were equally solicitous to excel in propriety of conduct, and to exhibit a proper example of hu- mility and self-denial. In their mode of living, they were remarkable for simplicity and abstinence ; committing no ex- cesses either in eating or drinking. Their food was plain, and they ate a stated quantity ; their wine, also, was used Avith the strictest regard to moderation. So fearful were they, indeed, lest the body should not '■'■ sit light upon the soul," and excess should increase " the corporeal man," that they paid a scrupulous attention to the most trifling particu- lars of diet. Similar precautions were extended to the dei- fied animals ; Plutarch says that Apis was not allowed to drink the Avater of the Nile, on account of its fattening pro- perties. Their scruples were not confined to the quantity, but they extended to the quality of their food ; certain viands were alone allowed to be set before them. Above all meats, that of swine was most obnoxious ; and fish, both of the sea and the river Nile, was denied to them, though so generally eaten by the Egyptians. On the 9tli of the month Thoth, when a religious ceremony obliged the inhabitants at large to eat a fried fish before the door of their houses, the priests were exempted from the custom, and allowed to substitute the ceremony of burning theirs at the same time. In general they abstained from most sorts of pulse, and from mutton. In their more solemn purifications, salt was excluded from their meals. Some vegetables, however, were considered lawful food, and were prefeired by them for their wholesome nature. The leguminous productions and fruits of Egj'pt HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 71 are, indeed, frequently introduced into their sculptures ; and Pliny and other authors speak of such as being abundant, and possessing the most excellent qualities. The priests of Egypt were equally severe in their ablu- tions as'in their diet, maintaining the strictest observance of numerous religious customs connected with the act. They bathed tAvice a day, and twice during the night. Some who pretended to a more rigid observance of religious duties, washed themselves with water which had been tasted by the ibis, supposing that this was an evidence of its purity. They also shaved the head and the whole body every third day, sparing no pains to promote cleanliness, without indulging in the luxuries of a bath. A grand ceremony of purifica- tion took place preparatory to their fasts, many of which lasted from seven to forty-two days, and sometimes even a longer period. During this period, they practised rigid ab- stinence as to food, and were careful to avoid the indulgence of the passions. The self-denial of the priests extended even to their dress, that being commonly of the most simple kind. Their robes of ceremony, however, were grand and imposing, and each grade was distinguished by its peculiar costume. It is stated by Herodotus, that women v/ere not eligible to vhe priesthood, either of a male or female deity, and that men alone were admitted to this post. This remark, however, evi- dently applies to the office of pontiff, or at least to some of the higher sacerdotal orders, from his referring in another place to women devoted to the service of Amun, as well as from the testimony of other authorities. There appear, in- deed, to have been priestesses of the gods, and of the kings and queens, each of whom bore a title indicating her pecu- liar office. Of the former, the Pellices, or Pailacides, of Amun, are the most remarkable, as the importance of their post abundantly proves. They are the same whom Herodo- tus mentions as consecrated to the Theban Jove, whose sepul- chres are still seen at Thebes, in a valley 3,000 feet behind the ruins of Medeenet Haboo. There was another class of priestesses of the same rank, apparently a subdivision of the same, who fulfilled certain duties entrusted only to the Avives and daughters of priests, and not unusually to members of the same family as the Pailacides. These had also the privi- lege of holding the sacred sistra in religious ceremonies, be- fore the altar, and were attached to the service of the same deity. 72 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. In the Rosetta stone, direct mention is made of the priest- esses of the queens. It speaks of " Areia, the daughter of Diogenes, being priestess of Arsinoe, the daughter of Phila- delphus : and Eirene, the daughter of Ptolemy, priestess of Arsinoe, the daughter of Philopator : and Pyrrha, the daugh- ter of Philinus, being canefora, or 'basket-bearer' of Be- renice, the daughter of Euergetes." Diodorus also asserts, that Athyrtis, the daughter of Sesostris, was priestess to her father, and that she foretold to him the future success of his arms, by which he was stimulated to prosecute his designs of conquest. The Military Power. The caste which ranked next to the sacerdotal caste in Egypt, was the military. The first mention of an organized military force in Egypt occurs, Exod. xiv. xv., where we find that Pharaoh assembled very quickly a large army, both of cavalry and infantry, to pursue the Hebrews ; and that this army perished in " the mighty waters" of the Red Sea. The alacrity with which these were collected together, shows that a large force was constantly maintained, ready to march on any emergency. This warhke force consisted, indeed, of a numerous militia, which formed a caste by itself, whose occupation was hereditary, and which enjoyed great authority and high privileges. Tnis militia was divided into two bo dies, namely, the Hermtoybies, and the Calasiries, the formei of which consisted, at the date of their highest power, of 160,000, and the latter of 250,000 men. Herodotus relates, that they had for their subsistence certain nomes or provin- ces.* This property was, in general, let out to farmers, like that of the kings and priests, who paid them a certain rent. No soldier received pay, but every man had an estate of about twelve acres, exempt from every charge, which he might cul- tivate if he thought proper ; beyond this they were not al- lowed to engage in any other occupation than that of arms. Each of these great military divisions furnished a thousand men to compose the king's personal guard. These men Avere changed every year, and during their service, Hero- ♦ The Hermotybies lived in the provinces of Eusiris, Sais, Chemnis, Papremis, and the Isle of Prosopitis, and half of Natho : the Calasiries inhabited those of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebenytus_ Athribis, Pharbaethis, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anysis, and the Isle of Myec- phoris. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 7? dotwf fays, they were supplied with good rations of bread, meat, and wine, in addition to their own common revenues. Very little is known concerning the internal organization, the tactics, and discipline of the Egyptian army. It would appear that the king held the privilege of commanding that army ; that the right was the post of honour ; and that those soldiers who quitted their post, or were disobedient, were marked with infamy, but were enabled by good conduct to regain the position they had forfeited. They were divided into regiments, or battalions, each having its standard with a peculiar emblem raised on a pike, and carried by an officer. Their arms were the bow, shield, sword, battle-axe, knife or dagger, spear, club, and sling. Their besieging engines were the battering-ram, the testudo, and the scaling-ladder. They had military music, consisting of a kind of drum, cym- bals, pipe, trumpet, and other instruments. They were pre- pared for the fatigues of war by gymnastic exercises, such as wrestling, cudgelling, racing, sporting, and other games, of which, representations still exist on the monuments. Some authors assert, that Egypt was first furnished with cavalry after Sesostris had conquered Libya. But this directly opposes the testimony of Scripture, from which source we learn that the Egyptians abounded in horses, and possessed numerous chariots, at the time of the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, which was several ages anterior to this event. We know, indeed, from Gen. 1. 9, that the art of riding on horseback was known in Egypt in the days of the patriarch Jacob ; and profane historians represent this art as an Egyp- tian invention, ascribing it either to Osiris himself, or to his son Orus, which intimates that they considered it to be of great antiquity. It seems to have been an object of ambition with the kings of Egjrp. to keep a great number of horses ; for Diodorus mentions that some princes before Sesostris had a hundred stables, each for two hundred horses, on the banks of the Nile, between Thebes and Memphis : and . we learn from Scripture, that the Hebrew kings obtained their horses, and also their chariots, from Egypt. That great attention was paid in that country to the breed of horses, and that the Egyp- tians possessed a valuable breed, appears evident from their being prized in other countries, as well as from their paint- ings ; and that horses were exclusively used for both war and luxury, is confirmed by the testimony of their paintings, and the writings of ancient historians. But notwithstanding this warlike show, the Egyptians were VOL. I. . 7 74 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. not a warlike people. Egpyt loved peace, because it loved justice, and maintained soldiers only for its own security, its inhabitants, content with a country which abounded in all things, had, generally speaking, no ambitious dreams of con- quest. Their kings extended their reputation by sending colonies into all parts of the world, and with them, laws and politeness. They triumphed by the wisdom of their counsels, and the superiority of their knowledge ; and this empire of the mind was more noble and glorious to them, than that which is achieved by deeds of arms. Nevertheless, Egypt has given birth to a few, who, not satisfied with their own. possessions, carried Avar and desolation into that of others, as we shall see in the section of this history which describes the kingdom of Egypt. Husbandmen. A third caste among the Egyptians was the husbandmen. Agriculture has been highly esteemed in that country in all ages of the world : from the earliest recorded period, indeed, Egypt was the granary of the surrounding nations. See Gen. xli. 5, 57. It is supposed by some, as before mentioned, to have been the original country of bread corn, and it is certain that wheat is first mentioned in connexion with that country. It is no wonder, therefore, that husbandmen were highly esteemed in Egpyt, and that they formed an important class in the state. The great perfection to which they had arrived, in the earliest ages, in the art of agriculture, is attested by their sculptures. From them we learn that they made use of the plough, the sickle, and other implements of husbandry, answering, in some degree, to those employed among our own husbandmen ; and that the culture of the vine, which evinces a high state of agricultural knowledge, Avas among the Egyptians an early object of regard. To this fact Scripture alludes, Gen. xl. 9, 1 1 ; and ancient writers affirm, that the Egyptians claimed for Osiris the honour of being the first who cultivated the vine, and extracted wine from its fruit. Athenceus, Strabo, Pliny, and Clement of Alexandria, specify districts where the vine Avas culti\'ated. Their vintage scenes, which still exist in the subterraneous temples, and sepulchral caverns of that country, exhibit the Egyptians treading the grapes Avith their feet, and depositing the expressed juice in jars buried nearly to their mouths in the ground. This. Avith the othor principal products ol HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 7£ Egypt, described in the physical history of Egj'-pt, tends to show how skilful the husbandmen of Egypt were in the art of agriculture. In confirmation of this fact, we may mention, moreover, that they had various breeds of large cattle, sheep, goats, pigs ; and that they reared a quantity of poultry, chiefly by artificial means, the eggs being hatched in ovens. Diodorus states, that the husbandmen were hired to till the estates of the kings, priests, and soldiers. This is confirmed by the Scripture account of the cession of all the landed pro- perty to the government on the occasion of the famine : hence we may conclude, that the husbandman had no rights in the soil, the richer peasants farming the land from the proprietor, wliile the poor were hired as labourers for the cultivation of the ground. The wages paid them were trifling, whence some infer that the farmer received the land on moderate terms. The cattle, in general, appears also to have belonged to the land-owner ; but those employed in the plough, and for other agricultural purposes, were usually the property of the farmer. In extensive domains, the peasants appear sometimes to have acted as superintendents of the herdsmen, and to have been obliged to give an account to the steward of the number and condition of the cattle on the estate. From the testimony of Diodorus, it is evident that the farmers were not only permitted to choose the grain they intended to cultivate, but were justly deemed the only persons of sufficient experience to form a judicious opinion upon the subject ; and so skilful were they, says this historian, about these matters, that they far excelled the agriculturists of every other nation. They carefully considered the nature of the soil, the proper succession of crops, and the mode of tilling and irrigating the fields ; and by constant observation, and the lessons received from their parents, were acquainted with the exact season for sowing and reaping, and with all the peculiarities of each species of grain. Gardeners were em- ployed by the wealthy in cultivating trees and flowers in the grounds attached to their houses ; and the vineyard, orchard, and tanks, which served as ornaments, as Avell as for the pur- poses of irrigation, were under their superintendence. The peasants appear to have been divided into hundreds, each with a peculiar banner, which they followed when they presented themselves before the magistrate for the census, which is supposed to have originated in that country, and which was taken at stated periods. On these occasion, they were obliged to give an account of their conduct ; and if they 76 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. were found delinquent, they were punished with the stick their common mode of punishment, as it is at the present day in Persia and China. In this caste, some authors place the huntsmen as another subdivision, and the boatmen as another ; who, like others that composed the subdivisions of each caste, were of different grades. Thus, some belonged to the private sailing or pleasure boats of the grandees, others to those of burden ; and the rank of each depended on the station he held. The office of steersman seems to have been the most important, and to have ranked above all the other grades ; but, probably, in war, the pilots of ships bore the highest station. Artificers^ etc. A fourth caste among the Egyptians was the artificers and tradesmen, and public weighers, etc., who resided in the towns. That the Egyptians excelled in science and art is evident from their monuments, paintings, and sculptures, whereon they are depicted. It is also proved by Scripture, which speaks of the " wisdom of Egypt " Avith reference to art ; and by the fact that Egypt was deemed by other nations the fountain of arts and sciences, and that their philosophers were wont to resort thither to collect some of the " droppings of Egyptian wisdom." There is a passage in the work of Agatharchides on the Red Sea, [see page 1 1,] which describes their manner of working gold mines, and smelting the metal. The Egyptians were also acquainted with the art of gilding, and the art of fabricating glass was early known among them. A kind of ancient por<'elain sometimes covered with enamel and varnish, is found in considerable quantities in that country. Their pottery, as exhibited in their ancient sculptures, was often of the most elegant form, and much of their furniture is not surpassed by the most refined manufactures of the present day. Specimens of their chairs and couches, which are given in Rosellini's great work are very beautiful in their forms. Linen cloths, plain or embroidered, white or dyed, wa* an article of Egyptian manufacture held in high repute among foreign nations. See Ezek. xxvii. 7. The art of making leather was known to them : their musical instru- ments, also, especially the harp, were early brought to great perfection. According to Diodorus, all trades vied with each other ir improving their own particular branrh, no pains being spared HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 77 to bring it to perfection. To promote this object more effectually, it was enacted that no artisan should follow any- other trade or employment but that which had been defined by law, and followed by his ancestors. No tradesman was permitted to meddle with political affairs, or to hold any civil office in the state, lest his thoughts should be distracted by the inconsistency of his pursuits, or by the jealousy and dis- pleasure of the master in whose service he was employed. They foresaw that without such a law constant interruptions would take place, in consequence of the necessity or the desire of becoming conspicuous in a public station ; that their proper occupations would be neglected, and that many would be led by vanity and self-sufficiency to interfere in matters Avhich were out of their sphere. They considered, moreover, that to follow more than one occupation would be detrimental to their own interests, and to those of the community at large ; and that, when men, from a motive of avarice, engage in numerous branches of art, the general result is, that they are unable to excel in any If any artisan meddled with political affairs, or engaged in any other employment than the one to which he had^ been brought up, a severe punishment was immediately inflicted upon him. Shepherds^ etc. The last class Or caste among the Egyptians included pas- tors, or herdsmen, poulterers, fishermen, labourers, servants, and common people. The former of these appear to have been held in peculiar contempt among them : hence it is not surprising that Pharaoh should have treated the Jews with that contempt which it was customary fox every Egyptian to feel towards shepherds, or that Joseph should have warned his brethren, on their arrival in Egypt, that every shepherd Avas an abomination in their sight. Herodotus tells us, that the swineherds, in particular, were not permitted to enter the Egyptian temples, nor would any man give them his daughter in marriage. In the Mendesian nome, hoAvever, according to this author, goatherds were much honoured. How much all orders of shepherds were in general despised, is proved by their sculptures, both of Upper and Lower Egypt, whereon they are universally represented as dirty and unshaven ; and at Beni-Hassan and the tombs near the pyramids of Geezeh they are carricatured as a deformed and unsightly race. 78 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. LAWS. We learn from Herodotus that the kings of Egypt pos- sessed the right of enacting laws, and of managing all the affairs of religion and state. We are acquainted, however, with very few of the laws of the ancient Egyptians ; but the superiority of their legislature has been acknowledged in all ages as the cause of the duration of their empire — an empire which lasted with a uniform succession of hereditary sove- reigns, and with the same form of government, for a much longer period than, perhaps, any other ancient state. ,. Besides the right of enacting laws, the kings administered justice to their people on those subjects which came under their unmediate cognizance, in which they were assisted by the most able and distinguished members of the priestly ^ order. These, were, indeed, consulted upon all questions of importance relating to the internal administration of the country. Thus, previous to the admission of Joseph to the confidence of Pharaoh, they were asked, " Can we find such a one as this is ?" Gen. xli. 38 ; and the prophet Isaiah speaks of "the wise counsellors of Pharaoh," Isa. xix. 11. The edicts of the Egyptian monarchs appear to have been issued in the form of a firman^ or Avritten order, as in all oriental countries. These edicts appear sometimes to have been issued by delegates. Thus, after Pharaoh had set Jo- seph " over all the land of Egypt," it is said, " And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand," Gen. xli. 42 ; which, Vossius says, was given both in token of the dignity to which he preferred Joseph, and that he might seal letters and patents in the king's name. Causes of ordinary occurrence were decided by those who held the office of judges, thirty of whom were selected out of the principal cities to form a body for the distribution of justice throughout the kingdom. These were elected by the king, and they were chosen for their known honesty ; and over them was placed one, distinguished for his knowledge and love of the laws, and had in universal esteem, with the title of arch-judge. These judges had revenues assigned them, to the intent, that being freed from domestic cares, they might devote their time to the execution of the laws. Thus maintained by the king's generosity, they administered to the people, gratuitously, that justice to which they have a natural right, and which ought to be open alike to the rich and the poor. HiSTOKY OF THE EGYPTIANSi 79 To guard against surprise, affairs were transacted by wri- ting in the assemblies of these judges. That eloquence was justly dreaded which dazzles the mind, and moves the pas- sions. Truth could not be expressed with too much plain- ness, as that alone was to have the sway in judgments, and because, in that alone, the rich and the poor, the powerful and weak, the learned and the ignorant, were to find relief and security. The two leading principles of the duty of these judges were, first, that those who had been wronged should be bene- fitted by the interposition of the laws : and, secondly, that no favour or respect of persons should be permitted. The very spirit of their laws was, indeed, to give protection and as- sistance to the oppressed ; every thing that tended to promote an unbiassed judgment was peculiarly commended by the Egyptian sages. The president of these judges wore a collar of gold, set with precious stones, on which hung a figure represented as blind, this being called the emblem of Truth. This was a representation of the goddess who was worshipped under the double character of Truth and Justice, and whose name, Thmeij is supposed by some to resemble the Hebrew Thum- mim, a word, according to the Septuagint translation, imply- ing truth, Exod. xxviii. 30, and bearing a further analogy in its plural termination. When the president put this collar on, it was understood as a signal to enter upon business. He touched the party with it who was to gain the cause, which was the form of passing sentence. But it must not be supposed that the president and thirty judges, here described, were the only house of judicature in Egypt. ' Each capital of a nome, it is probable, had its own court for the trial of minor and local offences ; and it is pos- sible that this assembly resided wherever the royal court was held, and performed many of the same duties as the senates of other ancient states. Diodorus, indeed, mentions the thirty judges and their president, represented at Thebes in the sculptures of the tomb of Osymandas. The laws of the Egyptians had the credit of having been dictated by the gods themselves ; and Thoth, (Hermes, or Mercury,) was said to have framed them for the benefit of mankind. Those which are handed down to us by Diodo- rus, and other ancient writers, are briefly these : — Wilful Murder. — The wilful murder of a freeman or slave was punished with death ; from the conviction that men §0 lllSTURVr OF THE EGYPTIANS, ought to be restrained from the commission of sin, not on account of any distinction of station in life, but from the light in which they viewed the crime itself So heinous did the Egyptians consider this crime to be, that to be the acci- dental witness of an attempt to murder, without endeavouring to prevent it, was a capital offence, which could only be pal- liated by bringing proofs of inability to act. With the same spirit they decided, that to be present when any one in- fected a personal injury on another without interfering, was tantamount to being a party, and he was punishable ac- cording to the extent of the assault. But, though the laws were thus inexorable towards the murderer; the royal prerogative might be exerted in favour of the culprit, and the punishment was sometimes commu- ted by the king. Herodotus says, indeed, that Sabaco, dur- ing his reign, "made it a rule not to punish his subjects with death," whether guilty of murder or any other crime ; but, " according to the magnitude of their crimes, he con- demned the culprits to raise the ground about the town to which they belonged, to preserve it from the Nile's inunda- tions." Infanticide. — Unlike the Greeks and Romans among Avhom fathers had the right of life and death over their offspring, the Egyptians justly deemed the murder of a child an odi- ous crime that called for the direct interposition of the laws. They did not, however, punish it as a capital offence, deem- ing it inconsistent to take away life from one who had given it to the child, but preferred inflicting such a punishment as would induce grief and repentance. To this end, the corpse of the deceased infant was fastened to the neck of its parent, and he was obliged to pass three whole days and nights in its embrace, under the surveillance of a public guard. Parricide. — This crime was visited with the most cruel punishment. Conceiving that the murder of a parent was the most unnatural of all crimes, they endeavoured to pre- vent its occurrence by marked severity. The criminal was sentenced to be lacerated Avith sharpened reeds, and after be- ing thrown on thorns, he was burned to death. Perjury. — Truth, or justice, was considered to be the car- dinal virtue among the Egyptians, inasmuch as it relates to others ; whereas, prudence, temperance, and fortitude being relative qualities, benefit only the individual who possesses them. Hence it was, that truth was earnestly inculcated among them, and any departure from it was not only con HISTOKY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 81 sidered disgraceful, but when it entailed an injury on another person, was punishable by law. Those who spoke evil of the dead were visited with a severe punishment ; and the false accuser was doomed to undergo the punishment Avhich the person accused would have suffered had the accusation been proved. To maintain a falsehood by an oath was deemed the blackest crime, because it attacked both the gods, whose majesty is trampled upon by invoking their name to a false oath, and men, by breaking the strongest ties of human society, namely, sincerity and veracity. The crime was uni- formly punished with death. Thefi. — A singular custom prevailed in Egypt respecting theft and burglary. Those who followed the profession of a thief, gave in their names to the chief of the robbers, and agreed that he should be informed of every thing they might thenceforward purloin. The owner of the lost goods always applied by letter to the chief for their recovery, and having stated their quality, etc., when the goods were identified, they were restored to the applicant on payment of one-quarter of their value. The license given by the government to thieves arose from the persuasion that an entire check to robbeiy was impracticable, either by the dread of punishment or by any method that could be adopted by the most vigilant police ; hence, they considered it more for the advantage of the com- munity that a certain sacrifice should be made in order to se- cure the restitution of the remainder, than that the law, by taking on itself to protect the citizen and discover the ollender, should be in the indirect cause of greater loss. Debt. — The laws of the Egyptians respecting debt under- went great changes, according as society advxinced, and as pecuniary transactions became more complicated. In the reign of Bocchoris, about 812 b» c, the law of debt gave rise to many disputes and much oppression. To pre ven tthis, Boccho- ris enacted, that no agreement should be binding unless it was acknowledged by a written contract ; and if any one took an oath that the money had not been lent him, no debt should be recognised, and the claims of the suing party should imme- diately cease. This principle was acted upon, in order that great regard might be preserved for the name and nature of an oath ; whib, at the same time, by substituting the proof of a written document, they avoided the necessity of having frequent recourse to an oath, thereby preserving its sanctity. In all cases usury was condemned by the Egyptian legisla- ture ; and when money was borrowed, even v.'ith a written 82 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. agreement, it was forbidden to allow the interest to increase to more than double the original sum. Creditors could not seize the debtor's person : their claims were confined to the goods in his possession, and such as were really his own, and which were comprehended under the produce of his la- bour, or goods received from another individual to Avhom they lawfully belonged. This law was borrowed from the Egyp- tian code by Solon ; and it Avas, as Diodorus remarks, much more consistent with justice and common sense than that which allowed the creditor to seize the person, while it for- bade him to take his property. To prevent the accumulation of debt, and to protect the in- terests of the creditor, a remarkable law was enacted, ac- cording to Herodotus, by Asychis, who lived about the same time as Bocchoris. By this law it was pronounced illegal for any one to borrow money without pawning to the credi- tor the dead body of his father, which every Egyptian em- balmed Avith care, and reverentially preserved in his OAvn house, and therefore it might be easily moved from one place to another. It was deemed impious not to redeem so sacred a pledge, and he who died without having discharged tliis duty, was deprived of the customary honours paid to the dead ; nor could he inter his children, or any of his family, as long as the debt remained unpaid ; the creditor being in actual possession of the debtor's family tomb. The cause which gave rise to this severe enactment ap- pears to have been luxury. At an early age, a fondness for display, and the usual allurements of luxury, were introduced into Egypt among the rich ; but at this period, the evil ap- pears to have descended among the less wealthy, Avho envied, and sought to imitate those above them. The result of such attempts was, the accumulation of debt to such an extent as demanded the interference of the legislature ; this severe mea- sure was therefore one of absolute necessity, adopted in order to check a growing and a fatal evil. Punitive laws. — The object of the Egyptian laws was to preserve life, and to reclaim the offender. Death took away every chance of repentance, deprived the country of the of- fender's services, and hurried him out of the world when least prepared to meet the ordeal of a future state: hence, the Egyptians deemed it unnecessary to sacrifice the life of an offender except in the case of murder, and a few other crimes which appeared highly injurious to the community. The customary mode of punishment for capitnl crimes was HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 83 the gibbet. Criminals charged with such were kept " bound" in prison till their fate was decided, whether it depended on the will of the sovereign, or the decision of the judges. Their prisons were under the superintendence, and within the house of the chief of the police. See Gen. xxxix. 20 ; and xl. 3 — 22. The laws of the Egyptians, however, do not appear to have sanctioned the gibbet, or the exposure of the body of an offender. The conduct of Rhampsinitus, in the case of the robbery of his treasure,* is mentioned by Hero- dotus as a singular mode of discovering an accomplice, and not as an ordinary mode of punishment. Some of the punitive laws of the Egyptians were very simple ; the character of them, indeed, was consonant with, the notions of a primitive age. These laws were directed against the offending member. Thus, adulterators of money, falsifiers of Aveights and measures, forgei'S of seals or signa- tures, and scribes who altered any signed document by era- sures or additions, without the authority of the parties, were condemned to lose both their hands ; and those who betrayed secret designs to the enemy, had their tongues cut out. Thefts, breach of trust, and petty frauds, were punished with the bastinado ; and in military, as well as civil cases, mi- nor offences were generally punished with the stick, a mode of punishment still in vogue among the modern inhabitants of the valley of the Nile : the Moslems hold it in such es- teem, indeed, that they say, " The stick came down from heaven as a blessing to mankind." At one period, robbery and house-breaking were considered capital crimes, and deserving of death. According to Diodo- rus, however, Actisanes enacted a law preventing this extreme penalty of the law, and instituted the novel mode of cutting off their noses, and banishing them to the confines of the desert, where a to^vn was built called Rhinocolura, from the nature of their punishment. Thus, continues this author, by removing the evil-minded, he benefited society, without de- priving the criminals of life ; while at the same time, he punished them severely for their crimes by obliging them to live by their industry in a barren and inhospitable region. One remarkable feature of the Egyptian laws was the sanctity with v/hich edicts were upheld from generation to generation. Like the Jewish and Moslem laws, they were interwoven with the religion of the country, and as they were * The historian relates that he caught the thief in a trap which he had "'■'ced round the vases in which his treasures were preserved. %i HISTOilt Ot" tete EfeVPTIANS. Stipposed to be derived from the gods themselves, it was con- sidered impious to alter such sacred institutions. Innovations were never introduced unless loudly called for by circum- stances ; and we neither read of any attempts on the part of the people to alter or resist the laws, nor on that of their rulers to introduce a more arbitrary mode of government, except in the case of Cheops, as recorded by Herodotus ; but this cannot be received as indubitable. The reader will perceive from this, that occasional altera- tions were made in the Egyptian code of laws. Among the different legislators of the Egyptians, are particularly noticed the names of Mnevis, Sasyches, Sesostris, Bocchoris, Asychis, Amasis, and the Persian Darius ; the particulars of which will be found narrated in their several histories. In the latter "period of the ancient history of the Egyptians, the Ptolemies ■ abrogated some of the favourite laws of the country, which appears to have given great offence to the native Egyptians, a circumstance which cannot be wondered at, since every indi- 'vidual from his infancy was nurtured in the strictest obser- vance of those laws. DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY INTO NOMES, OR PROVINCES. In the prediction of the overthrow of Egypt, uttered by the prophet Isaiah, this passage occurs, ch. xix. 2 : " And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians ; And they shall fight every one against his brother, And every one against his neighbour ; City against city, And kingdom against kingdom." The latter clause of this verse is rendered by the Seventy, who were well acquainted with the condition of Egypt, nomos tpi nomos^ " nome against nome ;" and an Egyptian ikther, Cyril, says, with reference to this verse, " A nome is a city with a circumjacent territory, and the places contained in it;' in other words, it was a province. This division of the country existed in the earliest ages, and it subsisted under the Ptolemies and the Romans. The number of nomes is not easily determined, for scarcely two writers agree on the subject. They seem to have varied at diflerent times ;* and they were distinctly marked by differen' ♦ According to Champollion, Egypt was divided in the time of the Pha- raohs, into thirty-six nomes or governments; ton in the Thebais, or Up- per Egypt, sixteen in Ilcptanomis, or Middle Egypt, and ten in T.owcr Egypt, commonly called tlie Delia. Evh of these nomct;, he says, was HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 85 iocal usages, and forms, and objects of worship, which would be likely to give rise to contention, so that Heeren's conjec- ture, namely, that each nome was originally an independent settlement and government, having some interests in common with others, but also interests that Avere conflicting, and which would produce quarrels among them, amount almost to a cer- tainty. When these were united into one kingdom by powerful princes, the difference of the habits, customs, and religion of the inhabitants of each province must necessarily hiave prevented harmony ; so that when the general govern- ment became weak, these separate members would be dis- posed to quarrel, and seek to promote their own interests by placing them in a commanding position. Such an event took place, according as the prophet foretold, when after the death of Sethon, the contemporary of Hezekiah and Sennacherib, and an interregnum of two years which followed, the monarchy of Egypt was divided into twelve separate king- doms. It was to the reign of this oligarchy, and to the anarchy and civil wars' Avhich attended its extinction, by Psammetichus, one of the twelve, who became thereby abso- lute monarch, that the prophet is supposed by most commen- tators to refer. Over each of these provinces there appears to have been a monarch or governor, who ranked in station next to the judges or magistrates of the capital. The office of monarch was, indeed, at all times of the highest importance. To his charge were committed the management of the lands, and all matters relating to the internal administration of the district. He regulated the assessment and levying of the taxes, the surveying of the lands, the opening of the canals, and all other agricultural interests of the country, which were under the immediate superintendence of certain members of the priestly order ; and as he resided in the chief to\vn of the nome, all causes respecting landed property, and other acci- dental disputes, were adjusted before his tribunal. The dis- tinctive appellation of each nome Avas derived from the chief town where the monarch resided, and his rank appears to have depended on the extent of his jurisdiction. Such were the laws and institutions of Egypt, so far as can be gleaned from ancient authors. Of the state of Egypt divided into districts or toparchies. Diodorous says, that in the time of Sesostris, the number of nomcs amounted to thirty-six, and such was the nuiv.her in Strabo's time ; hut they were afterwards increased in number, if D'Anviile f>tates correctly, to tifty-three. VOL. i. 8 86 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. during the early period of its liistory there is little or no in- formation, owing to the uncivilized condition of neighbouring states, to the indifference of the Greeks who visited it, or the loss of their writings, and above all, to the jealousy of the Egyptians towards foreigners ; for like the Chinese, they prevented all strangers from penetrating into the interior, and abstained from imparting information to them respecting the institutions and state of the country. The" knowledge we have handed down to us, was collected, when, after the time of Amasis and the Persian conquest, foreigners became better acquainted with the country, and when its ancient institutions had begun to lose their interest, from the influence of a foreign rule. From this knowledge, it would appear to have been the reverse of a free and happy country ; but it has been well observed that "freedom is a word indifferently understood in different ages and countries." The Egyptians, therefore, trained up as they were from their infancy to reverence laws which they deemed immutable, might have enjoyed as great a degree of happiness (speaking of happi- ness with reference to this life only) as most of the nations in the Old or New Avorld. The degradation of the lowest caste, however, the waste of human life in the working of their mines, and the building of their ostentatious pyramids, with the frequency and severity of their summary punishments as recorded by Diodorus, and confirmed by existing monuments, would convey an idea that those who ruled over them were hard task-masters. But it is probable that these labours were not performed solely by the natives, but in a great degree by slaves, as they certainly were at one time : for the lives of the Hebrews were made " bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field : all their service, wherein they made them serve was with rigour," Exod. i. 14. CHAPTER IV. THE KINGDOM OP EGYPT. PART I. — EGYPTIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. No part of ancient history is more obscure than that of the first kings of Egypt. Some light has, indeed, been thrown on the general subject by the progress made in deciphering the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the existing monuments in that renowned country ; but still there are thick clouds hang- ing over the history and chronology of this period which cannot be wholly dispersed. AU that a writer on this subject, therefore, can do at the present day, is to place before the reader the few genuine fragments preserved by historians, sacred and profane ; and the few facts which have been snatched from oblivion by the learned. According to Egyptian historians and chronologers, first gods, and then demi-gods, or heroes, governed that country sucessively, through a period of more than tAventy thousand years. This fable requires no remark : we know from the inspired records of truth, that Egypt Avas first inhabited by the family of Mizraim, the second son of Ham, Gen. x. 6, about 2613 years b. c. Hence it is, that in the Hebrew Scriptures the country is usually styled, " The land of Miz- raim," Gen. xiii. 10, etc. ; and that the Egyptians are always called Mizraim, or Mizraites. In the east, to this day, the country is generally known as the " Land of Mizr," Avhich was probably the proper name of the son of Ham ; Mizraim being rather the name of the family or people which de- scended from him ; as, " Abel-mizraim," the mourning of the Mizrites, or Egyptians, Gen. 1. 11. The family of Mizrahn, or Mizr, settled first in Upper Egypt, where they built the famous city of Thebes, but in 88 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. process of time, they gradually spread into the Lower Egypt, or Delta. This patriarchal regimen, according to Dr. Hales, subsisted from 2613 to 2412 years b. c. ; at which time, either by com- pulsion or persuasion, Menes first introduced regal govern- ment into Egypt. The records of the Egyptian priests, indeed, as handed down to us by Herodotus, Manetho, Eratosthenes, and others, place the era of Menes several years farther back, reckoning a great number of kings and dynasties after him, with remarks on the gigantic stature of some of their monarchs, and of their wonderful exploits, and other characteristics of confused and mystical tradition : but all inquiries concerning the history of nations before this epoch are founded on mere speculation. Menes appears to have been a wise prince. He checked the overflowings of the Nile,* by turning its course into a more direct channel, and some historians state, that he founded the city of Memphis upon the former bed of the river. Menes was also a religious prince : he founded the magnificent tem- ple of Hephaistos, or Vulcan in the same city, dedicated to the Supreme Being. He was, moreover, the father of his people. Following the advice of his prime minister Thoth, or Hermes, he divided the whole coimtry of Egj'-pt into three lots, which lots were appropriated to the crown, the friesthoo^l, and the soldiery^ who each farmed out to the people their respective shares. Of the immediate successors of Menes, nothing is known : the order of things, however, which he established, subsisted probably till about 2159 years b. c, at which period the legi- timate race of kings was succeeded in Lower Egypt by the shepherd dynasty, who invaded and subdued that part of Egypt. One of the best established facts in the early history of that country, is, that its lowest territories were subjected to a race of pastoral nomades, while the upper country continued sub- ject to the native sovereigns. When, however, this pastoral dominion commenced, and when it terminated, is a matter of controversy among the learned, and which cannot be defi- nitely determined. Mr. Wilkinson, from the state of the earliest- monuments in Egypt, and from the information which they afford, conceives that the irruption of the pastors, oi shepherds, was anterior to the erection of any building * That is, this work is ascribed to J.Iciics by tlic ancient lii-storian ; but it appears to c.\hil;il too much scioiitilic knowledge for so early a period. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 89 now existing in Egypt, and before the reign of Osirtasen I. ; which king he conceives, was coeval with Joseph. It cer- tainly is remarkable, that, in concluding from the evidence of monuments, that the pastor kings were expelled before the accession of Osirtasen, this author obtains the same conclusion as that to which Hales and Faber arrived, when, on historical data alone, they conceived that this change took place a short time before Joseph was appointed governor or regent of Egypt ; the latter fixing it about the year 1 899 b. c. The sacred narrative, indeed, seems to evince indirect testimony to this fact. When Joseph governed Egj'^pt, every nomade shepherd was detested at the Egyptian court, in consequence of the oppressive and humihating dominion which a race of shepherds had exercised in that country ; and it was for his sake alone, that his family were allowed to inhabit Goshen during the time of the famine. But it was not so in the days of Abraham, who visited Egypt about 2077 years b. c, and consequently when one of the shepherd kings reigned over Lower Egypt. That patriarch was treated with considera- tion by the court because he was a pastoral chief See Gen. xii. It is true that the fact of th^then ruling monarch bear- ing the title of Pharaoh, would seem to subvert this hypo- thesis ; but Manetho intimates that the conquering nomades, while in the occupation of Egypt, gradually adapted theni- selves to the customs and practices of the native Egyptians, which would account for this circumstance. The term Pharaoh, moreover, which according to Josephus, signified " king" in the Egyptian language, would naturally be taken by any monarch on the throne of Egypt ; hence, it is applied to all indiscriminately in Scripture, till after the days of Solomon, as that of Ptolemy was after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander. These intruders into Egypt appear to have been a tribe of Cushite shepherds from Arabia, and to have cruelly enslaved the Avhole country under a dynasty of six kings, who were called Hycsos, or King-shepherds. The first of these was named, SAIiATISj SILITES OR NIRMARYADA. Manetho says, he resided in Memphis, and imposed a tribute on the Upper and Lower Egypt, and put garrisons in the most important places. But chiefly he secured the east- ern parts of the country, foreseeing that the Assyrians, who 90 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS were then most powerful, would be tempted to invade the country likewise. Finding-, therefore, in the Saite nome, a city situated most conveniently on the north side of the Bu- bastic channel [of the Nile] which was called Avaris, or Aba- ris, [the pass,] in an ancient theological book, he rebuilt and fortified it most strong^, and garrisoned it with 240,000 sol- diers.* Hither he used to come in summer to furnish them with corn and pay, and he carefully disciplined them for a ter- ror to foreigners. He died after he had reigned nineteen years. Of the second king in this dynasty, nothing is recorded, ex- cept that he reigned forty-four years. After him succeeded APACHNAS, PACHNAN, OR RUCMA, in whose reign it is supposed Abraham visited Egypt, and the first pyramid was commenced. Concerning this king. Dr. Hales says, that the third king was surnamed Rucma, from his immense wealth, which he collected by oppressing the Egyptians, though " he tenderly loved his own people," the shepherds ; and, wishing either to extripate the natives, or to break down their spirits by hard and incessant labour, he em- ployed them in constructing those stupendous monuments of ancient ostentation and tyranny, the pryamids, which are evi- dently the factitious mountains meant in the Hindu records, originally cased with yellow, white, or spotted marbles, brought from the quarries of Arabia, though built of the Libyan stone on the spot. These stupendous monuments are certainly of the remot- est antiquity, and the Hindu record seems to be correct in as- cribing the first and greatest pyramid to Apachnas, the third of the shepherd-kings, and the rest to his successors. It is, indeed, confirmed by the tradition of the native Egyptians, as related by Herodotus. This tradition says, they Avere built by one Philitis, a shepherd, who kept his cattle in these parts, and whose memory was held in such abhorrence that the in- habitants Avould not even repeat his name. The time em- ployed in building the first pyi'amid, according to Herodotus, was thirty-two years and six months, which ranges within the reign of Apachnas of thirty-seven years and seven months, * Here, as in some other places, the numbers stated by ancient histori- ans are given without affixing any remark on the great probability of their being exaggerations or over-slatemcnts. That they are erroneous, generally there is little doubt ; but they are given only on the authority of ancicjil writers, who were too fond of the marvellous. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, 91 according to Manetho. The three great pyramids, Pliny says, were built in the space of seventy-eight years and four months ; if, therefore, the first was erected by Apachnas, the others must have been built by his two immediate successors, concerning whom we have no precise information. At length, under the sixth king, ASSIS, APOPHIS, OK. APHOBIS,* the Egyptians, wearied out Avith such long continued tyranny, and insupportable labours, rebelled ; and after a war of thirty years, succeeded in obliging their oppressors to withdraw from their country, after they had enslaved it upwards of 250 years. Those who survived this warfare withdrew, it would appear, to Palestine, where they became the Philistines, a name that is derived from Philitis, " shepherds," which comes from the Sanscrit, Pali, " shepherd." Manetho's account is clear on this point ; though, at first view, an ambiguity is produced by his confounding them with another race of shepherds, the Israelites, who arrived not very long after the departure of the shepherds, and who, after a stay of almost equal duration, departed to the same country. That the Philistines came from Egypt is very generally agreed. Scrip- ture states repeatedly that they came from the country of Caph- tor, and that this signifies Lower Egypt, is now generally believed. This race of shepherd-kings was succeeded by a dynasty of native kings ; but of the history and chronology of the kings of this period little is known. One, whom the Scrip- tures introduce to our notice in the interesting narrative of Joseph, is supposed by Mr. Wilkinson to be Osirtasen i., of whom he says, that if the name of this monarch was not en- nobled by military exploits equal to those of Rameses, the encouragement given to the arts of peace, and the flourishing state of Egypt during his rule, evince his wisdom ; and his pacific character satisfactorily accords with that of the Pha- raoh who so generously rewarded the talents and fidelity of a Hebrew stranger. But this author's data diifer from the Scriptural dates of Hales, which appear to be clearly estab- lished, thereby involving a grave difficulty which cannot be overcome in any other way than by supposing he has lost the century which is wanting to make the time Joseph of and Osir- ♦ Aphoph signifies a giant. 92 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. tasen S5mchronise, and to produce a correspondence between the Egyptian and Hebrew history of the ensuing years. The name of Osirtasen, moreover, stands in the tomb of Beni Has- sen as one of the kings of the sixteenth dynasty, according to the lists of Manetho. It is better, therefore, to introduce this monarch to the reader's notice simply under the Scripture name of Pharaoh. Passing over the circumstance of his having imprisoned his chief butler and baker, as recorded Gen. xL, the first no- tice Ave have of this monarch in the sacred narrative, is the circumstance of his having dreamed two remarkable dreams. He thought that he was standing on the margin of the Nile, when he beheld seven beautiful fat heifers come up from the streams and feed in a meadow. After a while, at the same spot, seven of the leanest and most ill favoured kine that he had ever beheld, came up, and stood on the banks with the seven fat and beautiful heifers, which they finally devoured. The king then awoke ; but falling asleep again, he dreamed that he saw seven good and plump ears of corn spring up on one stalk ; and after that, there sprang up seven other ears of corn, thin, and blighted by the east wind, by which the good ears were devoured. Gen. xli. 1 — 7. These dreams appeared to have a signification and analogy not common in dreams, and therefore the king Avas anxious in the morning to have them interpreted. But none of his " wise men," who usually interpreted his dreams, could solve their meaning, ver. 8, and their failure reminded the chief butler of the dreams which the chief baker and himself had dreamed in the prison-house, and which Joseph, who, as the reader will recollect, was im- prisoned with them, interpreted in a manner that the events had justified, ver. 9 — 13. This he related to Pharaoh, and the monarch sent an order to the chief of the royal police to release Joseph, and send him to the palace. The mandate was obeyed, and Joseph came ; when the king, addressing him, said, " I have dreamed a dream, and there is none tha'' can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee, that thou cansf understand a dream to interpret it." To this Joseph modestly replied, not willing to encourage delusion in the breast of the monarch : " It is not in me : God shall give Pharaoh an an- swer of peace," ver. 14 — 16. The king then related his dreams, and Joseph told him that they bare the same signi- fication, which was, that seven years of exuberant plenty were approaching, which would be followed by seven years of famine, so severe, that the seven years of plenty would be ut HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 93 terly forgotten. Then perceiving how the exuberant sup- plies of the first seven years might be husbanded so as to meet the deficiency of the seven succeeding years, he proceeded to lay his views before the king, advising him, at the same time, that some wise man should be invested with full powers to give effect to the measures suggested, ver. 17 — 36. The king, pleased with the interpretation, and struck with the wisdom of the plans, by which Joseph proposed to avert the evils which that interpretation foretold, asked, " Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is ?"' And then he addressed him thus, " Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art : thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled ; only in the throne will I be greater than thou." After this, he proceeded to in- vest him with his high office. He took his own signet ring from his finger, and placed it upon the finger of Joseph, con- veying to him, by that act, the highest powers he could dele- gate, and saying as he did it, " See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt." He then ordered him to be arrayed in vestures of fine linen, such as were worn only by majesty, after which he placed with his own hands a chain of gold about his neck. Then, it being the custom in the east in those days to promulgate with great pomp and ceremony such acts of royal favour, and to make known the authority con- ferred, he commanded that Joseph should be conducted in procession through the city, in the second of the royal chariots, and that heralds should proclaim before him, " Bow the knee," ver. 37 — 43. When Joseph returned, and again stood before the king, Pharaoh expressed in stronger language his own views of the powers he had conferred. Reserving his own authority, he said, "I am the king;" but he added, " without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt," ver. 44. The act of raising a foreigner and a slave to such a high office appears to have been very unusual in ancient Egypt. All the avenues to power and in the state were zealously guarded by the priesthood, who disliked the intrusion of any one not of their own order. Hence, that tlae foreign origin of Joseph might not be constantly presented to their view, the king changed his name to Zaphnath-paaneah, " the revealer of secrets;" and that he might establish him in his position, by securing him the countenance and support of the priestly 94 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTL*NS. order, he brought about his marriage with Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, the chief priest of On or Heliopolis, the city of the sun, who was, without doubt, one of the most eminent and influential of his illustrious order, that city being, as we have seen, the prime seat of the sacred mysteries and science of that country, ver. 45. Shortly after his elevation, Joseph made a tour through the land of Egypt, in order to acquaint himself with the state of the country, and with the materials with which he had to work, and to determine the arrangements which might be ne- cessary to give effect to his contemplated measures. In this tour of survey, he directed the construction of immense gran- aries in the principal cities, and established proper officers, who were charged with the duty of buying up one-fifth part of all the corn during the seven years of plenty within the surrounding district. For this purpose, the whole land was divided into districts, of probably nearly equal extent. All this was effected ; and the corn thus purchased was stored away in the granaries for use during the years of famine, ver. 46 — 49. Those years of famine arrived as was foretold. The coun- tries from whence the Nile flowed not being visited Avith rains in their season, that circumstance kept back, for seven long years, the fertilizing inundations of that river, and u general dearth was the consequence. The surrounding countries, also, seem to have been visited with the same drought, as they experienced the like visitation of famine, ver. 54, 55. When the pressure of the famine began to be felt by the Egyptians, they cried to Pharaoh for bread. The king re- ferred them to Joseph, and that wise statesman now opened all the store-houses, and sold corn, not only to the Egyptians, but, with some restrictions, to other countries, ver. 56, 57. In the second year of the famine, when their money was all spent, they again came to Joseph for bread; and he offered to supply them with corn in exchange for their cattle, Avhich Avas cheerfully accepted. By this means subsistence was secured for another year ; but in the year following, they had no cattle left wherewith to buy food. In this exigency, they came to Joseph, therefore, and freely offered to transfer their lands to the king, and to place their persons at his disposal, on the condition that they should be supplied with food while the famine lasted, and with seed to sow the land when it again became cultivable. This Avas ngreed to. and Jospph HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 95 brought the people who were scattered throughout the open country into the adjacent cities, wherein the provisions were stored, for the greater ease of distribution. The lands thus voluntarily sold, Joseph farmed to the occupiers again, at the moderate and fixed crown rent of a fifth part of the produce. Thus, says Dr. Hales, did he provide for the liberty and in- dependence of the people, while he strengthened the authority of the king, by rendering him sole proprietor of the lands. And to secure the people from further exaction, Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt, that Pharoah should have the fifth part ; which law subsisted to the time of Moses, Gen. xlvii. 22 — 26. By this wise regulation, the people had four-fifths of the produce of the lands for their own use ; and were exempted from any further taxes, the king being bound to support his civil and military establish- ment out of the crown-rents. Whereas, by the original con- stitution, settled by Menes and his prime minister, Thoth, or Hermes, (as we learn from Diodorus,) che lands had been all divided between the king, the priesthood, and the soldiery, who possessed each a separate third part to support their re- spective establishments. The revenues of the crown, there- fore, were rather abridged than increased by this regulation, while Joseph respected the primitive usage, and bought not " the land of the priests ;" but during the continuance of the faminf), he fed them at the king's expense : so that, by the royal bounty, " they sold not their lands." Thus was this '.onsummate statesman so truly " discreet and wise," because he was guided by the Spirit of God ; "a father to Pharoah" and his people, and a blessing to the world, whom God, in kindness, raised up to preserve life to many nations by a great deliverance. Among the many foreigners who came down to Egypt to buy corn, on account of the dearth in their own lands, were the brethren of Joseph, Gen. xlii. 1 — 6. This was in the first year of the famine, and the eighth of his regency. It would appear, that, although the Egyptians themselves could purchase the corn of the officers appointed by Joseph for that purpose, no strangers could obtain it till they had received his own special permission. To him, therefore, they came, and fulfilling at once the dreams v/hich, in their anger, they had endeavoured to frustrate, (see Gen. xxxvii.,) they bowed themselves before him, as " the governor over the land," Gen. xlii. 6. Although twenty-t-.vo years had elapsed since they had sold him for a sl'ive, they were recognized by 96 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Joseph, and seeing that his brother Benjamin was not there, he appears to have apprehended that they had destroyed him also out of jealousy; and remembering his dreams and their cruelty, he " spake roughly unto them," and charged them with being spies, come to see the nakedness of the land, ver. 7 — 9. To understand the full force, and to appreciate the alarm this charge must have occasioned, the reader-must recollect the circumstances we have before related concerning the reign of the shepherd race in Egypt, their expulsion and their settlement in Palestine, under the name of the Philistines. The tyranny of these invaders was still fresh in the minds of the Egyptians, so that every shepherd was an abomination to them, and they could not endure to eat bread with the He- brews, because they were shepherds, and came from the neighbourhood of Palestine. They were apprehensive, also, that the Philistines, who were a warlike people, and who pro- bably had been gathering strength ever since their expulsion from Egypt, might again attempt to conquer that country. Hence that they were spies, come to seek an opening for future conquests, was an obvious suspicion for an Egyptian to entertain, and the charge, to strangers especially, must have been alarming. Traces of such attacks may be discoA^ered in the First Book of Chronicles, from whence we learn that the Philistines were a nation that caused much alarm to the dif- ferent nations around. But the brethren of Joseph protested their innocence, and, in their anxiety to repel the charge, they entered into a par- ticular detail of the circumstances of their family, in which they afforded him all the information he required ; namely, that his father, Jacob, was alive and well, and his brother Ben- iamin safe under the paternal roof, ver. 10 — 13. The varied and touching incidents connected with this event are so beautifully narrated by the sacred historian, that it is best to refer the reader to that portion of holy writ for the details, (see Gen. xlii., xliii., xliv., and xlv.,) and pass on to that part of Egyptian history wherein it is intimated that Pharoah heard the rumour that Joseph's brethren were come to Egypt. The kind monarch seems to have heard the circumstance with pleasure, which is a pleasing evidence of the esteem in which Joseph was held at court. He immediately sent for Joseph, and authorized him to express his kindest intentions towards his father and his brethren: and, seeing that it would HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 97 he best for them to come to Egypt, he had the consideration to direct that they should be well supplied with provisions for the way, and that they should be furnished with conveyances, in which the aged patriarch, with the women and children, might travel from Canaan to Egypt Avith comfort, Gen, xlv. 16—20. Good old Jacob heard the news of his Joseph's exaltation with caution ; but when he was convinced of it, in the exu- berance of his joy, he exclaimed, "It is enough; Joseph my son is jei alive : I will go and see him before I die," ver. 21 — '28. Towards this country, therefore, he sojourned, pausing at Beersheba to offer sacrifices in that place. Here he was favoured with a dream which reheved him of all fears about the ultimate success of the step he was taking. He was assured in that dream that his sojourn in Egypt was a part of the divine plan concerning his race, which should there be fostered into a great nation, and then brought forth from thence. Thus encouraged, Jacob proceeded on his way, and he finally entered Egypt with all his family, about 1863 years b.c. See Gen. xlvi. 1 — 27. Without having consulted the king, Joseph, it would ap- pear, had fixed upon the land of Goshen as the future abode of his father's family ; and that, not only as being suited to 9. pastoral people, but as that which the Egyptians, under all circumstances, would be the most willing to see in their oc- cupation. Accordingly, the land of Goshen, being a border district, in the direction of Palestine, was the first p^rt which Jacob reached, and Joseph after the first emotions of their ten- der meeting had subsided. Gen. xlvi. 28 — 30, directed that they should remain there, while he Avent to make known his arrival to the king, and learn his pleasure concerning them. For this purpose, he took with him five of his brethren, who, after he himself had carried the news to the king, were in- fioduced into the royal presence. The king asked them what was their occupation ; and they, as they had been taught, answered, they were shepherds, as all their fathers had been. They then added, that they had come to sojourn in Egypt, for in the land of Canaan the drought had been so severe that they could find no pasture for their flocks, and they concluded with a request, that they naight be allow- ed to remain among the pastures of Goshen. The Idng, turning to Joseph, told him that the whole land was at Kis disposal, to place them in the best part of it — in Goshen, if that district seemed the xnost suitable for them. He farther VOL. T. 9 98 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. desired him, if among his brothers there were men of suffi- cient ability to make them overseers of his (the king's) own cattle, Gen. xlvii. 1 — 6. The policy of the Egyptian court, says Dr. Hales, in giving a possession or establishment to Joseph's family, in the land of Goshen especially, was wise and liberal. This coun- try stretched along the Bubastic or Pelusiac branch of the Nile, and formed the eastern barrier of Egypt, towards Pales- tine and Arabia, the quarters from which they most dreaded invasion ; whose " nakedness" was now covered, in a short time, by a numerous, a brave, and an industrious people ; amply repaying, by the additional security and resources which they gave to Egypt, their hospitable reception and naturalization. Joseph having succeeded in his plan of placing his father's family in the land of Goshen, he introduced the aged patri- arch, also, to the king. Jacob respectfully saluted the monarch, in acknowledgement of the consideration and favour with which he had been treated ; and the king, struck by his venerable appearance, entered into conversation with him, particularly inquiring his age. The answer of Jacob was impressive : " The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years : few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgri- mage." After some further conversation, Jacob having again saluted Pharoah, and blessed him, Avithdrevv from his pre- sence. Gen. xlvii. 7 — 10. This is all the information we have concerning this monarch of Egypt : how long a period he reigned, and AA^hen he died is not known. The brief notice we have of him, however in the sacred page, shoAvs that he was a good and wise prince, and had the interest of his people at hear|. Joseph, his prime minister, died about 1792 years B.C. Concerning the other monarchs, AA^ho reigned during this period, we haA'e still briefer notice. There appears to have been tAvo, Amun-m-gori, and Osirtasen ii., of Avhom Mr. Wil- kinson says, that independent of the encouragement given by them to the agricultural interests of the country, they con- sulted those AA'ho Avere employed in the inhospitable desert ; and the erection of a temple, and a station to command the wells, and to serve for their abode in Wady Jasoos, proved that they were mindful of their religious rites as aa'cII as of their temporal protection. The breccia quarries of the Kos- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. 99 sayr, or Cosseir road, were already opened, and probably also the emerald mines of Gebel Zabara. Besides these monarchs, Dr. Hales places a queen of the name of Nitocris (called Nicaule by Josephus) in this period, and fixes the date 1742 years b. c. Concerning this queen, Herodotus relates a singular stratagem, devised by her, to re- venge the murder of her brother and predecessor. She in- vited a number of Egyptians to an entertainment, in a large subterraneous apartment, which she had built ; and, by a pri- vate canal, let in the vsraters of the river upon the company, and drowned them all ; and afterwards destroyed herself The names of the monarchs who reigned immediately after Nitocris, cannot be specified with any degree of certainty. It was during this period, however, that the Israelites were cru- elly oppressed in Egypt. After recording the death of Joseph, with " his brethren, and all that generation," the sacred narra- tive goes on to say, " Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph," Exod. i. 8. This new king is regarded, by Faber and Wilkinson, as the first king of a new dynasty : and the latter, who argues that this new king was Amasis, says : Amasis, or Ames, was the leader of the eighteenth dynasty, and the period of his accession, and this change in the reigning family, strongly confirms the opinion of his being the "new king who knew not Joseph." And if we consider that he was from the distant province of Thebes, it is reasonable to expect that the Hebrews would be strangers to him, and that he was likely to look upon them with the same distrust and contempt with which the Egyptians usually treated foreigners. They stigmatized them as a race of im- pure people, and the ignoble occupation of shepherds was for the Jews an additional cause of reproach. Indeed, it is possible, that the Jews, who had come to Egypt on the occasion of the famine, finding the great superiority of the land of Egypt, both for obtaining the necessaries of life and for feeding their flocks, may have asked and obtained a grant of land from the Egyptian monarch, on condition of certain services being performed by them and their descend- ants. As long as the Memphite dynasty continued on the throne, this grant was respected, and the only service required of them was that agreed upon in the original compact. But, on the accession of the Theban family, the grant being re- scinded, and the service still required, they were reduced to a state of bondage; and as despotism seldom respects the rights of those it injures, additional labour was imposed upon 100 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. this unresisting people. And Pharaoh's pretended fear, lest, in the event of war, they might make common cause with the enemy, was a sufficient pretext with his own people for op- pressing the Jews,- at the same time that it had the effect of exciting their prejudices against them. Affecting, therefore, some alarm at their numbers, he suggested that so numerous a body might avail themselves of the absence of the Egyptian troops, and endanger the safety and tranquillity of the country, and that prudence dictated the necessity of obviating the pos- sibility of such an occurrence. With this view, they were treated Hke captives taken in war, and were forced to perform the gratuitous labour of erecting public granaries and other buildings for the Egyptian monarch. But the monarch whom Wilkinson conjectures to have been him by whom the Hebrews were first oppressed. Lived, according to Dr. Hales, at the time of the exode of the Israel- ites, and as there must have been more than one reigning monarch in Egypt during the period of their cruel bondage, there is no alternative left us but to pursue this portion of Egyptian history with reference to those various monarchs under their general Scripture name of Pharaoh, as before. What were the motives by which Pharaoh was actuated in this line of policy towards the Hebrews, cannot be posi- tively asserted. Josephus says, that the act was intimately connected with the expulsion of the shepherds, and the same author also tells us, that the shepherds were yet lingering on the frontiers, and fortifying the city Aouaris, and that they did again rally and overrun Egypt a second time in the reign of the last king of the eighteenth dynasty. These circum- stances would certainly furnish a colourable plea, which would, doubtless, be taken advantage of to oppress the Israel- ites ; but such cannot be stated as facts. The course which this monarch adopted to subdue the Israelites to his yoke, was by compelling them to relinquish their mode of life as tent-dwelling shepherds, and by fixing them down as cultivators of that soil originally granted them for pasturage. This, to a free people, unaccustomed to la- bour, he supposed, and that naturally, would have the eflect, not only of subduing their spirits, but of reducing their num- bers. In the first place, as we learn from Exod. i., he re- quired that they should make bricks, and with them build towns and villages, a mode of labour hitherto unknown to them. Pithom and Raamses, as before stated, were erected by them. These cities Avere prolmbly intended to be held by HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 101 the Egyptians, to enforce the new measures, as well as to fur- nish secure places to which they might bring, and in which they might treasure up the corn and other produce paid to the king for the rent of his lands. The situation of these treasure cities is not exactly known ; but there is no doubt, as all accounts show, that they were placed in the land occu- pied by the Hebrews. But before the land could be made available for the purposes of cultivation, it was necessary to cut canals, construct dams, and to execute many other works requiring much drudgery ; and such undertakings as these, would be very hateful to a pastoral people ; they would be so felt at the present day by the Bedouins. They would not, indeed, have executed such, unless by compulsion. This Pharaoh knew, and the execution of his orders was therefore confided to " taskmasters," who were charged with responsi- bihties which caused them to exact the services required with rigour. Thus, in the emphatic language of the sacred histo- rian, " they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field : all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour," Exod. i. 14. But the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they mukiplied and grew, and the more Pharaoh and the Egyp- tians were alarmed. A new expedient, therefore, was sought to check their increase. The Hebrew midwdves were or- dered to destroy all the male children that should be born. But this command was not obeyed ; the midwives alleging that the Hebrew were more lively than the Egyptian women, and consequently did not require their assistance. Upon this, the cruel monarch issued an edict that all the male infants should be destroyed, Exod. i. 15 — 22. This cruel decree was in force at the birth of Moses, sixty- four years after the death of Joseph, and was probably en- acted soon after the birth of his elder brother Aaron, who was not subject to the decree. This illustrious legislator of the Hebrews was of the tribe of Levi, in the line of Kohath and of Amram, whose son he was. By a singular provi- dence, the infant Moses, when exposed on the river Nile, in a frail bark of papyrus, coated on the outside with bitumen, and inside with the slime of that river, through fear of the royal decree, after his mother had hid him three months, was taken up and adopted by Pharaoh's own daughter, and nursed by his own mother, whom she hired at the suggestion of his sis- ter Miriam. When the child needed a nurse no longer, he 9* 102 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. was" taken home to the house of the princess by whom he was saved, thus finding an asylum in the very palace of his intended destroyer. Here he was instructed in all that wis- dom of the Egyptians which was the admiration and proverb of all surrounding nations, Exod. ii. 1 — 10. It does not appear that the murderous edict against the Hebrew infants was long in force. We are, however, unac- quainted with the considerations which led to its repeal. It is possible, that the people of Lower Egjrpt, generally, were not prepared to go to this extent with the court in such a bar- barous measure against the Hebrews, and that their murmurs were heard and respected. Or it may be, as has been sup- posed, that this daughter of Pharaoh had interest enough with her father to induce him to revoke this fulminating de- cree. Another alternative may be, that, as this measure seems to have been adopted at the latter part of this king's reign, the accession of a new king was attended with a change of policy towards the Hebrews, which involved the preservation of their infants, and which may to this extent have been influ- enced by the monarch's sister. It may be mentioned, indeed, that some conclude, from the fragments of Manetho, and the hieroglyphics on the sculptures, that Ammoph i., who bears the character of "a great encourager of the arts of peace,"* began his reign about this period, and that he was succeeded by Ameuse, his sister, the patroness of Moses, and Thothmes I., her husband, whose accession to- the throne took place about the time that Moses comes again under our notice in the Egyptian history, as recorded in Scripture, and as noticed in the succeeding paragraph. But if new monarchs had arisen, if the order to destroy the Hebrew children was withdrawn, and the policy of the Egyp- tian state was changed towards that people, their " hard bondage " was by no means relieved ; they were still doomed to toil imder the inspection of " taskmasters." But the day of their redemption drew nigh. When Moses was grown to manhood, and was full forty years of age, it Avould appear that he was moved by a Divine impulse to undertake the de- liverance of his countrymen. See Acts vii. 23 — 25. He left the court of Pharaoh, and took part with the de- spised and afflicted bondsmen. He " refused to be called the * The well-known design of Jews at work, brick-making, is found in the tomb of Kekshari, who was his superintendent of public works. Hence, that he was one of the oppressors of the Hebrews, appears to be an authenticated fact. lilSTOflY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 103 son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather to suffer afflic- tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," Heb. xi. 24, 25. But in the height of his zeal to redress their grievances, going forth one day, he saw a Hebrew atrociously maltreated by an Egyptian officer, and kindling at the sight, he delivered him by slaying his oppres- sor. This deed became known to the monarch, who sought to slay him, but he fled for his life to the land of Midian, in Arabia Petrea, where he married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, or Reuel, prince and priest of Midian, and he, as a shepherd, kept his flocks in the vicinity of Mount Horeb, or Sinai, for forty years, Exod. ii. 1 1 — 25. At the end of that time, it is recorded in Scripture that " the king of Egypt died." Exod. ii. 23. It is, however, the opinion of some that Thothmes i. died after a reign of twenty-seven years, and that he was succeeded by a queen whom Mr. Wilkinson calls, Amun-neit-gori, who has hitherto given rise to more doubts and questions than any other sove- reigns of this period. This author says of Amun-neit-gori : Whether she was only regent during the reign of Thothmes u. and HI., or succeeded to the throne in the right of Thothmes I., in whose honour she erected several monuments, is still uncertain, and some have doubted her being a queen. The name has been generally erased, and those of the second and third Thothmes are placed over it ; but sufficient remains to prove that the small temple of Medeenet Haboo, the elegant edifice under the Gloorneh rocks, and the great obelisks of Karnak, with many other handsome monuments, were erected by her, orders, and the attention paid to the mihtary caste is testified by the subjects of the sculptures. In what character this princess operated, in the reigns of Thothmes ii. and in., cannot now be known, and therefore we proceed to notice the latter monarch. It is said, that the reign of Thothmes ii lasted ten years, and that consequently the fortieth year from the flight of Moses fell in the reign of his successor, Thothmes in. If this be correct, he is to be re- garded, therefore, as the Pharaoh who so madly opposed Israel's deliverance. At this period, the oppression of the IsraeUtes was come to the full, and they cried to God for succour. Their cry was heard. Moses was leading his flocks round the eastern arm of the Red Sea into the peninsula of Sinai, and when near the mountain of Horeb, " the God of glory" appeared to him in a flame of fire, from the midst of a bush, and announced 104 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. himself as " the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and th« God of Jacob," and commissioned him first to make known to the Israelites the Divine will for their deliverance ; and ttext to go with the elders of Israel to Pharaoh, requiring him, in the name of "the Lord God of the Hebrews," to sufier the people to go three days' journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord their God, Exod. iii. Charged with this high and arduous mission, Moses de- parted from the shores of the Red Sea, to return to the banks of the Nile. As he advanced towards Egypt, Aaron received the Divine command to go forth and meet his brother in the wilderness, and to assist him in his mission : and afterwards they proceeded together to the land of Goshen, Exod. iv. On appearing before the king, Aaron announced that Je- hovah, the God of the Hebrews, had appeared to them, and had sent them to require the king to allow the Israelites to hold a feast to him in the wilderness. The monarch was doubtless astonished at such a demand. He replied, " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I Know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." But they Still persisted in their demand, explaining more particularly, that they wished the people to go three days' journey into the wilderness to ofier sacrifices to God, and intimating that the Israelites might expect to be visited by " the pestilence or the sword" unless they were obedient. The king did not deign to reply to this, but dismissed them with a reprimand for put- ting such wild notions into the heads of the people, and call- ing away their attention from their occupations, Exod. v. 1—4. The same day, the king, affecting to attribute this applica- tion to a leisure life, determined to bring down their spirits by adding to their burdens : " Let there more work be laid upon the men," said he, " that they may labour therein ; and let them not regard vain words." It vras now, indeed, ordered that they should no longer be furnished with the straw where- with they compacted the bricks, but that they should collect it for themselves, Avhile the same number of bricks should be exacted which they had formerly been required to supply. Under these circumstances the work could not be done, and they were beaten for deficiencies which they could not pre- vent, ver. 5 — 23. The prophet and his minister came again unto Pharaoh, and at this second interview, in obedience to the Divine com- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 105 mand, again required him to let the children of Israel go out of his land. Pharaoh, as foretold, demanded of them a miracle in proof of their commission. Aaron accepted the challenge ; he cast down his rod, and it became a serpent before Pharaoh, Exod. vii. 1—10. This gave occasion to, perhaps, the most extraordinary con- test on record. The king called upon his wise men and ma- gicians, to know if they could do as much by the power of their gods, and " they also did in like manner with their en- chantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods," ver. 11, 12. This feat, however, is particularly easy of ex- planation. The ancient Egyptians Avere, as the modern Egyptians now are, very famous in the art of charming ser- pents. They can perform operations upon them, which will strike the ignorant with amazement. At their command, they . will sleep, and become torpid, and lie as if dead : they will come at the call of the charmer, and lie in the folds of their garments, or twine around their necks without hurting them. The Egyptians also have always been, and are now, skilful jugglers, and able with great address to substitute one object for another. Hence, these men might have brought live ser- pents and adroitly substituted them for their staves ; and al- though Aaron's serpent swallowed up the other serpents, thereby showing the superiority of the true miracle over the false, it might, as Dr. Hales observes, only lead the king to conclude, that Moses and Aaron were more expert jugglers than Jannes and Jambres who opposed them, 2 Tim. iii. 8, who, as St. Paul informs us, from Jewish traditions, were the chief of their opponents. This miracle was therefore abortive with regard to its effect upon the king. It seems, indeed, not to have been understood by the Hebrews themselves ; on which the same writer re- marks : " The incredulity of Pharaoh on this occasion only resembled the incredulity of the Israelites themselves, when the same miracle was wrought before them ; and it was not considered as decisive, even by The Lord, when he supposed they might not be convinced till the third miraculous sign, as was actually the case ; Exod. vi. 8, 9, compared with iv. 30, 31. In both cases, therefore, the reality of the transforma- tion, might have been doubted — by Pharaoh, as well as by the Israelites, on the supposition that it might have been the effect of legerdemain." 106 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. But the monarch was soon undeceived ; for THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT followed in its train. The design of these visitations, growing more awful and tremendous in their progress, was to malce Pharaoh know and confess that the God of the Hebrews was The Supreme Lord ; and to exhibit his power and his justice in the strongest light to all nations of the earth, Exod. ix. 16 ; 1 Sam. iv. 8, etc. : to execute judgment upon the Egyptians, and upon all their gods, inanimate and bestial, for their cruelty to the Israelites, and for their grovelling polytheism and idol- atry, Exod. vii. 14 — 17; xii. 12. As it may be of some importance to understand the time of the year in Avhich these plagues occurred, we introduce the following satisfactory statement, from the pen of Dr. Hales : " Neither the season of the year, nor the time at which the plagues commenced, is any where specified ; but both may be collected from the history. The exode of the Hebrews, after the tenth plague, was about the vernal equinox, or beginning of April, on the fifteenth day of the first month, Abib, Exod. xii. 6 ; but by the seventh plague, that of hail, the barley was smitten, but not the wheat and rye, those plants being of later growth. Now Egmont, Hayman, and Hasselquist, all concur in stating that the barley harvest in Egypt is reaped in March and April ; and Le Brun states that he found the whole to be over at Cairo upon the nineteenth of April. This coincides with the sacred historian's account, that ' the barley was in the ear,' though not yet fit for reaping ; but ' the wheat and the rye were not grown up,' Exod. ix. 31, 32. This judgment, therefore, must have occurred about a month before the exode, or in the beginning of March, before the barley harvest, so as to leave space fdr the three succeeding plagues. If we count backwards two months, upon the same principles, for the first six plagues, it will bring the first about the beginning of Jan- uary, when the winter season commences, at which time the river Nile was lowest, and its waters clearest." THE FIRST PLAGUE. The river Nile was the principal divinity of the Egyptians, and, as such, it was honoured with feasts and sacrifices, and rites of ceremonial worship. One morning, as the king went forth towards its banks, probably to render it an act of worship, he .was there met by Moses and Aaron, who repeated their HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. L07 demand. Being again refused, they announced, in the name of Jehovah, an act which they intended to perform upon the river, and the object for which they would perform it, that Pharaoh might know that it was The Lord that wrought by their hands. Then, in the presence of the king and his ser- vants, the prophet lifted up his rod, and smote the river, and its pure waters were forthwith changed into blood. The change even operated upon all the rivers of Egypt, the nu- merous canals and reservoirs which were fed by the Nile, and upon that water which had been preserved in vessels of wood and stone for domestic use. This calamity continued for seven days, during which all the fish that were in the river died ; many of which were worshipped by the Egyptians, and most of which formed a large and principal article of diet among them. This, therefore, was a complicated, and must have been a grievous calamity to them. They loathed, indeed, to drink of these streams they once adored, and which were held more pleasant and salutary than any other which the earth could offer ; and they began to dig the ground for pure water. I'his they found, and the magicians operating upon it, probably by chemical means, so as to give it a blood-like ap- pearance, Pharaoh's heart was hardened a second time, and he would not let the Hebrews go, as was demanded, Exod. vii. 14—25. THE SECOND PLAGUE. Moses and Aaron again delivered a message to Pharaoh : " Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me." But they were again unheeded ; and Aaron, directed by Moses, smote the river again ; Avhen lo ! (together with another of the Egyptian gods, the frog, which was consecrated to the sun, and considered as an emblem of divine inspiration in its inflations) it Avas once more made the instrument of their pun- ishment. The frogs cwcne up from the river, and covered the land of Egypt, penetrating every where, and polluting and defiling every thing they touched ; their beds, ovens, and knead- ing-troughs, not being exempt. This the Egyptian priests contrived, also, to imitate on some small scale ; but, as they could do nothing for the removal of the plague, Pharaoh began to be troubled. He sent for Moses and Aaron, and entreated them to pray to Jehovah to remove the frogs, and then he Avould let the Hebrews go to render him sacrifice. The frogs were removed on " the morrow," but when Pharaoh saw there 108 ffiSTORt OF THE EGYPTIANS. #*s a re^pitg, his heart was hardened a third time, and h« forewent his promise, Exod. viii. 1 — 15. THE THIRD PLAGUE. The next plague, which was that of Hce, was produced without any previous intimation to Pharaoh. "Aaron," it is said, " stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became hce in man, and in beast ; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt." This must have been pecuUarly offensive to a people so super- stitiously nice and cleanly as the Egyptians, and above all to their priests ; who, as Herodotus informs us, used to shave their whole bodies every third day, that no vermin might be found upon them while they were employed in serving their gods. Plutarch says, also, that they never wore woollen garments, but linen only, because linen is least apt to produce vermin. The magicians themselves were, moreover, disgraced by this miracle. They tried to imitate it, but failed on account of the minuteness of the objects ; and they were forced to con- fess, that this was no human feat of legerdemain, but wrought by "the finger of God," or, as they meant, by some superna- tural agency. Thus Avas their folly made manifest unto all men. But, notwithstanding this declaration, the heart of Pharaoh was hardened a fourth time, and he hearkened not unto Moses and Aaron, Exod. viii. 16 — 19. THE FOURTH PLAGUE. This plague, since the word Arob, by which it is described, denotes a mixture, is of doubtful interpretation. Some have concluded that it consisted of an immense number of beasts of prey ; but it is more probable that every kind of annoying insect is intended; and this is the sense in which the worJs are considered by the English translators of the Bible. Amongst these insects may be enumerated the gadfly, or hornet, and the Egyptian beetle, both of which insects, brought forth in great numbers, would have been a fearful scourge. If these were a part of this plague, then the Egyp- tians, in this event, also, were punished through the medium of their idols; for both occupied a place among their sacred Creatures. It is not said wht?ther the magicians imitated this plague, but it is described as being so severe, that it extorted Pharaoh's partial consent: "Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land ;" and when Moses and Aaron represented the HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 109 offence they avouM give to the Egyptians, who would stone them for sacrificing animal sacrifices, he reluctantly consented that they should go beyond its borders ; " only," he added, " ye shall not go very far away." He further desired them to " entreat " for him that the plague might be removed. Moses expressed his readiness to intercede with Jehovah for the removal of the plague, at the same time venturing to add this caution, " Let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord." But no sooner had this calamity passed away, than the pledge of this king was again broken ; he " hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go," Exod. viii. 20 — 32. This new breach of promise, however, drew do"\vn on the land of Egypt still more severe visitations. ■ THE FIFTH PLAGUE. This plague was of a more deadly description than any of the preceding. This was the plague of murrain, under the effects of which, great nimibers of the cattle of Egypt died, while those of the Hebrews remained unharmed. This dis- tinction, which had not hitherto been made, was notified to Pharaoh in the threatening of the plague by Moses, and he sent to assure himself whether it had taken place ; but he still remained obdurate, and he would not yet give them permis- sion to go as desired, Exod. is. 1 — 7. THE SIXTH PLAGUE. The monarch of Egypt had so often abused the respites and warnings vouchsafed to him and his servants, that now a sorer set of plagues, affecting themselves, began to be in- flicted. By the Divine command, Moses, in the presence of Pharaoh, sprinkled ashes of the furnace toward heaven, and an ulcerous inflammation of the most painful and violent de- scription broke forth ; not only upon man, but on such of the cattle as had hitherto been spared. It affected even the priestly magicians themselves, which so shamed them, that they retired from the presence of Moses, thus relinquishing all rivalry and opposition. This, says Dr. Hales, was a very significant plague ; " the furnace" from which the ashes were taken, aptly represented " the iron furnace" of Egyptian bondage, Deut. iv. 20 ; and the scattering of the ashes in the air, might have referred to VOL. I. 10 110 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the usage of the Egyptians in their Typhonian sacrifices of human victims ; while it converted another of their elements, and of their gods, the air, or ether, into an instrument of their chastisement. And now The Lord for the first time " hardened the heart of Pharaoh," after he had so repeatedly hardened it himself, " and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses." Though Pharaoh pro- bably felt the scourge of the boil, as Avell as his people, it did not soften nor humble his heart. And when he wilfully and obstinately turned away from the light, and shut his eyes against the luminous evidences vouchsafed to him' of the su- premacy of the God of the Hebrews, and had twice broken his promise, when he was indulged with a respite, and dealt deceitfully^ he became a peculiar object of just punishment, and the hardness or obduracy of his heart increased. And such is the usual and the righteous course of his providence: when nations or individuals despise the warnings of Heaven, abuse their best gifts, and resist the means of grace, God then delivers them over to a reprobate or undiscerning mind, " to work all uncleanness with greediness," Rom. i. 28 ; Eph. iv. 19 ; Exod. ix. 8—12. THE SEVENTH PLAGUE. This plague was announced to Pharaoh and his servants, with unusual solemnity. Moses was charged to make his wonted demand, which he did in these emphatic words: " Thus saith the Lord God of the HebreAvs, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I Avill at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people ; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence ; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. AxvA. in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power ; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, to-morrow about this time I. Avill cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such. as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now." At the time appointed, " the morroAV," Moses lifted up his rod towards heaven, and the predicted storm of hail, accompanied with fearful thunderings and vivid lightnings, the flames of which ran along the ground, commenced. The HISTORY OF THE EGYrTIANS. Ill Storm was so heavy, and the hailstones of such prodigious size and weight, that they killed man and beast, shattered the trees, and destroyed the crops of flax and barley. These ef- fects had been intimated, and the prediction was mercifully coupled with the advice that those Avho believed, and feared the Lord, should place their servants and cattle under shelter before it took place ; and the effect which had been produced upon the minds of the Egyptians is shown by the fact, that many of Pharaoh's servants did believe, and caused their servants and their cattle to " flee into the houses," lest they should be destroyed. Seeing that rain is exceedingly rare, and hail almost un- known in Egypt, so fearful a storm as this must have been one of the greatest marvels to the Egyptians. And it must have appeared more striking, since the land of Goshen was totally exempt from its effects. The obdurate heart of Pha- raoh was, indeed, struck with awe at this visitation : he called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, '• I have sinned this time : the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail ; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer." Moses, well acquainted with the monarch's character, plainly intimated that he placed no reliance on his promise ; nevertheless, he engaged to ob- tain an immediate cessation of the storm. The storm ceased, and Pharaoh, when he saw there was respite, " hardened his heart, he and his servants ; neither would he let the children of Israel go," Exod. ix. 13—35. THE EIGHTH PLAGUE. Another demand was made, and upon Pharaoh's refusing compliance, the arrival of an army of locusts was announced, which should destroy every green thing that had escaped the destroying effects of the hail. In announcing this visitation, mention is made of one very important object of this and the ensuing plagues : this was, that the faith of the Hebrews themselves might be confirmed. The army of locusts came, and they completed the havoc begun by the hail. The sacred historian says, they " went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt : very grievous were they ; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was 112 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. darkened ; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left : and there re- mained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt." Noav, although locusts are very common in Arabia, they very rarely appear in Egypt ; the Red Sea forming a barrier against them, as they are not formed for crossing seas, or for long flights. On the present occasion, however, they were enabled, by a strong east wind, to cross that sea from Arabia, which is another re- markable circumstance, as the prevailing winds in Egypt, blow six months from the north, and six months from the south. The plague must, therefore, have appeared to the Egyptians altogether preternatural. As such they looked upon it, and such was its powerful operation, that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and avowed his fault, and begged for one reprieve more. " A.nd the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind," (which blew from the Mediterranean Sea, in a north-westerly direction,) " which took aAvay the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea," so completely, that " there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt." But when relief had been given, Pharaoh would not allow the Hebrews to take their families and flocks, though he was still willing that the men should do as they desired, Exod. X. 1—20. THE NINTH PLAGUE This obduracy on the part of the Egyptian monarch brought a new and most extraordinary plague upon Egypt. In that land, where a dark cloud seldom throws an obscura- tion on the clear blue face of the skies, for three days there was utter darkness — a darkness which, to use the sacred writer's own emphatic words, "might be felt," and which prevented the people from seeing one another. This pheno- menon must have been not only astounding, but humiliating to the Egyptians, since their great deity, the sun, and dark- ness, another of their deities, were made the instruments of their punishment. Their consternation thereat is strongly represented by their total inaction. Petrified with horror, no one rose from " his place for three days," and Pharaoh, com- pelled to relax, offered to let the men and their families go, but he wished to keep the flocks and herds, ns security for their return. Moses represented that, as they were going for the express purpose of offering sacrifices to Jehovah, it was HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 113 necessary thaX the cattle should go with them ; and he peremp- torily declared, that "not a hoof" should be left behind, Exod. X. 21 — 27. But the proud monarch determined not to relinquish this last security which would remain to him, and Moses, perceiving his obstinacy, proceeded to predict another visitation. THE TENTH PLAGUE. The account of the last and most severe plague is best given in the emphatic words of Scripture : — " Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt : and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill ; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast : that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying. Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and after that I will go out." Such a threat, delivered in so high a tone, both in the name of the God of Israel and of Moses, exasperated the haughty mon- arch, and he answered, in sentences rendered abrupt by passion : " Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die." Moses withdrew from the monarch's presence, and finally from the court, to join the Hebrews in the land of Goshen, Exod. x. On that night, while the Jews were celebrating a newly instituted feast, the passover, which had reference to the coming event, the destroying angel went forth in a pestilence, and smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, as predicted. Throughout the whole country, there were lamentations and bitter weeping, for there was not a house into which death did not enter. The monarch himself rose up in the night, with his nobles, and the Egyptian people, in great sorrow ; and he sent to Moses and Aaron a message to this effect: " Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, 114 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. and be gone; and bless me also." The Egyptian people also, "^vere urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste ; for they said. We be all dead men," Exod. xi., xii. The Israelites obeyed the mandate, but the haughty mon- arch soon repented of what he had done ; and, by a strange infatuation, " he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him," and pursued after them. He overtook them, encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, (the mouth of the ridge,) over against Baal-zephon. When the children of Israel beheld him marching after them, they were alarmed, and were disposed to submit without resistance to their oppressors. •' Let us alone," said they, " that we may serve the Egyptians. For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." Moses did not deign to remonstrate with them, but meekly replied, " Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to-day : for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." . The Lord did interfere, and fight for Israel. At the lifting up of the rod of Moses, he opened a passage for them across the Red Sea ; and the host of Pharaoh, presuming to follow after them, when the Hebrews were safely landed on the opposite shore, were involved in one common destruction. Again the prophet stretched his dreadful wand : With one wild crash the thundering waters sweep, And all is waves — a dark and lonely deep ; And strange and sad the whispering surges bore The groans of Egypt to Arabia's shore. — Heber. TJie pride of Egypt was ov&rwhelmed ; " there remained not so much as one of them," Exod. xii., xiii., xiv. Manetho, and the Egyptian writers, says Dr. Hales, have passed over in silence this tremendous visitation of their na- tion. An ancient writer, however, Artapanus, who wrote a history of the Jews about b.c. 130, has preserved the follow- ing curious Egyptian traditions : " The Memphites relate, that Moses, being well acquainted with the country, watched the influx of the tide, and made the multitude pass over the dry [bed of the] sea. But the Heliopolitans relate, that the king with a great army, accompanied by the sacred animals, pursued after the Jews, who had carried off with them the ' substance of the Egyptians. And that Moses, having been HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 115 directed by a Divine voice to strike the sea w^ith his rod, when he heard it, touched the water with his rod ; and so the fluid divided, and the host passed over through a dry way. But when the Egyptians entered along with them, and pur- sued them, it is said, that fire fiashed against them in front, and the sea, returning back, overwhelmed the passage. Thus the Egyptians perished, both by the fire, and by the re- flux of the tide." The latter account is extremely curious : it not only con- firms Scripture, but it notices three additional circumstances. I. That for their protection against The God of Israel, the Egyptians brought with them the sacred animals ; and by this means, God executed judgment upon all the [bestial] gods of Egypt, as foretold, Exod. xii. 12, who perished with their infatuated votaries ; completing the destruction of both, which began with smiting the first born both of man and beast. 2. That the recovery of the "jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment," which they asked and obtained of the Egyptians, according to the Divine command, Exod. xii. 35, 36, was a leading motive with the Egyptians, to pur- sue them ; as the bringing back the Israelites to slavery had been with " Pharoah and his servants," or officers. And, 3. That the destruction of the Egyptians was partly oc- casioned by lightning and thunderbolts, from the presence of the Lord: exactly corresponding to the psalmist's subhme description : " The waters saAV thee, O God, the waters saw thee ; they Avere afraid : the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water : the skies sent out a sound : thine ar- rows also went abroad. — Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scat- tered them ; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils," Psa. Ixxvii. 16, 17; xviii. 14, 15. The exode of the Israelites, and the destruction of Pharoah and his host, is dated by Dr. Hales, 1648 years b. c. This learned author, also, as well as other chronologers, enumerates many monarchs who ruled over Egypt after this period ; but as Scripture, which is the most ancient piece of history extant is silent from the time of the exodus till the days of Solomon concerning Egypt, (a fact which proves that the storm of war had passed off either to the w^estward of Palestine, or that the Egyptian conquerors followed the maritime roads by Gaza 116 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. and the Phenician coasts, leaving Judea to the right,) our knowledge of these monarchs is very limited. What is known, is derived partly from profane authors, and partly from the hieroglyphics and tradition, neither of which speak of some of the monarchs enumerated by chronologers.* The first monarch of whom there is any historical information after the exode is MOERIS, OR MYRIS.t The name of Moeris is not found on the Phonetic inscrip- tions ; nevertheless his reign is a well authenticated fact ; and he seems to have been one of the wisest and best of the Egyptian kings. To him is ascribed the formation of the lake Moeris, now called Kairoun, which was designed to re- ceive the redundant waters of the Nile, and to discharge them by sluices, for the irrigation of the lands when the river failed. According to Herodotus, this lake was about 450 miles in circumference, and, from the varied statements of modern travellers, from thirty to fifty miles long, and from six to ten miles wide, and its deepest part 200' cubits, or 100 yards ; which is too great a work to have been excavated by human labours. Nothing, indeed, says Browne, can pre- sent an appearance so unlike the works of men. On the north-east and south is a rocky ridge, in every appearance, primeval. It would be safer, therefore, to understand, that Moeris only opened a communication between the river and this vast natural basin, which runs parallel thereto from north to south, about ten miles distant, and made a canal, eighty stadia, or about four leagues in length, and three plethra, or 100 yards, in breadth, as described by Diodorus. This would have been a stupendous work, and far more glorious than either the pyramids or the labyrinth, if we consider it with reference to its utility ; for it was used for the three-fold purposes of agriculture, commerce, and a fishery. This ca- nal is now called Bahr Jusuf, or " Joseph's river," and it is * For the names of these monarchs we refer the reader to the lists of dynasties given at the conclusion of the book. t Between the exode of the Israelites, and the reign of Moeris, there were several monarchs of Egypt, but, as we have no authentic information concerning them, it must be considered as a blank in the history. Their names will be found in the lists at the end of the book. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 117 vulgarly ascribed to that great man, while regent of Egypt. This has arisen, probably, from the circumstance, that the fa- mous Sultan Joseph Saladin (who made that wonder at Cairo called " Joseph's well," attributed also to the patriarch,) re- paired this celebrated work. Besides this, Moeris is said to have built two great pyra- mids in the midst of this lake, 600 feet high, the half of which was covered by the water. These are mentioned both by Herodotus and Diodorus ; the former of whom, whose veracity is unimpeachable, says that he saw them, and that on the top of each there was a stone colossus sitting upon a throne. These pyramids are not, however, mentioned by Strabo, nor are they to be met with at the present day ; from which circumstance it has been asserted, that there is not a fact in history, in which testimony and observation are more at variance. Moeris appears also to have been attentive to religious ob- servances. He built the northern portico of the temple of Vulcan, at Memphis, which was more stately and magnifi- cent than all the rest. This is noticed both by Herodotus and Diodorus, the former of whom sums up the notice of the various works of Moeris with this observation, " These are, indeed, lasting monuments of his fame." The greatest work ascribed to Moeris was the famous labyrinth, from whose model that of Crete was afterwards copied by Dasdalus ; and in which, Pliny says, not a single piece of wood was used, being entirely constructed of stone. Herodotus, says Mr. Wilkinson, attributes its foundation to the twelve kings in the time of Psammeticus ; but tradition seems to have ascribed it to Moeris, though it is possible that the son of Neco and his colleagues may have enlarged it. Pliny asserts, it was first built by king Petesuccus, or Tithoes, though others affirm it to have been the palace of Motherus, or the sepulchre of Moeris ; and received opinion maintains that it was dedicated to the sun. Diodorus, again, mentions Mendes, or Maron, or Marrus, as the founder, while others have put forth the claims of Ismandes, probably Osymandas, and various other monarchs. Manetho has attributed nineteen years and six months for the reign of this prince ; but this appears too short a period for the various and stupendous works which he executed : hence. Dr. Hales thinks, that the reign of Harmesses, his predecessor, which is stated to have been sixty-six years twc 118 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, months, should be assigned to Moeris. The death of Moeris is dated u. c. 1308. SESOSTRIS. If" the authority of Diodorus is admitted, seven generations intervened between Moeris and Sesostris ; but Herodotus seems to place the latter as his immediate successor. By some writers, Sesostris, or, as Diodorus calls him, Sesosis, was reputed to have been the son of Amenophis in., whom Dr. Hales identifies with Moeris ; and they record that about the period of liis birth, the god Vulcan appeared to his father in a dream, informing him that his child should become lord of the whole earth. Josephus supposed that this celebrated monarch of Egypt was the Shishak or Sesac of Scripture, who invaded Reho- boam and plundered the temple of Jerusalem ; a supposition which has been adopted by many able chronologers, but which is now generally abandoned as untenable. The incidents recorded in the life of Sesostris are more numerous and stirring, and better authenticated, than any of his immediate predecessors. He was not only, indeed, one of the most powerful kings of Egypt, but one of the great- est conquerors recorded in the annals of antiquity. Diodo- rus relates, that the father of Sesostris formed a design of making him a conqueror, while yet he was but an infant. For this purpose, he took up all the children throughout Egypt, born on the same day with his son, to be educated with him, and caused them to be trained alike in the same rigid discipline of the public schools, that they might com- pose a band of companions, attached to his person, and quali- fied to fill the first civil and military departments of the state. The chief part of their education was the inuring them to a hard and laborious life, in order that they might one day be capable of sustaining the toils of Avar, and of excelling in brute force. They were never suffered to eat till they had run on foot or horseback a considerable race, and hunting was their most usual exercise. It is remarked by iElian, that Sesostris was instructed by Mercury in politics and the art of government. This Mer- cury is he whom the Greeks called Trismegistus, "thrice great," and to whom, some say, Egypt owes the invention of almost every art. But as .Tambilicus, a priest of Egypt, af- firms, that it was customary for the Egyptians to affix the HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 119 name of Hermes, or Mercury, to all the new books or inven- tions that were offered to the public, it seems erroneous to as- cribe them to one man, and the error may have arisen from that circumstance. During his father's lifetime, Sesostris reduced the Arabians, who had never been conquered before, eastward ; and the Libyans, westward ; and, encouraged by these successes, he formed the design of conquering the known world. Accord- ingly, when his father died, he prepared for his ambitious en- terprise. But before he left his kingdom, he provided for his domestic security, in winning the hearts of his subjects, by his generosity, justice, and obliging behaviour. He was no less studious to gain the affection of his officers and soldiers, being well assured, that all his designs would prove unsuc- cessful, unless his army should be attached to his person by the ties of esteem, affection, and interest. He divided the country into thirty-six governments, called Nomi, and be- stowed them on persons of merit and approved fidelity. In the mean time, he made the requisite preparations, levied forces, and headed them with officers of bravery and reputation, chiefly taken from among the youths who had been educated with him. It is said, that the number of his officers was 1,700, and that his army consisted of 600,000 foot, and 24,000 horse, besides 27,000 armed chariots : all numbers, however, of so large an amount, at this early period must be received Avith caution. Sesostris began his expedition by invading Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, situated on the south of Egypt. This country he rendered tributary, obliging the nations thereof to furnish him annually with a stated quantity of ebony, ivory, and gold. He then reduced the islands of the Red Sea, or Persian Gulf, with his fleet. He is said, also, to have marched an army by land as far as India, eastwards, and to have penetrated even beyond the Ganges ; but this is, probably, a fiction of the Egyptian priests, who reported it to Diodorus, from whom we derive the information. After this, he turned his arms northwards, subdued the Assyrians and Medes of Up- per Asia, and crossing over into Europe, subdued the Scy- thians and Thracians. But he received a check at the river Tanais. where he was in danger of losing his army from tbe difficulty of the passes, and the want of provisions. He left a colony in the ancient kingdom of Colchis, situated to the east of the Black Sea, where the Egyptian manners and cus- toms have ever been retained. lie likewise erected pillai? in 120 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the conquered, countries, as trophies of his victories, on which were inscribed, " SESOSTRIS, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS, SUBDUED THIS COUNTRY BY HIS ARMS." Several of these pillars were seen by Herodotus and Strabo in Palestine, Syria, Arabia, and Ethiopia ; and it is probable that the pillar which Josephus said was remaining in the land of Siriad in his days, and which he ascribed to the antedilu- vian Seth, was one of those erected by Sesostris. Of these pillars seen by Herodotus in Syria, Mr. Wilkin- son, who identifies Sesostris with Rameses u., says, there is little doubt that one of the tablets, or stelae^ alluded to by the historian, still exists in Syria, bearing the name of Rameses n. It is at the side of the road leading to Beiroot, close to the river Lycus, now Nahr-el-Kelb ; and though the hiero- glyphics are much erased, sufficient remains to show by whose order it was sculptured. Near it is another, accom- panied by the figure of a Persian king, and inscribed with the arrow-headed character, copies of which have been lately made by Mr. Benomi ; and thus the memorials of the passage of the Egyptian army, marching triumphant over Asiatic na- tions, and that of the Persians, victorious over Syria and Egypt, are recorded in a similar manner at the same spot. And yet now, these two stones are all the traces that remain of these direful contests and mighty efforts. One remarkable trait is observable in the character of Se- sostris, which is, that he had no idea of preserving the con- quests he was at so much pains to achieve. It was sufficient for him to have subdued and despoiled those nations, to have made wild havoc in the world, and to have erected these monuments ; for after that period, he confined himself almost within the ancient limits of Egypt, a feAv neighbouring pro- vinces excepted. He returned home triumphant, bringing immense spoils and innumerable captives to Egypt. There, glory unknown to his predecessors awaited liim ; but it was that glory which was erected on the woes of mankind, and which, sooner or later, would be exchanged for shame, not- withstanding the false gloss which historians may throw over the character of such conquerors. On his return, it is recorded, that Harmais, his brother, whom he had left as regent or viceroy in Egypt during his expedition, conspired to destroy him and his family at a ban- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 121 quet which he had prepared for him in Daphne, near Pelu- sium, by setting fire to the house. He lost two of his sons in the flames, but escaped himself with four more, and, as He- rodotus relates, punished his brother, but in what manner we are not informed. As a monument of gratitude for this deliverance, Sesostris rebuilt the temple of Vulcan, at Memphis, the immense stones of which are noticed by Herodotus. In front of this temple, he placed six colossal statues, two of them thirty cubits high, representing himself and his queen ; and the other four, twenty cubits high, representing his four sons who had escaped the flames. Sesostris also erected temples in every city; raised em- bankments to the river ; and dug numerous canals, for the supply of water, the conveyance of corn and provisions, and the security of the country against foreign invasion. He also built a wall across the desert from Pelusium to Heliopolis of 1,500 stadia, or about 187 miles in length, to secure Egypt from the irruptions of its neighbours, the Syrians and Ara- bians ; thus adopting the wise policy of the shepherd kings. His great work was, the raising a considerable number of high banks, or moles, in which new cities were built, in or der that man a:nd beast might be secure from any unusual in- undations of the Nile. In all these various public works, Sesostris employed only captives. This is certified by an inscription found upon many of the monuments, which reads thus : " None of the na- tives were put to labour here ;" and which may be looked upon as a tacit reprobation of the ostentatious pyramids of the shepherd kings, who so cruelly enslaved the Egyptians. It appears, indeed, to have been the policy of Sesostris to be ten- der over his own people, while he oppressed those he had taken captives, forgetting that mankind were all " made of one blood," and therefore have all a demand upon our sym- pathy. So great was the regard which Sesostris bore to his people, that he made an equal division of the lands to them ; eissign- ing a square piece of ground to each, and reserving to him- self' an annual rent from the tenants, Avith directions to his surveyors to make proper abatements should the river en- croach on any man's land. It was no wonder, therefore, that his memory was highly honoured in Egypt, even to remote ages. This may be gathered from Diodorus, who relates, that when Darius Hystaspes obtained the crown of Persia, VOL. .1. 11 122 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. he wished to have his own statue placed above that of Sesos- tris at Memphis, against which the high priest protested in council, declaring that Darius had not yet exceeded the noble acts of Sesostris, a declaration with which that monarch had the good sense to agree. Such was this hero of antiquity. He was one of the best and wisest monarchs that ever sat upon the throne of Egypt ; but his glory was tarnished by his restless ambition, which made him a fierce scourge to mankind ; and by a blind fond- ness for his own grandeur, which made him sometimes for- get that he was human. It ■ is said, that the kings and chiefs of the conquered nations came at stated times to do homage to the victor, and pay the appointed tribute ; and that, when he went to the temple, or entered the capital, he would cause them to be harnessed to his car four a-breast, instead of horses ; a deed which exhibits at once a pitiful vanity, and barbarous inhumanity. Such appears probable to have been a fact ; for the Theban artists have introduced a similar in- stance of cruelty in the sculptures of the temple of Medeenet Haboo, representing the triumphal return of Rameses iii. ; and of Osirei, at Karhak, after his conquest in the eastern war ; where three captives are tied beneath the axle of his chariot, with their faces toward the ground, while others, bound with ropes, walk by the side of his horse, to be pre- sented to the deity of the place. This fact would seem to confirm the statement of some authors, namely, that Sesostris is to be identified with Rameses m. The latter days of Sesostris were embittered by the misfor- tune of losing his sight, which so affected him, that he put a period to his existence, an act foolishly regarded by the Egyp tians as worthy of a pious and good man, and rs becoming u hero admired of men and beloved by the gods, whose merited gifts of eternal happiness he had hastened to enjoy. How awful is this error ! and how differently are mankind taught by the sublime doctrines of the Bible ! They learn there that they should wait all their appointed days on earth till their change comes ; that they should endure afflictions with patience, thereby possessing their souls ; and that should they endure unto the end, being Christians in deed and in truth, they shall receive a croAvn of life. On the other hand, Ave discover that those who madly rush into the presence of their Maker, as Sesostris did, are lost for ever. It is no matter whether the act is committed by a hero, or by a hitherto pious and good man ; the knell of hope is sounded by it, and he HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 123 sinks for ever in remediless woes. The life of man is not his own. It is a sacred gift from the Creator of the universe, and we are bound to preserve it, till he requires it again. That man not only violates nature, but defies his Maker, who lays violent hands on himself Reader, if you contrast the conduct of the patient Job with that of the rash Sesostris, you will discern the infinite superiority of the true over false reli- gion The death of Sesostris occurred, according to Dr. Hales, about B. c. 1275, after a reign of thirty-three years. PHEUON. Sesostris was succeeded in his kingdom by his son Pheron the Sesoosis ii. of Diodorus, and the Nuncoreus of Pliny. Pheron was the very reverse of his father : fond of ease and pleasure, he undertook no military expedition ; and by his indolence, he even lost the remoter conquests which his father had gained. In his reign, the Assyrians are supposed to have shaken off the Egyptian yoke, and recovered their liberty. Herodotus records only one action of this prince, and that carries with it the air of romance. He says, that in an ex- traordinary inundation of the Nile, which exceeded eighteen cubits, Pheron, being enraged at the wild havoc which it made, threw a javelin at the river, as if to chastise its insolence, thereby provoking the river god, who punished him for his impiety with the loss of sight. Like his father, Pheron appears to have been affected by a Aveakness of the eyes, which terminated in total blindness ; but though it continued during eleven years, he at length re- covered, owing more probably to some operation which the noted skill of the Egyptians had suggested, than to the cause assigned by Herodotus. Both Diodorus and Pliny agree with the historian of Halicarnassus, that he dedicated two obelisks in token of gratitude for the recovery of his sight. Manetho and Africa nus assign the long reign of sixty-one years to this prince. .\ OSYMANDAS. Diodorus describes a famous sepulchral temple, on the authority of Hecataeus, which he says was built by this mon- arch at Thebes, and which was the most magnificent of all 124 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the temples in Egypt. His description runs thus : — " Near the first sepulchres in the Theban Necropolis, where the pal- lacides of Jove are interred, stood the tomb of Osymandas. Its entrance was by a porch of variously coloured stone, two hundred feet in length, and forty-five in height. Behind this was a square portico, each side measuring four hundred feet ; and instead of pillars, supported by representations of animals, sculptured in the antique fashion, and each sixteen cubits high. The ceiling, which was of compact masonry, cover- ing' the space between the outer walls and the columns, was upwards of twelve feet in breadth, and was ornamented with stars studded on an azure ground, like the firmament of hea- ven. At the upper end of this portico, was a second court, in every respect similar to the first, but enriched with a greater variety of sculptures. Close to the entrance, were three sta- tues, all of one stone, the workmanship of Memnon of Syene. One of these was in a sitting posture, and the largest in all Egypt, its foot alone exceeding seven cubits in length. The other two were inferior in size, reaching only to its knees. These were attached in an upright position to the front of the throne, one on the right, the other on the left side, and they represented the daughter and mother of the king. This piece was not more admirable for the exquisite art of the carver, than for the dimensions and beauty of the stone, which was free from the least flaw or blemish. Upon it was this proud inscription : — "l AM OSYMANDAS, KING OF KINGS: IF ANY ONE WISHES TO KNOW WHAT A PRINCE I AM, AND WHERE I LIE, LET HIM EX- CEL MY EXPLOITS. " Near this was a statue of his mother, twenty cubits in height, and cut out of one stone. She had three crowns on her head, purporting that she was the daughter, wife, and mother of a king. The court led to a second portico, far ex- ceeding the first. On the wall of this, the king was repre- sented waging a war in the country of the Bactrians, who had revolted from him, and against whom he led an army of 400,000 men, and 20,000 horse, in four divisions, each com- manded by one of his sons. On the first Avail, the king was seen besieging a fortress surrounded by a river, and contend- ing in the foremost ranks with the enemy, accompanied by a lion, from whence some authors conclude, that he always fought with a tame lion at his side, and others, that the figure vvas emblematical of his courage. On the second wall, cap- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 125 tives were conducted without hands, and with other signs, purporting them to be men destitute of courage. On the third, were a great variety of sculptures and paintings, indi- cating the sacrifices and t^umph of the king. In the middle of this court was an altar of very beautiful stone, admirable for its size and its workmanship. On the fourth side were two sitting statues, of a single block each, measuring twenty- seven cubits in height. Near these courts were three pas- sages, supported throughout by columns, and built in the manner of a theatre ; these passages were 200 feet square. In this place were many wooden statues, representing per- sons engaged in law-suits, and the judges hearing the causes These last, thirty in number, were carved on one side, with their president in the centre, at whose neck hung an image of Truth, with his eyes closed, and who was surrounded with many books. This signified that the duty of a judge was, to receive no bribe, and that he should only regard truth and equity. After this was a corridor, filled with numerous chambers, in which all kinds of viands most agreeable to the palate Avere introduced. Here the king was most curiously wrought, and painted in the most elegant colours. He was represented as presenting to the deity the gold and silver he annually received from the mines throughout Egypt, the amount whereof was 3,200 myriads of minae, or 96,000,000/. sterling. To these chambers, the sacred library succeeded, over which was inscribed, ' The balsam of the soul !' Con- tiguous to the library, were the images of all the Egyptian gods, to each of whom the monarch presented a suitable oflfering, in order that Osiris, and the rest of the deities placed beneath him, might know that he had passed his life with piety towards the gods, and with justice towards men. Ad- jacent to this library, was an edifice of remarkable architec- ture, elegantly fitted up with twenty couches, where the • statutes of Jupiter, Juno, and the king were placed, who was thought to be her.e entombed. Around this were several pavilions, in which were hung beautiful paintings of all the sacred animals of the country. From hence was the ascent to the sepulchre. Beyond this, and immediately over the sepulchre, was a golden planisphere, which was carried away by Cambyses, when the Persians invaded Egypt. This planisphere measured 365 cubits in circumference, and one in thickness ; and it was divided and marked at every cubit with the days of the year, the rising and setting of the stars 11* 126 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. according- to the natural revolutions, and the signs ascertained from them by Egyptian astrologers." Diodorus does not fix the exact epoch at which Osymandas reigned in Egypt. This is a matter of great uncertainty, and scarcely two writers agree upon the subject. Mr. Wilkinson infers the identity of Osymandas and Ismandes and Mendes, and says, that in his reign the Bactrians, who had been sub- dued by Sesostris, rebelled, and threw off their allegiance to the Egyptians ; thus placing Osymandas after Sesostris. Dr. Hales, on the contrary, identifies Osymandas with Sesostris, affirming that the particulars of the above description ac- curately correspond to Sesostris, and to no other king before or after. There are others, again, who, perhaps with more rea- son, conjecture that the name which Diodorus thus wrote, was that of the monarch whom Manetho calls S ethos Rameses, or Rameses n., who was the father of Sesostris. The tomb of this monarch was discovered by Belzoni, and it is certain that he was a great warrior, as Diodorus relates. His ex- ploits are recorded in the palace of Karnac, and the Memno- nium. The reign of Rameses ii. was conspicuous as the Augustan era of Egypt, when the arts attained a degree of perfection which no after age excelled, and the arms of Egypt were ex- tended considerably farther into the heart of Asia than during the most successful invasions of his predecessors. In the fourth year of his reign, he had already waged a successful war against several distant nations. His march lay along the coast of Palestine, and the record of that event is still pre- served on the rocks of the Lycus, near Beiroot, where his name and figure present the singular circumstance of a Pha- raonic monument without the confines of Egypt. That the Egyptians extended their dominions far beyond the valley of the Nile, is proved by the monuments and the sacred writings. Some of their northern possessions were retained until Ne- buchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took from Pharaoh-nechoh all that belonged to him, " from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates," 2 ICings xxiv. 7. M. Champollion sup- poses that the people over whom Rameses ii. triumphed, were the Scythians, and the hieroglyphics admit of such a reading. The dress, appearance, as well as the name of his enemies, shows them to have been inhabitants of Central Asia. These hieroglyphics indicate that they were skilful in the art of war, and that they possessed strong towns, and a country traversed by a large river. Their mode of fortifying their to-\vns, the HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 127 double fosses that surrounded their walls, their bridges over them, and their mode of drawing up the phalanxes of infantry, suggest a considerable progress in civihzation and the art of Avar. Their oifensive and defensive arms consisted of spears and swords, helmets, shields, and coats of mail. They pos- sessed two-horsed chariots, which contained each three men, thus forming a well constituted and powerful body of troops. Some fought on horses, which they guided by a bridle, with- out saddle ; but the far greater part fought iri cars, all of which is indicative of an Asiatic people. PROTEUS. Proteus, whose Copic name was Cetes, which Suidas says, signified a manifold sea monster, sometimes a lion, a panther, a toad, a whale, etc., very difficult to be overcome, was a Memphite. It was the name of this monarch that gave rise to the Grecian fable of Proteus, as described by Homer, (Odyss. iv. 414 — 460,) and Virgil, (Georg. iv. 388—450.) Diodorus explains the fable, (for which we refer the reader to the pages of these poets,) as arising from a custom among the Egyptian kings of wearing on their heads, as emblems of sovereignty, the figures of bulls, lions, and dragons, fire, branches of trees, with frankincense, and perfumes, not only to adorn them- selves, but to strike awe and terror into the hearts of their subjects. This explanation, however, is questioned by some, from the circumstance of the head dresses of the kings being repre- sented in the sculptures, when offering to the gods, both numerous and varied in their forms. The shrine of Proteus was still visible at Memphis in the time of Herodotus. It stood on the south of the temple of Vulcan, (the god of the ancients, who presided over fire, and who was the patron of all artists v^rho worked in iron and metals,) and was magnificently ornamented. The Phenicians of Tyre who had settled in Egypt lived in its vicinity when Herodotus visited the country, and the whole of the environs thence obtained the name of the Tyrian camp. There was also in the same spot a small temple dedicated to Venus, the stranger, a goddess who was conjectured by Herodotus to be the Grecian Helen, who was said to have hved some time at the court of Proteus. This author says, that the priests of Egypt gave him the subjoined information 128 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. concerning this heroine : — " Paris, having carried off Helen from Sparta, was returning home, when contrary winds arising in the ^gean, he was driven into the Egyptian sea. The winds continuing unfavourable, he proceeded to Egypt, and putting* into the Canopic mouth of the Nile, landed at the TarichsBa, or the salt pans, near a temple of Hercules. If, at any time, a slave fled for refuge to this shrine, and submitted to be marked with certain characters, in testimony of conse- crating himself to the service of the deity, no one was per- mitted to molest him. The servants of Paris Avere aware of this privilege, and fleeing from their master, with a view of injuring him, became suppliants to the deity. They revealed the secret concerning Helen, and the wrong he had done to Menelaus, not only to the priests, but also to Thonis, governor of that mouth of the river. " Thonis despatched a courier to Proteus at Memphis, with this message : ' A Trojan is arrived here, who has committed an atrocious crime in Greece. Not only has he seduced the wife of his host, but he has carried her away with his trea- sures. Contrary winds have brought him hither: shall I permit his departure, or seize his person and property?' Proteus commanded, that whoever the man was who had thus violated the rights of hospitality, he should be brought before him. Paris, with Helen, and all his treasures, Avere, therefore, sent to Memphis. Proteus inquired who he Avas, and from Avhence he came? The delinquent related the name of his family and country, and from Avhat place he had set sail ; but Avhen he AA'^as questioned concerning Helen, he equivocated, and endeaA^oured to conceal the truth, till the slaves who had deserted him Avere confronted Avith him, and explained all the circumstances of his guilt. Proteus, there- fore, pronounced this sentence: 'If I did not consider it a great crime to put a stranger to death, Avho has been driven on my coast by contrary Avinds, I Avould, thou AA^orst of men, avenge the Greek Avhose hospitality thou hast abused in so treacherous a manner. Thou hast seduced his AAdfe, and, not contented Avith this, thou hast stolen her aAvay, and still de- tainest her ; and to complete the crime, thou hast robbed his house. But, as I consider it not right to put a stranger to death, I suffer thee to depart. This Avoman, hoAvever, and AA^ealth thou hast brought, I forbid thee to take. These shall remain with me till the Greek demands them in person. In three days leave the coasts of Eg\'pt Avith thy companions, or exoect death.' HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 129 " Helen was detained by Proteus till the arrival of Mene- laus, who finding, when Troy was taken, that Helen was in Egypt, repaired to the court of the Egyptian monarch. On his arrival, he related the object of his journey. He was re- ceived with the rites of hospitality, and Helen who had been treated respectfully, was restored to him, with all his treasures. He then returned to the coast, intending to return to Greece immediately ; but the winds were contrary ; and Menelaus, unmindful of the favours he had received, clandestinely seized two children, and offered them as a sacrifice. This was no sooner made public, than the Egyptians resolved to punish the perpetrator of this gross outrage. But, as he fled by sea into Africa, they were unable to overtake him, and Mene- laus thereby escaped their indignation, and the punishment he deserved." Thus history demolishes much of the Homeric fable. Proteus is said to have founded the city of Memphis, the metropolis of Lower Egypt.* He reigned about fifty years, during which time, the country is supposed to have enjoyed peace and prosperity. He is the last of the Egyptian mon- archs whose history is connected with that of the heroic age. RHAMPSINITUS. This monarch is not distinguished for the extent of his conquests ; but he surpassed all his predecessors in wealth, and in his fondness for riches. Diodorus says, that he was so avaricious, that he would not employ any of the treasures he had amassed, either for the service of the gods, or the benefit of his subjects. The monuments, however, which he erected at Memphis, disprove this statement, and claim for him a place among the patrons of his religion, and the en- couragers of art. According to Herodotus, he added the western vestibule to the temple of Vulcan, and adorned it with two colossal statues, twenty-five cubits high. The same author relates a romantic tale concerning an artful and daring robbery committed on his treasury, and of the singular expe- dient which he employed to discover the robber ; but the de- tails deserve no mention in these pages. Rhampsinitus is supposed to have been the patron of the * The reader will observe, that the founding of Memphis is ascribed by 'ancient historians to two different monarchs of different ages, namely, to Menes and Proteus. It is probable that Menes founded it, and that it was enlarged by Proteus. 130 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Eleusinian mysteries, which were first instituted in Egypt, and which Avere designed to maintain the immortahty of the soul and a future judgment after death^bythe infernal deities Ceres and Bacchus. This supposition is founded on another romantic tale, which states that Rhampsinitus descended into the infernal regions, and played at dice with the goddess Ceres, and alternately won and lost. The Eleusinian mys- teries, which were an allegory kept secret from the multitude in all ages, and of which nothing is known, passed from Egypt into Greece. Why they were kept secret, we are told by Synesius. " The ignorance of the mysteries," he says, " preserves their veneration : for which reason they are en- trusted only to the cover of the night." Clemens Alexan- drinus, also, says, that the veil or mist through which things are only permitted to be seen renders the truths contained under it more venerable and majestic. The learned Varro, moreover, in a fragment of his book, "Of Religions," pre- served by St. Augustin, relates, that there were many truths which it was inconvenient for the state to be generally known ; and many* things which, though false, it was expedieat the people should believe ; and that, therefore, the Greeks shut up their mysteries in the silence of their sacred enclosures. How different from all this is the promulgation of the doctrines of the Bible among mankind. By a stated ministry, charged to declare the whole counsel of Grod, we are taught the precious truths contained therein ; and, if the meaning of any passage appears hidden from sight, we are encouraged to ask of God, and he, by his Holy Spirit, will guide us " into aU truth." Truly these are proofs of the Divine origin and authority of the Holy Scriptures. Till the reign of Rhampsinitus, Egjrpt was remarkable for its excellent laws, its strict justice, and moderation ; but, ac- cording to Herodotus, in the two next reigns, oppression and cruelty usurped their place. CHEOPS. On the authority of the Egyptian priests, it is stated by Herodotus, that this prince was the builder of the first pyramid, and that he shut up the temples, and prohibited the national sacrifices. This it is not probable a native king would either desire or dare to do ; and, therefore, the report may have been made, as is supposed by some, to conceal the disgrace of their former slavery and oppression under the sliepherd kings, and HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 131 to enliance the power and grandeur of their native kings. It would appear, however, that Cheops disregarded justice, and bare an iron rule compared with his predecessors. According to Dr. Hales, Cheops was the father of that prin- cess of Egypt whom Solomon, king of Israel, married. See I Kings iii. 1. If such was the case, Cheops was a warlike prince ; for it is recorded of him in the sacred writings, under the name of Pharaoh, that he took Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slew the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife, 1 Kings ix. 16. It is not recorded how the king of Egypt came to be engaged in this undertaking : perhaps he had a quarrel of his own with the inhabitants of Gezer ; or, his son-in-law, Solomon, who did not himself engage in any military undertaking, might have requested him to render him this service. By this king, also, Solomon was supplied with horses, chariots, etc., out of Egypt, 1 Kings x. 28, 29. But it must not be forgotten, that the placing of Cheops, by Herodotus and chronologers, after the Trojan war, is consi- dered by some to be a gross anachronism. Manetho places him among the earliest of the Pharaohs, under the name of Suphis, and the monuments would seem to testify that he is correct. Be this as it may, Cheops, it would appear, reigned fifty years, and was succeeded by CEPHRENES, his brother, who, by the same ancient writer, Herodotus, and on the same authority, the priests, is said to have built the se- cond pyramid, and to have adopted the policy of his predeces- sor. Of this pyramid, Herodotus remarks, that this had no subterraneous chambers, nor any channel for the admission of the Nile, like the former, near which it stood ; from which it would appear that the first was a water temple. Most writers of ancient history, as stated in the article Se- sostris, have identified that restless conqueror Avith the Sesac or Shishak* of Scripture ; but Dr. Russel, in the third volume of his " Connexion," and Dr. Hales, in his " Analysis of Chro- nology," have shown that Sesostris lived anterior to this event. The latter writer, who identifies Cephrenes with Shishak, * The work Shishak means a hard drinker, and is equivalent to his other title, Bacchus, a bottle companion ; titles which were considered Dy the ancients as very honourable. To be able to drink more wine than other men, was considered by thern as part, of the character of a heroj 132 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. says, " The reign of Cephrenes, so late as b.c. 1032, is cor- rected from a rectification of Syncellus's Catalogue, explained before. This date, combined with his long reign of fifty-six years, according to Herodotus, intimates, that he could be no other than the Sesac, or Shishak of Scripture, now, for the first time, determined in the present system of chronology, after having been so long misunderstood, from the days of Josephus to those of Marsham and Newton." One circumstance, namely, that Herodotus did not identify Sesostris with Shishak, is greatly in favour of this conclusion ; but there is a great degree of uncertainty in the identification of Cephrenes with Shishak, inasmuch as Manetho places him, like Cheops, among the earliest of the Pharaohs. Without, therefore, identifying Shishak Avith either Sesostris or Cephre- nes, here may be presented to the reader what is found in the sacred page concerning that monarch, under his scripture name of It is said, 2 Chron. xii. 2 — 12, " And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed ao-ainst the Lord, with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen : and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt ; the Lubims," (probably the Libyans,) " the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jeru- salem. Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together at Jeru- salem because of Shishak, and said unto them. Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me. and therefore have I also left you in the hands of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves ; and they said. The Lord is righteous. And when the Lord saw that they hum- bled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, say- ing, They have humbled themselves ; therefore 1 will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance ; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants ; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jeru- salem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and tbp treasures of the kinr^'s housp • he took all : he carried HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 133 away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. In- stead of which king Rehoboam made sliields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house. And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and fetch- ed them, and brought them again into the guard chamber. And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether : and also in Judah things went well." See also 1 Kings xiv. 25 — 28. It is thought by some, that the invasion of Judah by Shi- shak was at the instigation of Jeroboam, who had previously resided at the Egyptian monarch's court, and had married his daughter. It is probable, that this first king of Israel was im- mediately connected with the transaction ; for the ten tribes over whom he reigned were in alliance with Shishak, and, at this date, in determined hostility towards the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as appears from 1 Kings xii. The interest and security, therefore, of Jeroboam, seemed to require that the king of Judah, his rival, should be humbled by a foreign and superior power. The chastisement, however, as intimated by the sacred writer, came from the hands, of the Almighty ; and the narrative shows how jealous the Lord is of his own honour ; how merciful he is to the repentant, and how kind in warning the creatures of Ms hands against straying from his fold. His design was, to restore Judah from the error of their ways ; that effected, his anger ceased, and the Egyptians returned to their own land. It may be mentioned, that the Shishak of Scripture is iden- tified by Champollion and others with Sesonchis, according to Manetho, and Sheshonk, according to the Phonetic signs. The latter name, with the title, confirmed by Ammon, appears on one of the columns of the first grand peristyle in the pal- ace of Karnac. Among the sculptured ornaments of this palace, the personage thus named is represented as dragging to the feet of his gods the chiefs of thirty conquered -nations j and it is remarkable, that there is one whose distinguishing hieroglyphic inscription is equivalent in Phonetic value to Jouda~ha-melek^ meaning the king of the Jews, or of Judah. The names of the kingdom of Judah, and of several towns on the Egyptian frontier of Judah, Megiddo, Beth-horon, etc., oc- cur in the list of his conquests. It may be inferred, therefore, that the triumphant scene commemorates, among many others, that recorded in the sacred Avritings, and as such it is highly interesting. VOL. T. 12 134 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. MYCERINUS. This monarch is represented as the son of Cheops, and, therefore, advanced in years when he ascended the throne.' Mycerinus was reckoned the builder of the third pyramid, which is represented by Herodotus as superior to the others in costliness of materials and excellence of workmanship, though inferior in size. But this structure could not possibly have been built within so short a period, which is a proof of the fallacy of the statements made by the priests of Egypt con- cerning the pyramids, and the monarchs during this period. Of Mycerinus they have reported that his character was the reverse of that of his father. So far from walking in his steps, he detested his conduct, and pursued opposite measures. He again opened the temples of the gods, restored the sacri- fices, and did all that lay in his power to comfort his subjects, and make them forget their past miseries. He believed him- self set over them for no other purpose but to exercise justice, and to administer to them the blessings of an equitable and peaceful administration. He heard their complaints, dried their tears, alleviated their misery, and considered himself the father of his people. This conduct procured for him the love and esteem of all his subjects ; Egypt, it is said, resounded with his praises, and his name commanded veneration in dis- tant lands. This prudent and humane conduct did not exempt Myce- rinus from calamity. Herodotus says, that his misfortunes commenced with the death of a beloved and only daughter, in whom his chief felicity consisted. He ordered extraordinary honours to be paid to her memory, which Avere continued in this historian's days ; for he states, that in the city of Sais, ex- quisite odours were burned in the day time at the tomb of the princess, and that during the night a lamp was kept constantly burning. Her body is said to have been enclosed in a heifer, made of wood, and richly ornamented with gold. After this, Mycerinus met with another calamity. He was informed by the oracle of Buto that his reign would continue but seven years, and upon complaining of this to the gods, and inquiring the reason why so long and prosperous a reign had been granted both to his uncle and father, who were equally cruel and impious, w^hilst his own, which he had endeavoured to render equitable and mild, should be so short and unhappy ? he was answered, that these were the causes of it ; it being the will of the gods to afflict Egypt during the space of one hun- HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS. 135 dred and fifty years, as a punishment for its crimes ; and that his reign, which was to have been, like those of the preceding monarchs, of fifty years' continuance, was shortened on ac- count of his overmuch lenity. But all this bears upon the face of it the stamp of fiction ; for Mycerinus being an aged man when he ascended the throne of Egypt, it could not be supposed, that, in the common course of nature, he should reign as long as Cheops or Cephrenes. It is probable that Mycerinus reigned about ten years. The immediate successor of Mycerinus is uncertain. He- rodotus asserts it was Asychis, who appears to have been a Memphite. Diodorus, however, introduces the names of Tnephachthus, or, as Plutarch calls him, Technatis, and his son Bocchoris, both of whom are omitted by Herodotus, as Asychis and Anysis are in his catalogue of kings. TNEPHACHTHUS. This prince is only known as being the father of Boccho- ris, and as having led an expedition into Arabia, where he endured great privations, owing to the loss of his baggage in this inhospitable country. Being obliged to put up with poor and slender diet, and finding his sleep in consequence more sound and refreshing, he felt persuaded of the ill effect re- sulting from luxury, and was resolved on his return to Thebes to record his abhorrence of the conduct of Menes, who had induced the Egyptians to abandon their frugal and simple habits. Accordingly, he erected a stela, with an in- scription to that purpose, in the temple of Amun at Thebes, where his son also made considerable additions to the sacred buildings dedicated to the deity. This stela, or tablet, cannot now be discovered in any of the ruins of Thebes, and the truth of this statement may, therefore, perhaps, be questioned. ccHopas. This prince is the Bakhor or Pehor of the Phonetic signs, who reigned about 312 b. c. He is represented to have been despicable in his person, but the qualities of his mind fully compensated for any imperfections of the body ; for ac- cording to Diodorus, he excelled all his predecessors in wis- dom or prudence, whence he obtained the surname of "the wise." It is supposed by some that Bocchoris is mentioned by 136 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Herodotus under the name of Asychis, of which monarch, that historian relates, that he enacted the law relative to loans, which forbade a son to borrow money, without giving the dead body of his father by way of security, as explained page 28. Herodotus states, also, that Asychis prided himself" in having surpassed all his predecessors, by the building of a pyramid of brick, more magnificent than any hitherto erected, with this inscription engraved on a marble slab : " Compare me not with the stone pyramids, for I am as superior to them as Jove is to the other gods. Thus was I made : men prob- ing with poles the bottom of a lake drew forth the mud which adhered to them, and formed it into bricks." Bocchoris is reputed to have been one of the Egyptian law- givers, and in this capacity to have introduced many useful regulations in the ancient code respecting debt and fiscal mat- ters ; but some have imagined that his care of the revenue proceeded from avarice, rather than from a desire to benefit the state. So high, says Plutarch, was the veneration his subjects paid him, that they fabled Isis to have sent an asp to deprive him of his sight, that he might judge righteously. Diodorus places a long period between his reign and that of Sabacos the Ethiopian, who, however, follows him next but one in the Phonetic chronology and in that of Manetho, which is most likely to be correct in this particular. The monarch who intervened between Bocchoris and Sabaco, was, according to Dr. Hales and other chronologers, who, Herodotus says, was blind ; and who had only reigned two years when Sabacos invaded Egypt, and drove him into the fens. It is agreed on all hands that the Sabacos of Hero- dotus was the So of Scripture, whose aid was implored by Hoshea king of Israel, against Shalmaneser king of Assyria, about 726 years b. c. Sabacos ruled in Egypt with great justice and moderation about fifty years : he resigned the throne in obedience to an oracle, and returned to Abyssinia. Dr. Hales conjectures that the true cause of his leaving E^ypt was the apprehension of an Ass^n-ian war, which it is probable he had in the first instance sought to avert, by prompt ing Hoshea to rebel against Shalmaneser. It is said that Sa- bacos built several magnificent temple.s, and among the rest, one in the city of Bubastis, of which a copious and elegant description is given by Herodotus, After Sabacos had re- raSTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 137 tired, Anysis reascended the throne of Egypt, and reigned till his death, which occurred at the lapse of six years, or about 719 B. c. SETHON, OR SEBECON. Sethon was a pontifical king, and his accession is fixed at E. c. 713, by the character of Sennacherib's invasion, as nar- rated by Herodotus. He says : " At this time there reigned in Egypt a priest of Vulcan, named Sethon, who neglected and contemned the military establishment which had been formed in Egypt, and among other dishonours which he put upon the soldier caste, he withdrew the allotment of twelve acres of land, which, under former kings, had been allowed as the portion of every soldier. After this, when Senna- cherib invaded Egypt with a great army, not one of the mili- tary class would come forward to his assistance. The royal priest, in this exigency, seeing no help before him, withdrew to a temple, where, standing before the image, he deplored bitterly the evils with which his kingdom was threatened. As he wept, sleep overpowered him, and he saw in a vision the god standing by, who, bidding him be of good cheer, assured him that no harm should befall him if he marched out against the Assyrians ; for he would himself send him as- sistance. Sethon took courage from this vision, and collect- ing a body of men, none of whom were soldiers, he marched out and formed his camp at Pelusium. The night after his arrival, myriads of field-mice infested the camp of the ene- my, gnawing in pieces their quivers, their bow-strings, and the straps of their shields ; so that in the morning, finding themselves deprived of the use of their arms, they fled in great disorder, and many of them were slain. In order to commemorate this event, a marble statue of Sethos was erected in the temple of Pthah, at Memphis representing the king holding a rat in his hand, with this inscription : ' Who- ever thou art, learn from my fortune to reverence the gods." ' This, observes a learned writer, is evidently nothing more than an adaptation to Egypt, its king, and its gods, of what be- longed to Judah, to Hezekiah, and to the power of Jehovah. " It is, indeed, a parody of the miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army before Jerusalem, in the reign of Hezekiah, by the pestilential blast, as foretold by Isaiah, and the particu- lars of which are narrated, 2 Kings xix.. and Isaiah xxxvii. It is there recorded, that the king of Assyria, having subdued 138 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. all the neighbouring- nations, and made himself master of all the other cities of Judah, resolved to besiege Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The ministers of this good monarch, in opposi- tion to his will, and the remonstrances of the prophet Isaiah, who promised them, in the name of Jehovah, sure protection, if they would trust in him only, sent secretly to the Egyptians and Ethiopians for succour. Their armies, being united, marched to the relief of Jerusalem ; but they were met and vanquished by the Assyrians, who pursued them into Egypt, and laid waste their country. At their return from thence, on the very night before a general assault was to have been made upon Jerusalem, as the army of Sennacherib were rest- ing in their tents, A mighty angel from the eternal God Breathed death upon the slumbering host, and sent The impious monarch, overwhelmed with shame, Back to his native land and idle gods. . One hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians perished, and Sennacherib, confounded and disgraced, re- turned to his own land, where he perished by the hands of his own sons, " in the house of Nisroch his god." These are the facts connected with the transaction ; but through contempt of the Jews, says Dr. Hales, who were then a depressed people, and whose name Herodotus has not once deigned to notice in the course of his history, he has trans- ferred the miracle in favour of the Egyptians, whom he ad- mired ; or else simply recorded the tradition of the priests, thus authenticating, while they per verted the original miracle. The prophet Isaiah, on several occasions, had foretold that this expedition of the Egyptians, which had been concerted with such prudence, conducted with such skiU, and in which the forces of two powerful empires were united in order to relieve the Jews, would not only be of no avail to them, but even destructive to Egypt itself, whose strongest cities would be taken, its territories plundered, and its inhabitants of all ages and both sexes led into captivity. See Isa. xviii., xix., XX., xxxi., xxxii., etc. By some writers it is conjectured that the splendour of Thebes received its first blow at this period : the prophet Nahum mentions, indeed, that such an event oc- curred when " Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength," Nah, iii. 9, which indicates that it was at this period. The mon- arch of Ethiopia, Avho joined his forces with those of Sethon, as intimated in the sacred writings, Avas Tirhakah, who was HTSTOE.Y OF THe' EGYPTIANS. 139 one of the successors of Sabacos, and who is supposed by some authors to have held Upper Egypt.* But this does not appear to be fully proved ; for, at the death of Sethon, great confusion or anarchy took place, which continued two years, after which time, about e. c. 673, the Egyptians elected TWELVE KINGS, one for every nome or district. The turbulence that attended this change of government, from a monarchy to an oligarchy, seems to have been foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Speaking in the name of Jehovah, he says, Isa. xix. 2, "And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians : And they shall fight every one against his brother, And every one against his neighbour ; City against city, And kingdom against kingdom." Herodotus says, it was agreed by these twelve kings, that each should govern his own district with equal power and authority, and that no one should invade the dominions of another. To this end they bound themselves with the most solemn oaths, to elude the prediction of an oracle which had foretold that the oligarchy would be dissolved by that one among them who should offer his libation to Vulcan out of a brazen vessel. But accident brought to pass that which they sought to avoid. One day, as the twelve kings were offering solem sacrifices to Vulcan, the priests having presented eleven of them with a golden bowl for the libation, found that one was wanting ; upon which, Psammiticus, one of the twelve, without any design on his part, supplied the want of this golden bowl with his brazen helmet, and with it per- formed the ceremony of the libation. This accident alarmed the rest of the kings, by recalling to their memory the predic- tion of the oracle, and they thought it necessary to secure * Mr. Wilkinson says on this subject, " that Tirhakah ruled at Napata and in Thebaid at the same period, is sufficiently proved by the additions he made to the temple of Thebes, and by the monuments he built in Ethiopia ; nor did the Egyptians efface his records, or forget the gratitude they owed to the defender of their country. The name of Nectanebo has, indeed, usurped the place of Tirhakah's ovals in one or two instances among the sculptures at Thebes, but such substitutions are not uncom- mon, and the name of the Ethiopian has not been erased from any ill-will, so often evinced when an obnoxious monarch had ceased to reign." This is the strongest evidence we have on the subject, and it is rather pre- sumptive than conclusive. 140 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. themselves from his attempts, which they did, by banishing him into the fenny parts of Egypt. After his expulsion to the fens, he consulted the oracle of Latona, at Butos, how to be revenged on his associates. He was answered, that " his revenge should corne, when brazen men should appear from the sea ;" and not long after, he heard with astonishment, that the country was pillaged by " brazen men coming from the sea !" These were a set of Ionian and Carian pirates, Avho were covered with helmets, cuirasses, and other arms of brass, and whom Psammiticus hired to assist him in dethron- ing his associates. This they did effectuallj^, and made him sole sovereign of Egypt, and in reward of their services he settled them near Bubastis, at the Pelusian mouth of the Nile, whence they were transplanted afterwards by Amasis to Memphis. This is derived from Herodotus : the version Avhich Dio- dorus gives is more consistent with probability. It runs thus : — As Psammiticus, whose sway extended to the Mediter- ranean, had availed himself of the opportunities offered by the sea-ports within his province of establishing commercial inter- course Avith the Phenicians and Greeks, and had amassed considerable wealth by these means, his colleagues, jealous of his increasing power, and fearing that he would eventual- ly employ it against them, resolved to prevent such an occur- rence, and to dispossess him of his province. They, there- fore, prepared to attack him, and by this step obliged Psam- miticus to adopt measures which his ambition might not have contemplated. Apprised of their resolutions, and f: nding him- self threatened by the formidable army of all the upper pro- vinces, he sent to Arabia, Caria, and Ionia ; and, having suc- ceeded in raising a considerable body of mercenaries, he was soon able to oppose them ; and putting himself at the head of these and his native troops, he gave them battle at Meiiiphis, routed their combined forces, and obliging those of the princes who had escaped the slaughter to flee to Libya, be- came possessed of an undivided throne. The twelve kings reigned in Egypt fifteen years ; and to them is attributed the building of the labyrinth near the Lake Mosris. Of this wonderful structure, Herodotus says, that it had twelve courts, fifteen hundred chambers above, and as many more under ground, with an infinite variety of halls, passages, and mazes ; and that the roof and walls were all incrusted with sculptured marble, and surrounded with pillars of white and polished stone. In the lower apartments he was HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. 141 informed, were the tombs, both, of the kings who originally built the labyrinth, and of the sacred crocodiles. The upper apartments which he examined, excited his admiration, as the greatest efforts of human art and industry ; surpassing in workmanship and expense the far famed pyramids, and th-e most admired temples of Ephesus and Samos. But from this representation it is questioned whether the labyrinth could have been constructed during the short space of fifteen years. It is probable, indeed, that several succes- sions of kings were employed in this prodigious work, and that it was constructed by the shepherd dynasty, who were idolators, and worshipped the Nile in their pyramids, and very likely the crocodile. Pliny reckons, that the labyrinth was built 3,600 years before his time. This date is too re- mote, for it would then have been erected before the deluge. His assertion, however, tends to prove that he considered the work to have been of the remotest antiquity. PSAMMITICUS. From the time of the Grecian colony first settled in Egypt, by Psammiticus, and their constant intercourse with Greece, we know with certainty, says Herodotus, all that has passed in that country. The Egyptian annals, indeed from the reign of this prince, about 658 years b. c, assume a regular and settled form in the succession of kings. The clearer knowledge of Egyptian history from this date is chiefly owing to a fact which Herodotus records of Psammiticus. He states that, having settled the lonians and Carians in Egypt, he sent among them the Egyptian youths to be. in- structed in the Greek language ; from whence sprung the state interpreters of that tongue. The youths chosen for in- terpreters were without question, those of the priesthood, since to that order all letters and learning were restricted, and they had likewise a great share in the public administration. The priesthood, therefore, having the Greek tongue amongst them, which its use in public affairs would cause them to cultivate diligently, it is no wonder that some of these inter- preters should afterwards employ themselves in translating the Egyptian records into the Grecian language ; from whence the present knowledge of them is derived. As soon as Psammiticus was settled on the throne of Egypt, he engaged in war against the king of Assyria, on the sub- ject of the boundaries of the two empires. This war was of 142 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. long duration. Ever since Syria had been conquered by the Assyrians, Palestine, being the only country that separated the two kingdoms, was the subject of constant discord ; as it was afterwards between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidce. They were ever contending for it, and it was alternately won by the stronger. Psammiticus, seeing himself in the peace- able possession of all Egypt, and having restored the ancient form of government, as an act of policy looked to his frontiers to secure them against the aggressions of the Assyrians, whose power increased daily. He therefore entered Pales- tine at the head of a powerful army, and advanced as far as Azotus victoriously.* But his career was here stopped. Azotus was at that time one of the principal cities of Pales- tine, and the Egyptians having seized it some time before, had fortified it with such care, that it was strongest on the side that Psammiticus attacked it, namely, that towards Egypt. The consequence was, it cost him the labour of twenty-nine years before he could retake it from the hands of the As- syrians, into whose possession it had fallen when Sennacherib entered Egypt. This is the longest siege mentioned in the pages of ancient history. During this period, about the twenty-third year of his reign, or B. c. 635, the Scythians, who had defeated Cyaxares, prince of Media, and deprived him of all Upper Asia, the dominion of which they held twenty-eight years, pushed their conquests in Syria as far as the frontiers of Egypt, intending to invade that country, by way of retaliating the invasion oi Scjrthia by Sesostris. Psammiticus, however, marching out to meet them, prevailed upon them by presents and entreaties to desist from their enterprise, and thus averted the threatened blow. Till the reign of Psammiticus, the Egyptians had imagined that they were the most ancient people upon the earth, and that the honour of the origin of language Avas due to them. ♦ Diodorous says, that Psammiticus having assigned the right wing to the Greek troops in this war, and the left to the Egyptians, the latter were so indignant at the dishonour put upon them, that they quitted the camp, and with other regiments which had remained in Egypt, abandoned his service, and, to the number of 240,000 men, retired into Etliiopia. Ac- cording to Herodotus, they entered into the service of the Ethiopian prince, and their migration, introducing the arts and manners of a refined nation, had a very sensible effect in civilizing the Ethiopians. The exact position of the country they occupied is unknown. Herodotus places it on the Nile ; Strabo near Mcroe ; but Pliny, on the authority of Aristo- creon, reckons "seventeen days from Meroc to Esar, a city of the Egyp- tians who fled from Psammiticus." HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 143 Psammiticus was desirous of proving" this claim, and Hero- dotus relates a whimsical experiment, which he adopted to find out the primeval language. He shut up two new-born infants in a solitary cottage, for two years, under the care of a shepherd, who was not to suffer any one to speak in their hearing, and who was to cause them to be suckled by goats. One day, the shepherd, entering the cottage, both the children ran to him, holding out their hands, and crying, " Bekhos, bekhos !" This they repeated afterwards ; and bekhos being found, on inquiry to signify " bread" in the Phrygian dia- lect, the Egyptians yielded the palm of antiquity to the Phry- gians. But this experiment was by no means conclusive ; for the children evidently imitated "bek," stripped of the Greek termination, Aos, the bleating of the goats : and Hero- dotus himself acknowledges, elsewhere, that the Phrygians were a Macedonian colony, originally called Bryges, and afterwards Phryges ; their barbarous dialect therefore, could be no standard. One obvious and useful result, however, from the inconclusive experiment, says Dr. Hales, was, to show, that the faculty of speech was considered as innate, or " the gift of nature," by the Egyptians, then reckoned the wisest and the most argumentative people of antiquity. Far wiser, then, were they than some of our modern philosophers, who represent the faculty of speech as " a talent acquired like all others ;" as an " invention" discovered posterior to several others, and after the formation of societies. That great moraUst, Dr. Johnson, has well remarked : — Language must have come by inspiration : a thousand, nay, a million of children could not invent a language : while the organs are pliable, there is not understanding enough to form a lan- guage ; and by the time there is understanding enough, the organs are grown stiff We know that, after a certain age, we cannot learn a language. The truth is, language is the gift of a beneficent and all-wise Creator, and is given to man to make known his wants, his desires, his sorrows, and all the multifarious circumstances of human life, as well with his re- lation to God as to his fellow-man. It is given, also, that man may glorify his Maker, Redeemer and Sanctifier, and they who abuse this precious gift will meet with a due re- ward ; for it is written, that for " every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judg- ment," Matt. xii. 36. Psammiticus died about b. c. 619. He was succeeded ty 144 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. NEKUS^ who is the Pharoah-nechoh of Scripture, (2 ffings xxiii,) in the twentieth year of the reign of Josiah, king of Judah. This king is noted for remarkable undertakings. One of the principal of these was, to cut a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, a distance of about 1,000 stadia, or about 118 English miles. But in this Nekus was obliged to desist, after a great number of men had perished in the progress of the undertak- ing ; being apprehensive of disastrous consequences from the superior elevation of the Red Sea. Another great undertaking of this prince was, the circum- navigation of Africa. This was the most renowned and brilliant circumstance of his reign. After the failure of the canal, Nekus employed some skilful Phenician mariners to sail on a voyage of discovery, from the mouth of the Red Sea, southward, round the peninsular of Africa, in which they doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and returned by the Straits of Gibraltar, through the Mediterranean Sea, com- pleting their voyage in three years. Herodotus has recorded this fact, and he subjoins that these persons affirmed what to him seemed incredible, namely, that as they sailed round Africa, they had the sun on their right hand. But this statement serves, more than anything else, to authenticate their story. It demonstrates, indeed, that they crossed the southern tropic of Capricorn, and confirms the truth of their narrative. Major Rennel has given an ingenious description of their probable route and their several stations, caused by the interruption of the trade Avinds, monsoons, and currents, on the eastern and western sides of Africa. There has, how- ever, been a threefold objection alleged against this historical fact : first, a total failure of all the consequences ; secondly, a total want of all collateral evidence ; and thirdly, a total silence of all other historians, but Herodotus and his fol- lowers. To these objections, Dr. Hales makes the following satisfactory replies : " 1. The failure of consequences naturally resulted from the depressed state of Egypt, during the Baby- lonian and Persian dominations ; which took place in, and after Pharaoh-nechoh's reign. 2. We have strong collateral evidence, in the voyage of Sataspes, which was required by Xerxes to be made, in the contrary direction to this, namely, along the western coast of Africa, and to return by the eastern into the Red Sea. But this voyage failed, and probably pre- vented any farther attempts from Egypt. Nor was Herodo- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 145 tus the only author of antiquity among those whose works have come down to us, who believed that Africa had been sailed round ; for Pliny believed that it had been achieved by Hanno, Eudoxus, and others ; but he is silent concerning- the voyage of Necho, while Herodotus is silent about Hanno's voyage. Hence it may be suspected, that as this navigation was made much about the same time with that of Hanno, Pliny may have confounded them together, referring the actions of the Egyptian to the Carthaginian.* 3. The testi- mony of Herodotus is ably supported by Dean Vincent (the author who makes the foregoing objections) himself It must be confessed, says he, that the facts Herodotus gives us of this voyage, though few, are consistent. The shadow falling to the south, the delay of stopping (about three months only) to sow grain and reap a harvest, and the space of three years employed in the circumnavigation, joined with the simplicity of the narrative, are all points so strong and convincing, that if they be insisted on by those who believe the possibility of effecting the passage by the ancients, no arguments to the contrary, however founded upon a different opinion, can leave the mind without a doubt upon the question." After this, Herodotus observes, the king betook himself to military exploits, and it is most interesting to find, that the military exploit which he proceeds to mention is no other than that very transaction which is recorded in Scripture in these words : " After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Char- chemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. But he sent ambassadors to him, saying. What have I to do Avith thee, thou king of Judah ? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war : for God com- manded me to make haste : forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised him- self, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot at king Josiah ; and the king said to his servants, Have me away ; * This opinion of Dr. Hales does not appear to be well grounded ; for though he states, that the expeditions were made " much about the same time," there was more than 150 years difference. Notwithstanding, Pliny may have confounded these expeditions, for we often find, in ancient writers, actions recorded at one period, which took place in ages remote from that period, VOL. I. 13 146 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. for 1 am sore wounded. His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had ; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers," 2 Chron. xxxv. 20—24. The Avords of Herodotus are : Necho invading the Syrians, overthrew them at Magdolus, and then took Cadytis, a great city in Syria. This Cadytis he afterwards mentions as a city of the Syrian Palestine, which he conjectured was little infe- rior in size to Sardis. That Magdolus is Megiddo, where Necho overthrew Josiah, and Cadytis, Jerusalem, is very generally agreed. This event may be dated 608 years b. c. Nekus, animated by this victory, continued his march, and advanced towards the Euphrates. He defeated the Babylo- nians ; took Carchemish, a large city in that country, and se- curing to himself the possession of it by a strong garrison, returned to his own kingdom, after having been absent three months. Being informed in his march homeward, that Jehoahaz had caused himself to be proclaimed king of Jerusalem, with- out asking his consent, and considering this neglect as a token of hostile feeling, he was highly incensed, and resolved on punishing his insolence. With this view, he ordered Jehoa- haz to meet him at Riblah, and he had no sooner arrived there than Nekus commanded that he should be put in chains, and sent down to Egypt, where he died. From thence pur- suing his march, Nekus came to Jerusalem, where he placed Jehoiakim, another of the sons of Josiah, upon the throne, in the room of his brother ; and imposed an annual tribute on the land " of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold," or about 40,435Z. sterling, 2 Kings xxiii. 33 — 35. This being done, he returned in triumph to Egypt. In the fourth year after this expedition, Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, observing that since the taking of Carchemish by Nekus, all Syria and Palestine Jiad shaken off their allegiance to him, and that his years and infirmities would not permit nim to march in person against the rebels, associated his son Nebuchadnezzar with him in the empire. This young prince (b. c. 604) took a severe revenge upon Nekus. He invaded Egypt, and stripped him of all his conquests, from the Euphrates to the Nile, so effectually, that the king of Egypt went "not again any more out of his land" to invade his neighbours. See 2 Kings x.viv. 7. This event \»js foretold by the prophet Jeremiah in these emphatic AVords? "The HfSTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 147 word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles ; against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh- necho king of Egypt, which was hy the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah," Jer. xlvi. 1,2. So beautifully does prophecy and this historical fact harmonize. Nekus died b. o. 603, and was succeeded by his son, PSAMMIS, or Psammitieus n., of whom history records nothing memo- rable, except that he made an expedition into Ethiopia. It was to this prince that the Eleans sent an embassy, after hav- ing instituted the Olympic games. They had established all the regulations, and arranged every circumstance relating to them with such care, that, in their estimation, nothing was required to make them perfect, and envy itself could not find fault with them. They did not, however, desire so much to have the opinion, as to gain the approbation of the Egyptians, who were looked upon as the wisest and most judicious peo- ple in the world. On this subject, accordingly, the king of Egypt assembled the wise men of his nation. After every thing had been heard which could be said in favour of this institution, the Eleans were asked, whether citizens and foreigners were admitted in common to those games ; to Avhich answer was made in the affirmative. To this the Egyptians replied, that the rules of justice would have been more strictly observed, had foreigners only been admitted to these combats ; because it was difficult for the judges, in their award of the victory and the prize, not to be prejudiced in fa- vour of their fellow-citizens. Psammis died about b. c. 597, and was succeeded in his kingdom by APBIES, OR PHARAOH-HOPHRA, who was his son, and who, during the first twenty-five years of his reign enjoyed greater prosperity than any of his pre- decessors, except Psammitieus. He defeated the Phenicians, took Sidon, and invaded Cyprus, which was finally subdued by Amasis, his successor. But no state on earth is enduring ; and the wise man has observed, that "pride goeth before destruction, a.nd aR 148 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. haughty spirit before a fall" — ^truths which were exemplified in the history of Pharaoh-hophra in a remarkable manner. In the pride of his heart, he imagined, says Herodotus, that no God could deprive him of the kingdom, so firmly did he think himself established. With reference to his haughti- ness, the prophet Ezekiel, also, put these words into his mouth, " My river is my own, and I have made it for my- self," and symbolized him under the figure of the great dragon, or crocodile, basking in the midst of his rivers. See Ezek. xxix. 3. But in the height of his prosperity and fan-" cied security, his doom was pronounced by the prophet Jere- miah in these emphatic words : " I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life," Jer. xliv. 30 ; which, prediction was verified to the very letter, as will be seen in the course of this history. Shortly after Apries had ascended the throne, Zedekiah king of Judah sent an embassy, Ezek. xvii. 15, and concluded an alliance with him. The next year, b. o. 588, rejecting the admonitions of Jeremiah, and looking for assistance from the king of Egypt, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnez- zar king of Babylon, who therefore besieged Jerusalem with a numerous force. The Egyptian monarch, elated by the success of his arms^ and confident that nothing could resist his power, declared himself the protector of Israel, and pro- mised to deliver Jerusalem out of the hands of Nebuchadnez- zar. This drew upon him the anger of the Almighty, which was denounced by the prophet Ezekiel (chap. xxix. 3 — 9) in these words : — " Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great dragon that lietJi in the midst of his rivers, Which hath said. My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws, And I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, And I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, And all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, Thee and all the fish of thy rivers : Thou shall fall upon the open fields ; Thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered : I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field And to the fowls of the heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand. Thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 149 And when they leaned upon thee, Thou brakest, and madest all theur loins to be at a stand. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Behold I will bring a sword upon thee, And cut off man and beast out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate arid waste ; And they shall know that I am the Lord : Because he hath said. The river is mine, and I have made it" The prophet continues his prediction of the calamities, in this and the three succeeding chapters, some of the most striking passages of which will be noticed hereafter. Zedekiah, though well acquainted with these predictions, but lightly regarded them, and when he saw the king of Babylon raise the siege of- Jerusalem, which he did on the approach of the Egyptian army, he fancied that his deliver- ance was completed, and anticipated a triumph. But his joy was momentary ; the Egyptians seeing the Chaldeans advan- cing, retreated, not daring to encounter so numerous arid well-disciplined an army. They marched back into their own country, and left Zedekiah exposed to all the dangers of a war in which they themselves had involved him ; thus proving a " staiF of reed to the house of Israel," in the full sense of the term. Nebuchadnezzar marched back again to Jerusalem, and took it, and burned it, according to the tenor of prophecy. See Jet. xxxvii. 2 — 10 ; vsdth which passage compare Ezek. xxxi. This event is dated 586 years b. c. Some time after, (about b. c. 574,) the chastisements with which the Almighty threatened Pharaoh-hophra began to de- scend upon his head. The Cyrenians, a Greek colony which had settled in Africa between Libya and Egypt, hav- ing seized upon and divided among themselves a great por- tion of the country belonging to the Libyans, forced those nations to place themselves under the protection of Apries. Accordingly, this prince sent a large army into Libya to op- pose the Cyrenians ; but this army being defeated and almost destroyed, the Egyptians imagined that Apries had sent it into Libya in order to seek its destruction, and by that means to obtain absolute power over the property and lives of his subjects. This reflection prompted them to shake off his yoke ; but Apries hearing of the rebellion, despatched Ama- sis, one of his officers, to suppress it, and to compel the rebels to return to their allegiance. The moment, however, Amasis began to address them, they placed a helmet upon his head, in token of the dignity to which they intended to raise him, and they proclaimed him king. Amasis, therefore, instead 13* 150 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. of performing his duty, pleased with hit unexpected honours, stayed with the mutineers, and confirmed them in their rehel- lion. Apries, on receiving intelligence to this effect, was more exasperated than ever, and he sent Patarbemis, one of the principal lords of his court, to arrest Amasis and bring him before him. This was not so easily effected ; the rebel army surrounded Amasis to defend him, and Patarbemis was com- pelled to return without having executed his commission. Apries visited him for this supposed remissness of duty with unjustifiable punishment. He was treated, indeed, in the most inhuman and ig-nominious manner, his nose and ears being cut off by the command of Apries. But this outrage, committed upon a person of such high distinction, had the worst effect upon the minds of the Egyptians ; they arose in a body and joined the rebels, so that the insurrection becemie general. Apries was now forced to retire into Upper Egypt, where he supported himself some years, during which time Amasis made himself master of the rest of his dominions. Internal discord was not all the misery brought upon Egypt at this period. The king of Babylon, seeing the troubles that distracted Egypt, embraced this opportunity of invading the kingdom. This prince, unknown to himself, was only an agent in the hands of the Almighty, to punish a people, on whom, as we have seen, he had, by the mouth of his prophet, denounced vengeance. Nebuchadnezzar had just before taken Tyre, where himself and army had suflered incredible hardships, and yet had obtained no recompense when the city fell into their hands ; the Tyrians having spoiled the city themselves, and fled aAvay Avitli their effects. But the riches of the earth are in the hands of God, and he giveth them to whom he will. To recompense the toils which the king of Babylon had endured in taking Tyre, (which event also took place in accordance with prophecy,) God promised him the riches of Egypt, then one of the most prosperous and powerful kingdoms in the world. According to Herodotus, it was at this epoch at which Egypt Avas most flourishing, both with regard to the advantages conferred by the river on the soil, and by the soil on the inhabitants. There are few passages in Holy Writ more remarkable than that Avhich reveals the designs of the Creator with re- ference to this event, or which give us a clearer idea of the supreme authority he exercises over the children of men, however exalted their station may be. " Son of man," said HISTORy OF THE EGyPTIANS. 151 the Almighty to his prophet Ezekiel, " Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald," (owing to the pressure of their helmets,) " and every shoulder was peeled," (the con- sequence of carrying baskets of earth and large pieces of timber to join Tyre to the continent :) '• yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it : Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon ; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey ; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they, wrought for me, saith the Lord God," Ezek. xxix. 18 — 20. The prophet Jeremiah, also, with reference to this event, uses these remarkable words : " He shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment," (with the greatest readi- ness;) "and he shall go forth from thence in peace," Jer. xliii. 12. The extent of the desolation of Egypt was foretold by the prophet Ezekiel, (chap. xxx. 3 — 12,) in these words: — " The day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; It shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come npon Egypt, And great pain shall be in Ethiopia, When the slain shall fall in Egypt, And they shall take away her multitude, And her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, And all the mingled people, and Chub, And the men of the land that is in league. Shall fall with them by the sword. ^ Thus saith the Lord ; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall ; And the pride of her power shall come down : From the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the SWord, Saith the Lord God. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am the Lord, When I have set a fire in Egypt, And when all her helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships To make the careless Ethiopians afraid, And great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: For, lo, it Cometh. Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease 152 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. • ' • ;! By the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, Shall be brought to destroy the land : And they shall draw their swords against Egypt, And fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, And sell the land into the hand of the wicked : And I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, By the hand of strangers : I the Lord have spoken it." How literally the event justified these predictions, profane history declares. In the spring of the year, b. c. 570, Nebu- chadnezzar, that " cruel lord, and fierce king," invaded Egypt j and he quickly overran the whole extent of the coun- try, from Migdol, its northern extremity near the Red Sea, to Syene, the southern, bordering on Ethiopia, or Abyssinia. He made a fearful slaughter wherever he came, and deso- lated the country so effectually, that the damage could not be repaired in forty years. The spoils he collected were im- mense. With these, he clothed, as it were, his army, and after he had made alliance vsrith Amasis, or placed him on the throne as his viceroy, he returned to Babylon. When the Chaldean army had retired from Egypt, Apries left the retreat in which he had secreted himself, and ad- vanced towards the sea coast, probably on the side of Libya. Then, hiring an army of Carians, lonians, and other foreign- ers, he marched against Amasis, to whom he gave battle near Memphis. In this battle, Apries was taken prisoner, and he was carried to the city of Sais, and strangled in his owii palace by the Egyptians ; fulfilling the prophecy which saith, " Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life," Jer. xliv. 30. See also Ezek. xxxii. 32. This occurred B. c. 569. We have intimated that the king of Babylon AA'^as an agent in the hands of God in thus punishing Pharaoh-hophra and his people the Egyptians. A notice of other remarkable prophecies, not before adduced, and relating to this event, may here be given. By the prophet Ezekiel, (chap. xxx. 22 — 24,) the Ahnighty said : " Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, And will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken ; And I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, And will disperse them through the countries. i HISTORV OF THE EGYPTIANS. 153 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, And put my sword in his hand : But I will break Pharaoh's arms, And he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. The very towns which were to be ravaged by the victor are also enumerated, Ezek. xxx. 13 — 18, " Thus saith the Lord God ; I wUl also destroy the idols, And I will cause their images to cease out of Noph ; And there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egjrpt : And I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, And will set fire in Zoan, [Tanis,] And will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, [Pelusium,] the strength of Egypt; And I will cut off the multitude of No. And 1 will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain. And No shall be rent asunder, And Noph shall have distress daily. The young men of Aven [Heliopolis] and of Pibeseth [Pubastum] shall fall by the sword. And these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes [Daphnse Pelusiae] also they shall be darkened, When I shall break there the yokes of Egypt : And the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: As for her, a cloud shall cover her. And her daughters shall go into captivity." But the Almighty Avas not less punctual in the accom- Elishment of his prophecies which bare reference to such of is own people as had retired, contrary to his will, into Egypt, after the taking of Jerusalem, and who had forced Jeremiah to go down thither with them also. The moment they had arrived in Egypt, and had settled at Tanis, the pro- phet, after having hid in their presence, by the command of God, some stones in a grotto Avhich was near the palace of the monarch, declared to them that the king of Babylon should soon arrive in Egypt, and that his throne should be established in that very place ; that he would lay waste the whole kingdom, and carry fire and sword into all places : that themselves should fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, w)ien one part of them should be slain, and the rest led cap- tive to Babylon ; and that only a very small number should escape, and be at length restored to their country. All these prophecies were accomplished in the appointed time. See Jer. xliii. xliv. CHAPTER V. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. BABYLONIAN DOMINATION. AMASIS. The defeat and death of Apries, before mentioned, are given on the authority of Herodotus, who represents Amasis as a rebel chief taking advantage of the disaffection of the army to dethrone his sovereign. This information he re- ceived from the Egyptian priests ; but they made no mention of the signal defeat their army experienced, nor of that loss of territory in Syria which resulted from Nebuchadnezzar's success. It is reasonable to conclude, therefore, that they dis- guised the truth from the Greek historian ; and without men- tioning the disgrace which had befallen their country, and the interposition of a foreign power, attributed the change in the succession, and the elevation of Amasis to the throne, solely to his ambition and the choice of the military of Egypt. Josephus, however, expressly states that the Assyrian mon- arch led an army into Coelo-Syria, of which he obtained pos- session, and then waged war on the Ammonites and Moab- ites. These being subdued, he invaded and conquered Egypt ; and having put the king of that country to death, he appointed another in his stead. If Josephus be correct in this statement, there is reason to sxipposR he alludes to Apries being deposed, and succeeded by Amasis ; and it may be readily imagined that the Assyrians, having extended their conquests to the extremity of Palestine, would, on the rumour of civil war in Egypt, hasten to take advantage of the oppor- tunity thus afforded them of attacking the country. This would amount almost to a certainty, if, as some suppose, the war between Apries and Amasis did not terminate in the single conflict at Memphis, but lasted sevoial years ; and that HISTOK.Y OF THE EGYPTIANS, 155 either Amasis solicited the aid and intervention of Nebuchad- nezzar, or this prince, availing himself of the disordered state of the country, of his own accord invaded it, deposed the right- ful sovereign, and placed Amasis on the throne, on condition of paying tribute to the Assyrians. Amasis then ascended the throne of Egjrpt as a vassal of the king of Babylon ; and the injury done to the lands and cities of Egypt by this invasion, and the disgrace with which the Egyptians felt themselves overwhelmed after such an event, would justify the predictions of the prophets concern- ing the fall of Egypt. To witness their countrymen taken captive to Babylon, and to become tributary to an enemy whom they held in abhorrence, would be considered by the Egyptians the greatest calamity, as though they had for ever lost their station in the scale of nations. This last circum- stance would satisfactorily account for the title Melek,* given to inferior or tributary kings, being applied to Amasis, in -some of the hieroglyphic legends accompanying his name. According to Africanus, Amasis was a native of Siouph, in the nomos or district of Sais, in the Delta. Herodotus re- lates a whimsical experiment to which he had recourse in order to gain the affections of his subjects, who in the begin- ning of his reign despised him on account of his mean ex- traction. He had a golden cistern, in which himself and his guests were wont to wash their feet. This he caused to be melted doMm, and cast into a statute, which he exposed to public worship. The superstitious people hastened in crowds to pay their adoration to this new god. This Amasis antici- pated, and calling them together, he informed them of the vile uses to which this statue, Avhich they now adored, had once served. The application was obvious, and it had the desired effect; for the people ever afterwards paid Amasis the respect due to majesty. Diodorus, however, asserts that Amasis was originally a person of consequence ; that he was a distinguished member of the mihtary caste, Avhich accords with his rank as a general ; and that he married the daugh- ter of Psammiticus. Amasis used to devote the whole morning to public busi- ness, to receive petitions, give audience, pronounce sentence, and hold his councils. The rest of the day was devoted to * The term Melek denoted an inferior grade of " king," or it was re- served for those who governed as tiibutaries or viceroys of a more power- ful prince, of which this is an example ; others will appear after the Persian conquest. 156 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. pleasure ; and as Amasis, in these hours of diversion, was ex- tremely gay, and indulged in unseemly mirth, his courtiers represented to him the unsuitahleness of such conduct. He replied, that it was as impossible for the mind to be always intent upon business, as for a bow to continue always bent ; a reply which indicated that he was well acquainted with the weakness of human nature. This prince enacted a domiciliary law ; namely, that every Egyptian, once during the year, should set forth to the nomarch, or chief magistrate of his district, by what means he subsisted ; and whoever did not attend, or could not prove that he lived honestly, was to be punished with death. This was a most effectual law against idlers, and thieves or robbers. So wise was it considered by Solon, the Greek legislator, who visited the court of Amasis about b. c. 554, that according to Herodotus, he introduced it at Athens ; where, says this historian, it is still in use as being a blameless law. Amasis married a Greek wife from Cyrene. He was an admirer of the Grecians ; and he prepared the way for great changes in the social condition of Egypt, by allowing Greek merchants to settle at Naucratis, and to build temples and bazars. When the temple of Delphi was burned by acci- dent, he sent a contribution of a thousand talents of alum towards rebuilding it ; he also sent rich offerings to the tem- ples of Cyrene, Lindus, and Samos.* From this cause, it has been inferred, that the Egyptian superstition was not so incompatible with that of other nations as might be imagained from the domestic feuds of the several sects, for the wor- shippers of dogs, cats, wolves, and crocodiles, exercised a con- tinual warfare with each other as humorously described by Juvenal. He says : — "How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known : One sex devotion to Nile's serpent t pays Others to Ibis,! that on serpents preys. * The present he made to the temple at Cyrene was a golden statute of Minerva, with a portrait of himself; to that of Lindus, two marble statutes, with a linen corslet ; and to that of Samos, two figures of him- self carved in wood, which were placed inmiediatefy behind the gates, where they remained till the time of Herodotus. t The crocodile. t A bird that is a great destroyer of serpents in Egypt. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 157 Where Thebes, thy hundred gates lie unrepaired, And where maimed Memnon's* mjigic harp is heard, Where these are mouldering, let the sots combine. With pious care a monkey to enshrine ! Fish-gods you'll meet, with fins and scales o'ergrown ; Diana's dogs adored in every town ; Her dogs have temples, but the goddess none! "Tis mortal sin an onion to devour, Each clove of garlic is a sacred power." The kindness shown by Amasis to Samos, says Herodotus, was owing to the friendship which subsisted between him and Polycrates, the son effaces; but he had no such mo- tive of attachment to Lindus, and was only moved by the report of the temple of Minerva having been erected there by the daughters of Danaus, when they fled from the sons of Egyptus. The same author informs us that his affection for the Cyrenians arose from his having married Ladice, a native of that country, who was afterwards, when Cambyses con- quered Egypt, sent back to her parents. The friendship of this monarch of Egypt and Polycrates commenced, at the period of the war between the Lacedemo- nians and the latter, who had forcibly possessed himself of Samos. It had been cemented by various presents on both sides, and appeared to promise a long continuance. But Plutarch has well observed, that prosperity is no just scale, but adversity is the true balance to weigh friends. The ancient historian relates that the Egyptian monarch, offended with the tyrannical conduct of Polycrates, and foreseeing, from the feeling excited against him both among his subjects and foreigners, that his fate was inevitable, with- drew his friendship from him. The event justified his fore- sight ; for the subjects of Polycrates revolted, and he was at length murdered by the treacherous Orastes. That Amasis was a great encourager of art we have ample testimony from the monuments which remain, as well as from the statements of ancient historians. He decorated the chief city of the nomos in which he was born (Sais) with numer- ous great works. There were magnificent propylisa to the temple of Athansea, enormous colossi, and large andro- sphinxes. His great architectural achievement was a mono- lith, or one stone temple, which he brought from the granite * This colossus or marble statue of Memnon held a harp in its hand, which uttered musical sounds when struck by the beams of the rising sun ; which Strabo tells us that he both saw and heard, but confesses he is not able to assign a cause. VOL. 1. 14 158 mSTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. quarries of Syene, down the river, a distance of about 600 miles. The exterior dimensions of this stone were 31^ Greek feet long, 21 broad, and 12 high : a chamber was cut out in the interior, the dimensions of which were, 28|- feet long, 18 broad, and 7^ high. Amasis made also, a colossus 75 Greek feet long, flanked by two smaller figures, 30 feet high, which he placed in front of the great temples of Hephaestus, (Phtha,) at Memphis. He placed a similar one at Sais. The restoration of Egypt, says Dr. Hales, under Amasis, seems to have been foretold in Scripture : " At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered," Ezek. xxix. 13. These forty years of captivity, counted from Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, B. c. 570, expired b. c. 530, when Cyrus, who had subverted the Babylonian empire, b. c. 538, and into whose power Egypt, as a province of that empire, had fallen, by a wise and liberal policy, released the Egyptians, as he had before the Jews. This act of grace occurred five years before the death of Amasis. The next year, b. c. 529, Cyrus died, and the Egyptians revolted, upon Avhich, Cambyses, the successor of Cyrus, made it his first act, after he had settled the eastern provinces, to invade Egypt. Herodotus, however, assigns a different cause for the invasion. He says, that towards the latter end of the reign of this monarch, Cambyses sent to Egypt to demand his daughter in marriage, a step to which he had been prompted by a certain Egyptian, an enemy of Amasis. This man Avas a physician ; and Avhen Cyrus had requested of the Egyptian king the best medical advice he could procure for a disorder of his eyes, Amasis forced him to leave his wife and family and go into Persia.* Meditating * The Egyptians paid great attention to health ; and so wisely, says Herodotus, was medicine managed by them, that no doctor was permitted to practise any but his own particular branch. Some were oculists, who only studied diseases of the eye ; others attended solely to the complaints of the head ; others to those of the teeth ; some again confined themselves to complaints of the intestines ; and others to secret and internal maladies, accoucheurs being generally, if not always women. The physicians received salaries from the public treasury. After they had studied those precepts which were laid down from the experience of their predecessors, they were permitted to practise. In order to insure their attention to the prescribed rules, and to prevent experiments from being made upon patients, they were punished if their treatment was contrary to the established system ; and the death of a person tinder such circumstances was deemed a capital olTence. If, however, every rtemeldy HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 159 revenge for this treatnujnt, he instigated his successor to re- quire the daughter of Amasis, that he might either suffer affliction at the loss of his child, or, by refusing to send her, provoke the resentment of Cambyses. Amasis detested the character of the Persian monarch ; and persuaded that his treatment of her would neither be honourable nor Avorthy of a princess, he was unwilling to accept the overture ; but fearing to give a positive refusal, he determined on sending the daughter of the late king. The name of this princess was Neitatis, or, as Herodotus calls her, Nitetis. She was possessed of great personal attractions ; and Amasis, having dressed her in the most splendid attire, sent her into Persia as his own child. Not long after, Cambyses happening to address her as the daughter of Amasis, she explained the manner in which he had been deceived, by a man who had dethroned and put Apries her father to death, and had seized upon the throne through the assistance of a rebellious faction. Upon this, Cambyses was so enraged, that he resolved to make war upon the usurper, and immediately prepared to invade Egypt. This statement will not bear the test of examination. Nite- tis is represented to have been sent to Persia towards the close of the reign of Amasis, which lasted forty four years ; and allowing her to have been born immediately before Apries was dethroned, she would have been of an age which in Egypt and Persia is no longer a recommendation or the had been administered according to the sanatory law, they were absolved from all blame. According to Pliny, the Egyptians claimed the honor of having invented the art of curing diseases. The Bible, indeed, affords some sanction to this claim, by the fact that its first notice of physicians is to intimate their existence in Egypt. See Gen. 1. 2; Exod. xxi. 19. The employment of numerous drugs in Egypt is mentioned by sacred and profane writers ; and the medical properties of many herbs which grow in the deserts are stUl known to the Arabs, although their application has been but imper- fectly preserved. " O virgin, the daughter of Egypt," says Jeremiah : "in vain shalt thou use many medicines ; for thou shalt not be cured," Jcr. xlvi. 11. Homer, in his Odyssey, describes the many valuable medicines given by Polydamna, the wife of Thonis, to Helen, when in Egypt ; and Pliny makes frequent mention of the productions of that country, and their use in medicine. The same writer mentions, that the Egyptians ex- amined the bodies after their death, to ascertain the nature of the disease of which they died. We learn from Herodotus, moreover, that Cyrus, as stated above, and Darius, both sent to Egypt for medical men. All this tends to prove the medical skill of the ancient Egyptians ; but notwith- standing this, it is indicated only in the painting of Beni Hassan, where a doctor and a patient are twice represented. 160 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. associate of beauty. It is more likely, that Amasis, who had submitted to Cyrus, refused, upon the death of that conqueror, to pay his successor the same homage and tribute. But whatever may have been the real motive of this war, it is certain that Cambyses was greatly enraged against Amasis; and that the Egyptians, when the country was invaded by the Persian monarch, were treated with unwonted cruelty. The death of Amasis, however, which happened six months before the arrival of the Persians, prevented Cambyses from satiating his meditated revenge on the Egyptian monarch: and judging from the savage rage which the Persian con- queror vented upon his lifeless body, it was fortunate for Amasis that he had not fallen alive into his hands. Herodotus mentions the situation of the tomb of Amasis. Like all those of the Saite monarchs, it stood within the pre- cincts of the temple of Minerva, in the chief city of that nome, which, during the reign of the princes of the twenty-sixth dynasty, had become the royal residence of the monarchs, and the nominal metropolis of Egypt ; Thebes and Memphis still retaining the titles of the capitals of Upper and Lower Egypt. CHAPTER VI. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. PERSIAN DOMINATION. Cambyses entered the country of Egypt, b. c. 525, when he found that Amasis was just dead, and that he was succeeded in his kingdom by his son PSAMMENITUS. The first operations of Cambyses were against Pelusium, which Ezekiel styled, " the strength of Egypt," and Suidas, " the key of Egypt," or its strong barrier on the side of Syria and Arabia. This place he took by a singular stratagem. Finding it was garrisoned entirely by the Egyptian troops, he placed a great number of the sacred animals, cats, dogs, cows, sheep, etc., in front of the Persians when advancing to the walls ; and the Egyptians, not daring to throw a dart, or shoot an arrow, for fear of killing some of their gods, the walls were scaled, and the city taken without difficulty. Conscious of the great danger to which Egypt was ex- posed by the invasion of the Persians, Psammenitus made great preparations for the defence of the frontier, and advanc- ing with his Egyptian troops, and the Ionian and Carian auxiliaries, to Pelusium, he encamped in a plain near the mouth of the Nile. The Persians having passed the desert, took up a position opposite the Egyptian army, and both sides prepared for battle. The conflict soon commenced, and the battle was for a long time obstinately disputed ; till at length, after a great slaughter had been made on both sides, the Egyptians gave way and fled. The way from Pelusium to Memphis was now open to the invader, and with rapid marches he hastened towards the 14* 162 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. ancient capital of Lower Egypt. Hoping, however, to obtain advantageous terms without another contest, Cambyses sent a Persian up the river in a Mitylenian vessel, to treat with the Egyptians : but as soon as they saw the vessel enter Mem- phis, they rushed in a crowd from the citadel, destroyed it, and tore the crew to pieces. At the news of this outrage, the indignation of Cambyses knew no bounds ; he immediately laid seige to Memphis, and having succeeded in reducing that city, he indulged his resentment by putting many of the inhabitants to the sword : the king was taken prisoner, and 2,000 Egyptians of the same age as the son of Psammenitus were compelled first to march in procession before the con- queror, and were then put to death, as a retaliation for the murder of the Persian and Mitylenian herald. There were 200 Mitylenians destroyed in the vessel, so that ten of the first rank among the Egyptians suffered for every one who was destroyed on that occasion. Psammenitus himself was pardoned ; and such was the respect entertained by the Persians for the persons of kings, that he would probably have been restored to a tributary throne ; but being detected in fomenting a rebellion, he was put to death by Cambyses, after a brief reign of six months. From this date, b. c. 525, to b. c. 413, Egypt was govern- ed by the Persian kings. Great havoc followed the reduction of Egypt by Camby- ses. Temples and public buildings were destroyed ; tombs were violated, and the bodies burned ;* religion was insulted, private property pillaged or destroyed, and everything Avhich could tempt the avarice or reward the labour of the spoiler was seized and appropriated either by the chief or his troops. Gold and silver statues, and other objects of value, were sent to Persia ; and it would appear that numerous Egyptian cap- tives were also sent thither by the conqueror. The name of Cambyses, says Mr. Wilkinson, as may be easily imagined, is never met with on Egyptian monuments ; but a visitor to the slate and breccia quarries, on the road from Coptos to the Red Sea, has, at a later period, recorded the name of this monarch in hieroglyphics, adding to it the • The officers of the French frigate, Luxor, it is said, who removed the obelisk, found the sarcophagus of the queen of Aiuasis in a pit at El ^ooreeh, the body entirely burned, though placed in its original re- pository. The tomb had been violated, probably, by the Persians, and the body thus treated, and was afterwards reclosed by the Egyptians in the sarcophagus. The body had been gilded. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 163 date of his sixth year. On the same rock two other ovals also occur : one of Djirius, with the number 36 ; the other of Xerxes, with the year twelve ; showing the inscription to have been written in the twelfth of Xerxes ; and the date 36, intended as the full extent of the reign of Darius. On ano- ther rock, at the same place, are the sixteenth year of Xerxes, and the fifth of Artaxerxes Longimanus ; and in the princi- pal temple of El Khargeh, in the great Oasis, that of Darius again occurs, a considerable portion of the building having been erected by him : and it is remarkable, that he is the only Persian king whose Phonetic name is accompanied by a prenomen like those of the ancient Pharaohs ; a circum-* stance which confirms the remark of Diodorus, namely, that he, and he alone, of all the Persian monarchs, obtained while living the appellation of Divus, or " Good God," which was a title given by the Egyptians to all the ancient Pharaohs. Upon the death of Cambyses, whose history will be re- corded in future pages, b. c. 487, the Persian empire fell into the hands of SMERDIS, THE MAGIAN, who usurped the Persian throne, by pretending to be Smer- dis, a son of Cyrus, who had been slain by order of his bro- ther Cambyses. This pretext was soon discovered, and the pseudo-Smerdis, after a brief reign of seven months, was slain as an usurper by DARIUS HYSTASPES, who, by means of a stratagem, established himself upon the throne. The rule of Darius was mild and equitable ; he was not only careful to avoid every thing that might offend the reli- gious prejudices or hurt the feelings of his foreign subjects, but having made diligent inquiry respecting the jurispru- dence and constitution of the Egyptians, he corrected some abuses, and introduced many salutary laws, which continued to form part of their code, until, in common with many of those enacted by the Pharaohs, they were altered or abroga- ted by the Ptolemies, after the Macedonian conquest. The Egyptians, however, impatient of foreign rule, and anxious to free their country from the presence of a people whose cruelties, at the time of the invasion of Cambyses, they could never pardon or forget, and thinking the reverse 164 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. of Persia, during the Greek war, offered a favorable oppor tunity for throwing off the yoke, revolted towards the end of this monarch's reign, and succeeded in expelling the Per- sians from the valley of the Nile. Darius made great pre- parations, during three successive years, in order to restore it to the empire. At the end of that time, b. c. 484, he re- solved to make war in person against Egypt as well as Greece ; but death frustrated his designs. He was succeed- ed in his empire by XERXES, who, in the second year of his reign, b. c. 482, invaded Egypt in person at the head of a powerful army. He quick- ly defeated the Egyptians, and having subdued the whole country, he made the yoke of their subjection more heavy than before. He then gave the government of that province to Achoemenes, his brother, after which he returned to Susa, the seat of the Persian government. Affairs remained in this state until the death of Xerxes, B. c. 460, when ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS succeeded to the empire. At this period, considerable confu- sion occurred in Persia, which being augmented by the in- trigues of Artabanus and the rebellion of Bactria, afforded the Egyptians another opportunity for asserting their inde- pendence. They prevailed on the Athenians to assist them with a fleet of forty sail ; and they attacked and overwhehned the Persian garrisons. Upon intelligence of this, an army of 400,000 foot, and a fleet of 200, or, according to Diodo- rus, eighty sail were equipped by Artaxerxes, and placed un- der the command of Achtemenes. Inarus, the son of Psam- miticus, a native of Libya, and Amyrtaeus, of Sais, who had been invested with sovereign power, and were charged with the defence of the country, made every effort to resist him ; and the two armies having met, the Persians were defeated with great slaughter, and Achaemenes received a wound from the hand of Inarus, of which he died. Artaxerxes, enraged at this defeat, resolved on sending an overwhelming force under the combined command of Mega- byzus and Artabazus, consisting, according to ancient au- thors, of .500,000 men. Both armies fought valiantly, and many were slain on both side? ; at length, Megabyzushav- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIAJSS. 165 ing wounded Inarus in the thigh, obliged him to retire from the field, and the rout became general. Inarus, with a body of Greek auxiliaries, took refuge in Byblus, which was strongly fortified. He there obtained for himself and com- panions a promise of pardon from Megabyzus, upon condi- tion of their surrendering themselves to the Persian monarch : but the remembrance of the death of Achsemenes overcame the regard he oAved to the promise of this general, and Ina- rus, by the command of Artaxerxes, was crucified. Amyr- tseus escaped to the Isle of Elbo, and remaining concealed there, awaited better times. The Persian troops again took possession of the fortified towns, and Sarsamus was appoint- ed satrap, or governor of Egypt. No attempts were made to throw off the Persian yoke during the remainder of the reign of Artaxerxes ; and though the Athenians sent them a fleet qf sixty sail, in the fifteenth year of that reign, and some hopes were entertained of restoring Amyrtasus to the throne, these projects were abandoned, and the Persians continued in undisturbed pos- session of the country till the reign of DAKIUS NOTHUS. This monarch, perceiving that the Egyptians bore with great reluctance the presence of a foreign governor, and anxious to allay the turbulent spirit and prejudices of that people, permitted Thannyrus, the son of Inarus, and Pansiris, the son of Amyrtseus,* to hold the office and nominal power of governors, or tributary kings. But nothing could concil- iate the Egyptians. They beheld the fortified towns garri- soned by Persian troops ; the tribute they had to pay to a people they detested was insupportable ; and hence nothing would satisfy them, but the restoration of an independent monarch. To obtain this end they made secret preparations for expelling the Persians, and Amyrtseus being invited to put himself at their head, advanced from his place of con- ceahnent, routed the Persians, and succeeded eventually in obtaining possession of the whole country. * This must have occurred previous to the year B. c. 445, since the his- tory from wheniie it is derived, that of Herodotus, was then completed. CHAPTER VII. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. EGYPTIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. AMYRT^trS. Amyrt^us, or Aomahorte, was a Saite. Having- estab- lished himself on the throne, he prepared to pursue the Per- sians as far as Phenicia, and had already concerted measures with the Arabians to attack them in that country. Darius was informed of this, and he recalled a fleet, which he had promised the Lacedemonians, to employ in the defence of his own dominions, by which means the designs of Amyr- tseus were frustrated. Amyrtasus is stated in Manetho's list to have been the only monarch of the twenty-eighth dynasty. His reign continued six years, during which period he laboured to repair the many losses sustained by his country from the sway of Per- sia. Numerous restorations were made to the temples of Thebes and other cities, many of which had suffered from the rage of Cambyses ; some gateways, and other monu- ments bearing his name, are still in existence. rSAMMITICUS II. According to Manetho, AmyrtoBus was succeeded in his kingdom by Nepherites, the first king of the twenty-ninth dynasty ; but Diodorus mentions Psammiticus, who was de- scended from the first of that name, whom he supposed to have preceded Nepherites. It is uncertain, however, whether he really ruled at this time, or whether the historian con- founded him with the father of Inarus. Psammiticus is chiefly remarkable for an act of perfidy and ingratitude, crimes which are alike hateful to God and HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 167 man. Tamus, an Egyptian, who was one of the admirals of the 'fleet of Cyrus the younger when he invaded the Per- sian empire, had rendered essential services to Psammiticus. On the death of Cyrus, and suppression of his rebellion, Ta- mus fled from Tissaphernes, who was appointed his succes- sor in the province of Asia Minor, and he implored the friendship and protection of the Egyptian king. Psammiti- cus was not only deaf to the calls of humanity, gratitude, and hospitality, hut hearing that Tamus had brought consid- erable treasures with him, he perfidiously seized them, and deprived him of life. NEPHEEITES. The Phonetic name of Nepherites occurs once amidst the ruins of Thebes. During his brief reign, Egypt appears to have enjoyed tranquillity, for he was enabled to join in active hostilities against the enemies of his country. He entered into a confederacy with the Lacedemonians, and sent a fleet of 100 ships to their aid, with a supply of corn for their army. This last, however, fell into the hands ,of the enemy, in consequence of the transports putting into Rhodes, which had lately submitted to the Persians. Nepherites reigned six years. Acoris seems to have adopted the policy of his predecessor. He made tready with Evagoras, king of Cyprus, against the Persians, and endeavoured, by every means in his power, to weaken the strength, and thwart the schemes of his adver- sary. This, combined Avith the defection of Gaus, the son of Tamus, who had been for some time commander of the Per- sian fleet, who now, abandoning their service, had entered into a league with Acoris, and the Lacedemonians, added to the intrigues of Orontes, so embarrassed the affairs of Arta- xerxes, that Egypt was able to defy his threatened projects of invasion. Acoris reigned thirteen years ; he died b.c. 389. PSAMMOUTIS. During the reign of Psammoutis, which lasted' only one year, nothing of consequnce transpired ; hence his name rare- ly occurs on any edifice, either of Upper or Lower Egypt : it is found, however, at the temple of Kartrak, at The:.< s, which proves his reign. 168 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, Of the short period occupied by his two successors, NEPHERITES II. AND MOTJTHIS, whose names are not met with on the monuments, little can be learned, either from that source, or from the accounts of ancient writers ; except that the Persians, intent upon the re- covery of Egypt, prepared to make a descent upon that coun- try, which they attempted in the reign of the succeeding mon- arch Avithout success. NECTANEBIS. In the first year of the reign of this prince, Artaxerxes Mnemon, after three years' preparation, invaded Egypt with a powerful army of Persians, under the command of Pharna- bazus, which was augmented by Grecian mercenaries, under Iphicrates. But this army was unsuccessful. The slowness of their operations, and the rising of the Nile, defeated their designs, and they retreated with great loss. On this occation, Iphicrates, having observed to Pharnabazus, that he was quick in his resolutions, but slow in the performance, the latter rejoin- ed, that his words were his own, but his actions depended wholly on his master, wliich shows the extent of authority which the Persian monarchs held over their subjects. The Egyptian monarch now directed his attention to the internal administration of affairs, and the encouragement of art. Many temples were repaired or enlarged in various parts of the country ; a fine obelisk was cut, and transported from the quarries of Syene ; and the name of Nectabeno (bis name on the monuments) still occurs in Upper or Lower Egypt. That he restored the temple of Mars, at Sebbenytus, with great splendour, is recorded in a Greek papyrus, which mo- dern researches have discovered in an Egyptian tomb. Nec- tanebis, after a reign of eighteen years, was succeeded by TACHUS, OR T.E0S. Tachus had scarcely ascended the throne, when he was alarmed by the warlike preparations of the Persian monarch, who threatened again to invade his country. To withstand this mighty power, hie hired a body of Spartan mercenaries, who were commanded by Agesilaus, their king, Avhom Tachus promised to make generahssimo of his army. But this commis- sion did Agesilaus no honour. As soon as he landed in Egypt, the king's principal generals, and his chief officers of state,. came to receive him and pay their court to him. The fame IITSTOCY OF THE EGYPTIANS. . 169 of liis renown also drew multitudes of the Egyptians to the shore, for the purpose of catching a glance at the hei'o. But the Egyptians were too fond of pomp and show to be attract- ed by the appearance of Agesilaus. When they saw only an old man, of mean aspect and dwarfish stature, in a simple robe of coarse stuff, they were disposed to ridicule him, and they applied to him the fable of the mountain in labour, when only a mouse came forth. This disaffection towards him was felt also at court. When Agesilaus met Tachus, and had joined his troops with those of Egypt, he Avas surprised that he was not appointed general of the whole army, but only of the foreign troops, that Chab- rias was made general of the forces at sea, and that Tachus retained the command of the army himself. This was not the only mortification Agesilaus. had to axpe rience. Tachus had formed a resolution to march into Phe- nicia, thinking it more advisable to make that country the seat of war, than to contend with the Persians in Egypt. Agesilaus thought to the contrary ; and he represented to Ta- chus that his affairs were not sufficiently established to admit his removing out of his dominions ; that he would act more Avisely by remaining in Egypt himself, and acting by his gen- erals in the enemy's country. Tachus despised this counsel, and expressed disregard for Agesilaus on all occasions. The consequence was, that Agesilaus, incensed at such conduct joined the Egyptians who had taken up arms against Tachus during his absence, and had placed his cousin Nectanebus on the throne. Tachus was now obliged to quit Egypt, and he retired to Sidon, from whence he went to the court of Persia, where he was received with favour by Artaxerxes, who gave him the command of his troops against the rebels. But Nectanebus was not yet established on the throne of Egypt. At this period, about b. c. 362, another prince of the city of Mendes disputed the crown with him, and he collected a numerous force to support his pretensions. Agesilaus gave advice to the effect that this force should be attacked before they were disciplined ; but Nectanebus, imagining that Ages- ilaus desired to betray him, took no notice of his advice, and thereby gave his enemy time to prepare his troops for opera- tions. He did this so effectually that he reduced Nectanebus. to the necessity of retiring into a city. Thither Agesilaus. was obliged to follow him, and they- were besieged there by the Mendesian prince. VOL. .f. 15 170 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Nectanebus would have attacked the enemy before his works (which Avere begun in order to surround the city) were advanced ; but Agesilaus would not listen to his proposals. But at length, when he saw these works in a sufficient state of forwardness, and that there remained only as much ground between the two ends of the line as the troops within the city might occupy, he told Nectanebus that it was time to attack the enemy. The attack was conducted by Agesilaus, and success attended all his operations, so that the Mendesian prince was always overcome, and at length taken prisoner. NECTANEBUS. was now, b. c. 361, left in possession of the throne of Egypt. But he did not long enjoy it in peace. Darius Ochus, who had succeeded to the kingdom of Persia, dissatisfied with the failures of his lieutenants, invaded Egypt with a numerous force, resolving to reduce it entirely to his allegiance. Upon his arrival there, he encamped before Pelusium, from whence he detached three bodies of troops, each of them commanded by a Greek and a Persian, to whom he assigned equal autho- rity. Darius himself remained with the main body of the army in the camp, to wait the event, and to be ready to sup- port these detachments in an emergency, or to improve the ad- vantages they might gain. Nectanebus had long expected this invasion, — for the pre- parations had been going forward some years, and he there- fore was prepared to meet the Persian forces. He had, it is said, an army of 100,000 men, 20,000 of whom Avere Greek, and 20,000 Libyan mercenaries. Part of this army he dispo- sed on the frontiers of Egypt, and the rest he headed at the passes, to dispute the enemy's entrance. The first detachment of Ochus was sent against Pelusium, were there was a garrison of 5,000 Greeks. Lachares the Theban, who headed this detachment, besieged the city, while that under Nicostratus the Argive, going on board a squad- ron of fourscore ships of the Persian fleet, entered one of the mouths of the Nile at the same time, and sailed into the heart of Egypt, where they landed, and fortified themselves in a camp advantageously situated. The Egyptian troops in these parts were immediately drawn together under Clinias, a Greek, and prepared to repel the enemy. An action ensued, in which Clinias and 5,000 of his troops were killed, and the rest dispersed. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTFANS. 171 This action decided the fate of Egypt. Nectanebus, ap- prehending that the Persian army would embark again upon the Nile, and take Memphis, the capital of his kingdom, abandoned the passes, and hastened thither to defend it, thus leaving the country open to the enemy. Mentor, indeed, who commanded the third detachment, finding the passes clear and unguarded, entered the country, and made himself master of it without opposition. He caused a report to be spread, that Darius had given orders that all those who would submit should be treated with favour, and that such as made resis- tance should be destroyed ; and the whole country upon this report, Greeks as well as Egyptians, strove which should be foremost in their submission. The overthrow of Nectanebus occurred b. c. 350. He was the last native king of Egypt, and since his time, Egypt has been, and still continues to be " the basest of the kingdoms," according to the prophecy of Ezekiel, chap. xxix. 15. It has, indeed, says an acute writer, been an independent kingdom under the Ptolemies and the Saracens, and it may be possible that the present ruler should estabhsh its independence. But this matters not ; for these independent sovereigns in Egypt were foreigners, surrounded by people of their own nation, who engrossed all wealth, power, and distinction; leaving Egj'pt as a country, and the proper Egyptians as a people, oppressed and miserable. This is, surely, a marked fulfil- ment of prophecy, delivered at a time when Egypt, under its own kings, great and magnificent, took no second place among the nations. In this event, therefore, we may trace the finger of God, and say that he ruleth among the nations, and hath done whatsoever he pleased, Psa. xxii. 28 ; cxv. 3. CHAPTER VIII. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. PERSIAN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. DARIUS OCHUS. It has been recorded, that during the previous occupation of Egypt by the Persian troops, the inbabitants had been exposed to much persecution. They were now doomed to severer sufferings. Darius, the king of Persia, as soon as he had con- quered Egypt, commenced a fearful work of slaughter and destruction throughout the country. If Cambyses had com- mitted unheard-of enormities — if he had derided the religion and insulted the various deities of Egypt — if, as Herodotus affirms, he had ordered their bull-god Apis to be brought be- fore him, and had stabbed it Avith his dagger — if he had been guilty of every species of oppression ; he was still surpassed in acts of barbarity by Ochus. Wanton injustice, murders, profanation of religious rites, and continual persecutions were his delight. One of the most flagrant insults which Darius put upon their established religion, towards which their minds were strongly affected, though it is not possible to conceive one more absurd and grossly idolatrous, was, not only that he caused the sacred Apis to be slaughtered, but also he caused it to be served up at a banquet, of which he and his friends partook. After these insults, Darius returned in triumph to Babylon, laden with the spoils of Egypt. He left the government of Egypt to Pherendates, a Persian of the first rank, who car- ried on the work of demolition his master had commenced. All Egypt groaned under the tyranny of Ochus. His reign, however, was not of long duration : in two years the Egyp- tians were relieved from his yoke bv his deatli ; and to show HISTOUY OF THE EGYPTIANS, 173 their hatred of him, they substituted for his reign the repre- sentation of a sword, the emblem of destruction, in their cata- logne of kings. Ochus was succeeded in his empire, b. c. 348, by ARSES, in whose reign nothing transpired concerning Egj^t worthy of notice. To Arses succeeded, b. c. 335, DARIUS CODOMANTJS, who seems to have followed the line of policy upon which Ochus acted towards Egypt. But Egypt did not continue long under the Persian sway. Alexander the Great, having conquered the whole of Asia Minor, and Syria, resolved to invade Egypt also, and to wrest it out of the hands of Darius. Accordingly, he marched thither with an army flushed with successive victories, and hence almost irresistible. The Egyptians were at this time ripe for rebellion, and cared little who ruled over them, so that they were freed from the Persians. They were incensed by their continual op- pressions to the utmost ; and the knowledge of this combined with a circumstance here narrated, might have had the effect upon the mind of Alexander of bringing him to the resolve of invading Egypt. One Amyntas, a general in the service of Alexander, had deserted from him, and had joined the interest of Darius. But there was no bond in those days of paganism to bind men together in love and fealty. Amyntas had proved faith- less to Alexander, and he rebelled against Darius also. He had commanded the Grecian forces in the service of the Persians at the battle of Issus, and having escaped into Syria by the way of Tripoli, with 4,000 men, had there seized upon as many vessels as he wanted, burned the rest, and set sail for Cyprus. He afterwards marched towards Pelusium, and upon feigning that he had a commission from Darius, ap- pointing him governor in the room of Sabaces, who was killed in the battle of Issus, he took that city. This accomplished, he threw off the mask, claiming the crown of Egypt, and de- claring that the motive of his coming was to expel the Per- sians. Upon this declaration, great numbers of the Egyp- tians Avent over to him, and Amyntas having his forces thus augmented, marched directly for Memphis, the capital of the '1.5* 174 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. kingdom. Here he fought a battle with and defeated the Persians, shutting them up in Memphis ; but after he had gained this victory, having neglected to keep his soldiers in a body, the Persians sallied forth, and destroyed them, with Amyntas their leader. If this circumstance did not give rise to Alexander's inva- sion of Egypt, it increased the aversion which the Egyp- tians entertained for the Persians, so that, when Alexander reached that country, he was hailed by the natives as their deliverer from bondage. His arrival, at the head of a power- ful army, presented them with sure protection, which Amyn- tas could not offer them ; and from this consideration, they unanimously declared in his favour ; and Mazosus, who com- manded in Memphis, finding that he could not resist so powerful a force, and that Darius was not able to succour him, set open the gates to the conqueror, and gave him all the treasures which Darius possessed in that city. Thus Alexan- der possessed himself of all Egypt Avithout a single conflict. The period at which this event occurred is dated b. c. 332. CHAPTER II. THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. MACEDO-GRECIAN ADMnsaSTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ALEXANDER. As soon as Alexander had conquered Egypt, he paid a visit to the temple of Amun, or Jupiter Ammon, which was situated in the midst of the sandy deserts of Libya. Plutarch attributes this to political motives ; and he affirms that he neither believed nor was elated with the notion of his divinity as the son of Amun, but only made use of it to bring others into subjection, among the barbarians. To the Greeks, he was extremely cautious of avowing such pretensions ; and when wounded once with an arrow, he exclaimed, " My friends, this is blood, and not the ichor shed by the immortal gods."' His pretensions to divinity, therefore, must be looked upon as an imposition upon the vulgar, and as one of those means whereby he climbed to the height of his ambition, that of conquering the known world. As Alexander was going thither, he gave orders to build the city of Alexandria, between the sea and the Mareotic Lake which city afterwards became the capital of the king- dom. The erection of this city was proceeded with imme diately, so that when he returned from Libya, on visiting the spot, he found that considerable progress had been made. To hasten the building of this city, he appointed Cleomenes inspector over it, with orders for him to levy the tribute which Arabia was to pay, an order vf hich was executed with the utmost rigour. When it was completed, he adopted a wise plan to people it. He invited thither persons from all parts of the Avorld, to whom he offered advantageous condi- tions. Among others, he drew thither a great number of 176 m.^TOtlY l)F T!ii; V-GYVIIASS. Jews, to Vv'liom he give g-rca't piivileges, leaving them the free exerpise of their religion and laws, and assigning them equal civil rights with the Macedonians, whom he had settled there. On his return from Libya, Alexander wintered at Mem- phis, where he settled the affairs of Egypt. He directed that none but Macedonians should command the troops. He ap- pointed separate and independent governors of the several garrisoned towns, in "order to prevent the mischief so often experienced by the Persians, by entrusting too much power to a single governor. He separated the financial, judicial, and military functions, to prevent the oppression of the peo- ple by their union. Finally, he directed that Alexandria should be the common emporium of commerce for the eastern and western worlds, by its two adjacent seas, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Egypt continued under the sway of Alexander till his death, which occurred b. c. 323, when it came into the possession of the Ptolemies. The first of these was PTOLEMY LAGUS, who was the natural brother of Alexander, and one of his generals. The reign of Ptolemy is dated in the Canon b. c. 305. This arises from the circumstance that he did not assume the title of king until after the extinction of Alexander's posterity by the murder of his natural son, Alexander -^gus, the year before, about which time other generals, also, among whom the Persian empire had been divided, as it is expressed, " put on croAvns." Besides Egypt, Ptolemy Lagus had for his share, Lybia and Cyrenaica, with that part of Arabia which borders on Egypt. But he does not seem to have been satisfied with his portion, though it was a widely extended one. His first noted act was to wrest the provinces of Coelo-Syria, Phenicia and Judea, from Laomedon to whom they had been assigned. This he soon accomplished. Nicanor, whom he sent into Syria with a body of land forces, defeated Laomedon, and took him prisoner, by which means he soon conquered the inland country. The same success attended Ptolemy Lagus, who headed the fleet which attacked the coasts, so that he be- came absolute master of those provinces. The people who caused him the most trouble were the Jews. Reg-arding tho HISTORY OF THE EUYPTIANS. 177 obligation they were under hj the oath they had taken to their governor, they were determined to continue faithful to it. But he besieged Jerusalem with a large army, and tak- ing advantage of the sabbath day, on which no Jew thought it lawful to defend himself, he stormed it, without any resis- tance from the inhabitants, b. c. 322. At firet, Ptolemy treated the Jews with great rigour, carrying away 100,000 of them captives to Egypt, and, according to Appian, demolishing their walls. Afterwards, however, he changed his policy towards them. Wishing to attach a people so faithful to their gover- nors, and so important, as a barrier on his northern frontier, he restored to them the privileges which Alexander had granted them, entrusted to them the garrisoning of the most important fortresses of Egypt, Judea, and Samaria ; and gave great encouragement to those who would settle in his new capital of Alexandria. After this event, Ptolemy Lagus extended his conquests to Cyprus, Arabia, Libya, and Ethiopia, and became great in the sight of men. There is a reference made to his great- ness in the prophecies of Daniel. That prophet, predicting the intermarriages and wars of the kings of the no7-th and south, or of Syria and Egypt, and the oppressions and perse- cutions of the Jews between the two contending powers, till "the depression of the Syrians by the Romans, which he does with minute historical precision, says, " And the king of the south [Ptolemy Lagus] shall be strong, and one of his [Alex- ander's] princes, [Seleucus the governor of Babylon and the eastern provinces ;] and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion ; his dominion shall be a great dominion," Dan. xi. 5. Ptolemy Lagus retained these provinces till about b. c. 314, at which time, Antigonus, vv^hose ambition it was to m.ake himself master of the empire of Asia, wrested from him Phe- nicia, Syria, and Judea. AfterAvards, however, about b. c. 312, Ptolemy having mad e himself ma ster of Cyprus, made a de- scent into Syria, where he acquired great spoils, and took a large number of prisoners, whom he carriedwith him into Egypt. He then, Avith Seleucus, concerted a plan for regaining Syria and Phenicia, and marched thither with a large army, after repressing a revolt among the Cyreneans. He found Deme- trius Poliorcetes, or the " taker of cities," the son of Anti- gonus, at Gaza, by whom he Avas opposed AvitJa much valour. But Ptolemy succeeded in his designs. After a fierce en- gagement, in Avhich Demetrius lost 5,000 men slain, and 178 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 8,000 prisoners, besides his tents, treasures, and equipage, he was compelle'd to abandon Phenicia, Palestine, and Coelo- Syria to Ptolemy. The conqueror generously returned the riches which he had taken from Demetrius, as well as the friends and domesiics of that prince ; but the prisoners were sent into Egypt to serve him in his fleet. Ptolemy now pursued his conquests. But they were of short duration. In the same year, Demetrius, deriving ex- perience from his misfortunes, obtained a great victory over Cilles, Ptolemy's lieutenant, who had arrived in Syria with a numerous army, and the next year, (b. c. 311,) Antigonus advanced thither in order to secure the advantages which this event presented to him. Antigonus crossed Mount Taurus, and jomed his son, whom he tendeny emoraced : and Ptolemy, being sensible that he was not able to oppose the united forces of the father and son, resolved to demolish the fortifications of Acco, Jopjm, Samaria, and Gaza ; after which he returned into Egypt with the greatest pari of the riches of the country, and numbers of the inhabitants. In this manner was all Phenicia, Ccelo-Syria, and Judea wrested from Ptolemy a second time. Josephus says, that the inhabitants of these provinces who followed Ptolemy did so more out of inclination than restraint ; the moderation and humanity with which he had governed them having gained their hearts so effectually, that they were more desirous of living under his sway in a foreign country, than of continuing subject to Antigonus in their own. They were strengthened in this resolution by the advantageous proposals which Ptolemy made them ; for, m order to people Alexandria, his capital, he offered them extraordinary privi- leges and immunities. Such was his policy on a former oc- casion, and such it doubtless was at this time. Many of the inhabitants that followed him from these provinces were Jews, to whom he confirmed the privileges -which Alexander had granted to them : a large body of Samaritans, also, Avere established there under the auspices of the same liberal policy. About B. c. 309, Ptoicmy Lagus recommenced the war. He took several cities m Ciiicia and other parts from Antigo- nus ; but Demetrius soon regained what his flither had lost in Ciiicia, and the other generals of Antigonus had the same success against those of Ptolemy. Cyprus was now the only territory where Ptolemy preserved his conquests. In order to obtain some compensation for what he had lost in Ciiicia, Ptoleni}'", about i;. t'. 30S, invaded Pamphylia, Ly HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 179 cia, and other provinces of Asia Minor, where he took seve- ral places from Antigonus. He then sailed into the ^gean Sea, and made himself master of the isle of Andros ; after which he took Sicyon, Corinth, and some other cities. But Ptolemy was recalled from his pursuit of conquest by the treachery of the governor of Libya and Cyrenaica, who excited an insurrection which caused him great inquietude. This officer, whose name was Ophelias, had served under Alexander, and after the death of that prince had embraced the interest of Ptolemy Lagus, whom he followed into Egypt. Ptolemy gave him the conamand of the army which was to reduce Libya and Cyrenaica to his allegiance, and when he had accomplished this, the government of the provinces was bestowed upon him. But when Ophelias saw his master en- gaged in Avar with Antigonus and Demetrius, he rendered himself independent. He did not long, however, enjoy the possession of these provinces, for he was slain by the treach- ery of Agathocles, b. c. 307, [see the History of the Cartha- ginians,] and Ptolemy upon his death recovered Libya and Cyrenaica. About B. c. 306, Demetrius was commissioned by his father to go with a numerous army to retake the isle of Cy- prus from Ptolemy. Before he undertook this expedition, he sent ambassadors to the Rhodians, to invite them to an alliance against Ptolemy ; but the Rhodians resolved to preserve a strict neutrality. Demetrius then advanced to Cyprus, where he made a descent, and marched to Salamis, the capital of that island. Menelaus, the brother of Ptolemy, had taken re- fuge in this city with most of his troops ; but on the approach of Demetrius, he marched out and gave him battle. Mene- laus was defeated, and compelled to re-enter the place, with the loss of 1,000 slain and 3,000 prisoners. Demetrius now besieged the city, but Menelaus having given advice to Ptolemy of his defeat, and the consequent siege of Salamis, he caused a powerful fleet to be fitted out, and advanced with the utmost expedition to his assistance. He arrived with a fleet of 150 sail, and both sides prepared for battle. Ptolemy directed Menelaus, who was still at Sal- amis, to advance Avitli the sixty vessels under his command, in order to charge the rear-guard of Demetrius in the heat of the battle ; but that general had placed a sufficient guard at the entrance of the port, which was very narrow, to prevent his coming forth. Demetrius then drew out his land forces, and extended them along the points of land which projected ISO ' HlStOK-Y OF THE EGYPTIANS. iTito the sea, that he might, in case of defeat, be able to assist those who might be obliged to save themselves by swimming. After this, he sailed into the sea with 180 galleys, and charged the fleet of Ptolemy with so much impetuosity that he broke the line of battle. Ptolemy, finding his defeat inev- itable, had recourse to flight, and the eight galleys that ac- companied him were all that escaped. The train and baggage of Ptolemy, together with his tvives, friends, and domestics, provisions, arms, money, and machines of war, on board the store-ships which lay at an- chor, were seized- by Demetrius, who caused them to be car- ried to his camp. These prisoners, however, he afterwards returned without ransom, and he caused the slain to be in- t-erred in a magnificent manner. With so much more gene- rosity, says Justin, was war carried on in those days than Ave 'find transactions now among friends. At this period, indeed, conquerors seemed to vie with each other in acts of this kind. How much more nobly would they have acted had they for- 'given each others' wrongs, and respected each others' rights, so as to have refused drawing the sword from the scabbard, and meeting in the deadly strife ! How much more happi- ness would they have known, had the law of love ruled their actions ! In silent eloquence nature declares that all beside man fulfil the works of love and joy ; and why should he fabricate a SAVord to stab his peace, and Avhy cherish the snake revenge in his bosom ? Reason cries out against it, and our "best feelings recoil at the idea of AA-ar : but human depravity shoAvs itself to be deaf to the A'oice of nature and of reason. In this year it AA^as that Ptolemy, Avith the other successors of Alexander, first assumed the title of king ; he must, there- fore, be noAv spoken of as the king of Egypt. In the first year of Ptolemy's reign, b. c. 305, Antigonus made great preparations for the invasion of Egypt. With this intention he assembled an army of 1 00,000 men in Syria, Avhich he conducted by land ; and Demetrius foUoAved him Avith his fleet, AA'hich coasted along tlie shore to Gaza. At the time they arrived at Gaza, the sea Avas A^ery tempestuous, and the pilots advised them to wait till the setting of the Pleiades, or about eight days ; but Antigonus, impatient to surprise Ptolemy, while he Avas unprepared to meet him, disregarded this advice, and marched forAA'ard. Demetrius Avas ordered to make a descent in one of the moiiths of the Nile, Avhilst Antigonus Avas to endeavour to open a passage by land into the heart of the country. But their designs proved cbortive. HISTORY OF THE EGITTIANS. 181 The fleet of Demetrius sustained much damage from storms ; and Ptolemy had taken such precaution to secure the mouth of the Nile as to render it impossible for him to land his troops. Antig-onus, also, had endured many hardships in crossing the deserts that lie between Palestine and Egypt, and he had much greater difficulties to surmount than Deme- trius, so that he was not able to pass the first arm of the Nile that lay in his march. Ptolemy, moreover, bribed a great number of the followers of Antigonus to desert from him ; so that, after hovering on the frontiers of Egypt to no purpose, he was compelled to return into Syria. This was the last attack which Ptolemy had to sustain for the crown of Egypt, and the result greatly contributed to con- firm it to him. Ptolemy the astronomer, therefore, fixes the commencement of his reign at this period, ^nd afterwards points out the several years of its duration in his Chronologi- cal Canon. In the year b. c. 304, Ptolemy sent an army to aid the Rhodians, who were besieged by Demetrius, by whose prow- ess they were saved from apparent destruction. To testify their gratitude to him for this assistance, they consecrated a grove to him, after they had consulted the oracle of Jupiter Amon, to give the action an air of solemnity. They erected also a magnificent edifice within it to his honour. This was a sumptuous portico, continued along each side of the square which encompassed the grove, containing a space of about 1,000 yards. This portico was called the Ptolemscon. Nor did their gratitude stop here ; it led them, indeed, into acts of the grossest impiety. They paid divine honoiirs to him in the Ptolemceon, and in order to perpetuate the mem- ory of their deliverer in this war, they gave him the appella- tion of Soter, which signifiee "a saviour;" thus giving to man what is due to God alone. It is by the term Soter that historians, usually distinguish Ptolemy Lagus from the other Ptolemies who succeeded him on the throne of Egypt. In the year b. c. 302, a confederacy was formed betvi^een Cassander of Macedonia, Lysimachus of Thrace, Seleucus governor of Babylon, and Ptolemy king of Egypt, against Antigonus and Demetrius, whom they defeated at Ipsus in Phrygia, in the following year, at which time Antigonus was slain. The result of this battle was, a new division of the Macedonian empire, fulfilling prophecy, (Dan. viii..) wherein fin-.r kings are emblemr^tically described under the figure of V.)L. I. - IG Vo'Z HlsTuKl' OF THE EGYPTIANS. four horns. In this division, Egypt, Libya, Ccslo-Syria, and Palestine, were confirmed to Ptolemy. Little more is recorded of Ptolemy save that he regained Cyprus, B. c. 295 ; and that he renewed the league with Ly- simachus and Seleucus b. c. 287, in which they likewise en- gaged Pyrrhus king of Epirus, in order to frustrate the de- signs which Demetrius entertained of regaining the empire of his father in Asia, Avhich they did effectually. At length, b. c. 285, Ptolemy Soter, after a reign of twenty years in Egypt with the title of king, and of nearly thirty- nine from the death of Alexander, was desirous of transmit- ting the throne to Ptolemy Philadelphus, one of his sons hy Berenice. The ruling motive for so doing, appears to have been, to prevent contentions about the throne. Ptolemy had several children by his other wives, and among them, Ptolemy surnamed Ceraunus, or " the Thunder," who being the son of Eurydice the daughter of Antipater, and the eldest of the male issue, considered the crown as his right when his father should be deceased. But Berenice, v/ho came into Egypt merely to accompany Eurydice, at the time of her espousals with Ptolemy, had so charmed him with her beauty, that he married her, and so great was her ascendancy over him, that she obtained the crown for her son, in preference to all the rest. In order, therefore, to prevent contentions after liis death, he resolved to have Ptolemy Philadelphus crowned while yet he himself Avas living. At the same time, he re- signed his dominions to him, declaring that it was more glo- rious to create than to be a king. Ptolemy Soter died b. c. 283, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He v/as one of the most able and worthy men of his race, and he left behind him an example of prudence, jus- tice, and clemency, Avhich his successors rarely imitated. During the time he governed Egj^pt, he raised it to such a height of grandeur and power, as rendered it superior to other kingdoms. He retained upon the throne the same fond- ness for simplicity of manners, and the sam^e aversion to os- tentation, as he displayed Avhen he first ascended it. He was accessible to his sul>jccts to a degree of familiarity. He fre- quently visited them at their OAvn houses, and when he enter- tained them himself, he considered it no disgrace to borrow articles of gold and silver plate from the rich, and to acknow- ledge that he had little of his own. Plutarch says, that when some persons represented to him that the regal dignity re- quired an air of opulence, his answer was, that the true .fran- HISTORY OF THE EGYFTUNS. 183 deur of a king consisted in enriching- others, not in being rich himself. Ptolemy seems also to have been a man of enlightened mind, and to have made himself acquainted with polite literature. Arrian records that he compiled the life of Alexander, Avhich was greatly esteemed by the ancients, but which has not reached the moderns. PTOLElvrY THILADELPHUS. On ascending the throne of Egypt, this prince entertained the people with the most splendid festival recorded in the pages of ancient history, and which gives a clear idea of the opulence and idolatry of Eg^^pt at this period. This pompous solemnity continued a whole day, and was conducted through the extent of the city of Alexandria. It was divided into several parts, and formed a variety of pro- cessions. Thus the gods had each of them a distinct caval- cade, the decorations of which were descriptive of their his- tory. That of Bacchus, a portion of which we give as related by Athemeus, will convey an idea of the magnificence (if so it may be called) of the rest. This procession began with a troop of Sileni, some habited in purple, others in robes of a deep red : their employment was to keep off the crowd, and clear the way for the pageant. Next to the Sileni, came a band of satyrs, composed of twenty in two ranks, each carrying a gilded lamp. These were succeeded by Victories, AAdth golden wings, carrying vases nine feet in height, partly gilded and partly adorned with the leaves of ivy, in which perfumes were burn- ing. Their habits were embroidered with figures of animals, and were covered with gold. After these, came a double altar, nine feet in height, and covered with a luxuriant foliage of ivy, intermixed with orna- ments of gold. It was also beautified with a golden crown, made in imitation of vine leaves, and adorned with white fillets. A hundred and twenty youths advanced next, clothed in purple vests, each of them bearing a golden vase of incense, myrrh, and saffron. These were followed by forty satyrs, wearing crowns of gold which represented the leaves of ivy, and in the right hand of each was another crown of the same metal, adorned with vine leaves. Their habits \vere diversified with a va- riety of colours. 184 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS In the rear of these marched two Sileni, arrayed in purpJc mantles and white drawers ;. one of them wore a kind of hat, and carried a golden caduceus in his hand ; the other had a trumpet. Between these two was a man six feet in height, masked, and habited like a tragedian. This man carried a golden cornucopia, and was distinguished by the appellation of The Year. This person preceded a beautiful woman, as tall as him- self, dressed in a magnificent manner, and glittering with gold. She held in one hand a crown composed of the leaves of the peach-tree, and in the ether a branch of the pahn. She was called Penteteris, a word signifying the space of five years, because at the expiration of every fourth year, the feast of Bacchus was celebrated at the beginning of the next, which was the fifth. The next in the procession were the genii of the four sea- sons, wearing characteristic ornaments, and supporting the golden vases of odours, adorned with ivy leaves. In the midst of these genii was a square altar of gold. A band of satyrs next appeared wearing golden crowns, fashioned like the leaves of ivy, and arrayed in red habits. Some bore vessels filled with Avine, others carried drinking cups. Immediately after these came Philiscus, the poet and priest of Bacchus, attended by comedians, musicians, dancers, and other persons of that class. Two tripods were carried next as prizes for the victors at the athletic combats and exercises. One of these tripods, be- ing thirteen feet and a half in height, was intended for the youths ; the other, which was eighteen feet high, was de- signed for the men. A car, which had four wheels, was twenty -one feet ni length, and twelve in breadth, and was drawn by 180 men, followed next. In tliis car Avas a figure representing Bac- chus, fifteen feet in height, in the attitude of performing liba- tions with a large cup of gold. He AA-as arrayed in a robe of brocaded purple, AA-hich flowed down to his feet. Over this Avas a transparent vest of a satTron colour, and above that a large purple mantle embroidered Avith gold. Before him Avas a large vessel of gold formed in the Lacedemonian fashion, and forming fifteen measures, called in the Greek, mctretes. This AA'as accompanied Avith a golden tripod, on which Avere placed a gold'^n A'ase of odours, and two golden ;ups full of cinnamon and saffron. Bacchus Avas seated un- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 185 der the shade of ivy and vine leaves, intermixed with the fo- liage of fruit trees ; and from these hung several crowns, fillets, and thyrsi, with timhrels, ribands, and a variety of sa- tiric, comic, and tragic masks. In the same car were the priests and priestesses of that deity, with the other ministers, and interpreters of mysteries, dancers of all classes, and wo- men bearing vases. These were succeeded by the Bacchantes, who marched with their hair dishevelled, and who wore crowns, composed, some of serpents, and others of the branches of the yew, vine, or ivy. Some of these women carried knives in their hands, others serpents. During the games and public combats, which continued some days after this solemnity, Ptolemy Soter presented the victors with twenty cro-wns of gold, and they received twenty- three from Berenice his consort. It appeared by the registers of the palace that these last crowns were valued at 2,230 talents and fifty mince, about 334,400Z. sterling ; from whence some judgment may be formed of the immense simis to which all the gold and silver employed in this ceremonial amounted. Such was the nature of the pageant exhibited by Ptolemy Philadelphus at his coronation. In no part of it does it seem to have been conducted with elegance, or to have exhibited the least trace of taste or genius. The spoils of whole pro- vinces and cities were sacrificed to the pomp of a single day, and displayed to public view only to raise the vain admira- tion of a senseless populace, Avithout conducing to any real good. But there Avas something more lamentable in this procession or solemnity of religion than this. It was con- verted into a public school of intemperance and licentious- ness, calculated only to excite the most degrading passions in the spectators, and to induce an utter depravity of manners, by presenting to their view all the instruments of excess and debauch, with the most powerful allurements to indulge in them. And all this was done under the pretext of paying adoration to the gods ! How different from these are the so- lemnities of our most holy religion ! In them we discern nothing but Avhat is lovely and of good report, and that tends to purify the heart, and make holy the life of the worshipper. Truly, the religion of the blessed Saviour is of Divine origin. To the native Egyptians this pageant must have been pe- culiarly afflicting. They must have looked upon it as an in- 16* 186 mSTORV OF THE EGYPTIANS. suit to their native gods, as established upon their own ruin and as indicative of the ascendancy of that power which ruled over them — a power which they could never hope to subdue. So literally, even at this early date, was the inspired prophecy fulfilled. That the native Egyptians were an op- pressed people at this period, is evident from the number of foreigners who had taken up their abode there during the sway of the Persian empire, and the rule of Alexander and Ptolemy Soter. All places of trust Avere confided to foreign- ers ; for no more is heard of the rule of the priests, or the power of the Egyptian soldiery. Caste was broken down, and by this act they were humbled to the dust ; for caste was the glory of ancient Egypt. In the first year of the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, B. c. 284, which was also the first year of the 124th Olym- piad, the famous w'atch-tower in the isle of Pharos was com- pleted. This tower was usually called the tower of Pharos, and it has been reputed as one of the seven wonders of the world. It was a large square structure, built of white mar- ble, on the top of which a fire was kept continually burning, in order to guide ships onward in their course. The cost of its erection was 800 talents, which, estimated by Athenian money, according to Arbuthnot's calculation, are equal to 200,000/. sterling, but if computed by the coin of Alexan- dria, nearly double that sum. The architect of the edifice was Sostra'tus, of Cnidus. • Ptolemy Philadelphus was a great encourager of learning, and a patron of learned men. About this time, ancient his- torians say that, under his auspices, was commenced that ex- cellent translation of the Old Testament into Greek, called the Septuagint, from the seventy, or seventy-two interpreters said to have been employed therein. The copy from whence it was taken, was furnished the king by Eleazer, the son of Simon the Just. It is probable that the version of the Pen- tateuch was first completed. A note at the close of the Book of Esther expressly states it was finished in the last year of Ptolemy Philometer, or b. c. 177. The whole was finished, according to the Rev. T. H. Home, about b. c. 170.* This was one of the best fruits of the Grecian conqu-'sts, and was, doubtless, comprehended in the design which God had in view, Avhen he delivered up the east to the Greeks, • For critical remarks on this fact, as laid down by ancient historians, the readcrnwy refer to "The Connexion of the Old and New TKSTi- MENT," puhlishc;! by R. Carter. HISTOilY Of THE EGYrXJANS. 187 and supported them in those regions notwithstanding the di- visions and jealousies, the wars and the revolutions, that were constantly taking place among them, he brought about the union of so many nations, of different languages and man- ners, into one society, that the doctrines of revelation and the gospel of his dear Son might be afterwards promulgated among them, through the instrumentahty of one language ; and that language, the finest, most copious, and most correct, that ever was spoken in the world ; and that was so captiva- ting, that it became common to all countries conquered by Alexander. The way of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, by this means, was made known to thousands who had hitherto sat in the shadow of the regions of death, and its hallowed effects are seen to the present moment. About this time, also, the image of the god Serapis was brought from Pontus to Alexandria. Ptolemy had been in- duced, by a dream, to demand it by an embassy, of the king of Sinope, a city of Pontus, in which it was kept. It was, however, refused him for the space of two years, till at length the inhabitants of Sinope, suffering from famine, bar- tered their god to Ptolemy for a supply of corn ! The sta- tue was conveyed to Alexandria, and placed in one of the suburbs called Rhacotis, where it was adored by the name of Serapis, and where a famous temple, called the Serapion, was afterAvards erected. This structure, according to Am- mianus Marcellinus, surpassed in beauty and magnificence all the temples in the world, except the Capitol at Rome. About the same tmie, e. c. 283, Ptolemy Soter, in conse- quence of the suggestions of Demetrius Phalereus, who had seen and profited by public libraries at Athens, founded the Alexandrian library, so famous in history. This library, ac- cording to Eusebius, contained 100,000 volumes at the death of Ptolemy Philadelphus. It was enlarged by succeeding princes sevenfold, so that it was necessary that a portion of it (300,000 volumes) should be deposited in the Serapion, for which reason it was called its daughter.* The library was burned when Cesar made war with Alexandria, but that part * It is to be recollected that the written rolls, vclumina spoken of, contained far less than a printed volume ; as, for instance, the M:tamor- phoscs of Ovid, in fifteen books, would make fifteen volumes, and one Didymus is said by Athenseus to have written 3,500 volumes. This consideration will bring the number assigned at least within the bounds of credibility. The books, moreover, were collected from all nations. There were those in the Jewish, Chaldean, Persian, Ethiopian and Egyptian lan- guages, etc., as well as in Greek and Latin. 188 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. of it in the Serapion displayed its treasures till the seventh century, when it suffered the same fate as its parent, being burned by the Saracens. The circumstances attending its final destruction are wor- thy to be here recorded. John, surnamed the Grammarian, a famous follower of Aristotle, was at Alexandria when the city was taken, and as he was much esteemed by Amri Ab- nol, the general of the Saracen troops, he entreated that com- mander to bestow upon him the Alexandrian library. Amri replied, that it was not in his power to grant such a request ; but that he would write to the khalif for his orders respecting it. He accordingly wrote to the khalif, and his answer was, that if those books contained the same doctrine Avith the Koran, they could not be of any use, because the Koran was sufficient in itself, and comprehended all necessary truths ; but if they contained any doctrines contrary to that book, they ought to be destroyed. Upon this reply, they were all condemned to the flames, without any further examination, and they were distributed among the public baths, where, for the space of six months, they were used for fuel instead of wood. Thus were these stores of learning lost to the world for ever, through the blind ignorance of a bigoted follower of that arch impostor Mahomet. The museum of Cruchion was not, however, burned with the library attached to it. Strabo informs us that this was a large structure near the palace, and facing the port, and that it was surrounded with a portico, in which the philosophers walked. He adds, that the members of this society Avere go- verned by a president, whose station AA-as so honourable and important, that in the time of the Ptolemies, he AA'-as ahvays chosen by the king himself, and afterAvards by the Roman emperor ; and that the members had a hall, where the Avhole society ate at the expense of the public, by Avhom they Avere liberally supported. Alexandria AA^as indebted to this museum for the advantage it long enjoyed of being the greatest school in that part of the Avorld, and of having trained up members Avho excelled in literature. It is from thence, in particular, that the church has received some of its most illustrious doctors : as Clemens Alexandrinus, Ammonius, Origen, Anatolius, Atha- nasius, and many others, who studied in that seminary. It must, hoAvever, be remembered, that the instruction they re- ceived from their heathen teachers led them in many respects from the simplicity of the Christian faith, sd that their pro- HISTORY OF Till:: EGYPTIANS. ' ISO ductions are to be read with caution by the modern reader, as may be gathered from the life of Origen.* At the date of the death of Ptolemy Soter, b. c. 283, Ptolemy Philadelphus became sole master of all his domin- ions. These were Egypt, Phenecia, Ccelo-Syria, Arabia, Libya, Ethiopia, the island of Cyprus, Pamphylia, part of Cilicia, Lycia, and the isle denominated the Cyclades. One of his first acts after this event reflects great disgrace upon his character. It has been narrated, that Ptolemy Soter abdicated his throne in favour of Ptolemy Philadelphus, be- fore all his brethren. Before he did this, he consulted with Demetrius Phalereus, who was a verj'' learned man, and pro- bably the first president of the academy at Alexandria, with whom he was wont to advise before all his counsellors. De- metrius advised him to regulate his choice by the order pre- scribed by nature, which was generally followed by all other nations; thus advising him to prefer his eldest son, Ptolemy Ceraunus, by Eurydice his first wife. Ptolemy Philadel- phus seems to have taken umbrage at Demetrius Phalereus for this, and to have resolved upon revenge the first opportu- nity. As soon, therefore, as he saw himself sole master of the kingdom, he caused that philosopher to be seized, and sent him with a strong guard to a remote fortress, where he ordered him to be confined, till he should determine in what manner to treat him. This was soon resolved upon. The bite of an aspic put a period to the life of that great man, a man who merited, says the ancient historian, a better fate. Nothing is recorded of Ptolemy Philadelphus after this dark deed till about b. c. 274, at which date the reputation of the Romans having spread to distant lands, through the war they had maintained against Pyrrhus king of Epirus, he sent ambassadors to desire their friendship. The Romans were pleased at this circumstance, and the next year they sent an embassy from Rome to Egypt to return these civilities. The am- bassadors were, Q,. Fabius Gurges, Cn. Fabius Pictor, with Numerius his brother, and Q,. Olgunius. These men displayed while in Egypt pure disinterestedness, and a greatness of mind which is rarely discovered among the moderns. Ptole- my gave them a splendid entertainment, and took that oppor- tunity of presenting each of them with a crown of gold, which they received out of courtesy ; but the next morning they placed them on the head of the king's statues erected in ♦Published by the Religious Tract Society. 190 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the public squares of the city. The king having likewise be- stowed very considerable presents at their audience of leave, they received them, but before they went to the senate to give an account of their embassy, after their arrival at Rome, they deposited all these presents in the public treasury ; thus testi- fying that persons of honour ought, when they serve the pub- lic, to seek the public good, rather than their own advantage. About the year b. c. 268, Ptolemy Philadelphus sent a fleet to assist the Lacedemonians against Antigonus Gonatas king of Macedonia. The next year he was perplexed by a revolt excited in Egypt, as related by Pausanias, by a prince from whom he had reason to expect better things. Magas, governor of Cyrenaica and Libya, having set up the standard of rebellion against Ptolemy his master and benefactor, caused himself to be proclaimed king of those provinces. Ptolemy and Magas were brothers by the same mother ; the latter being the son of Berenice and Philip, a Macedonian officer, who was her husband before she married Ptolemy Soter. Her solicitations, therefore, obtained for him this gov- ernment when she was advanced to the honours of a crown, upon the death of Ophelias. Magas had so well established himself in his government by long possession, and by his marriage with Apame, the daughter of Antiochus Soter king of Sja'ia, that he endeavoured to render himself independent ; and as ambition knows no bounds, he resolved to go a step farther. He was not content with wresting from his brother these two provinces, but he formed a resolution to dethrone him. With this vieAvhe advanced into Egypt at the head of a great army, and in his march towards Alexandria, made himself master of Partetonium, a city of Marmarica. But the mischief he designed for others awaited him in his own provinces. He received intelligence of the revolt of the MarmaridcB in Libya, and he returned in order to quell these disturbances. Ptolemy, who had marched an army to the frontiers of Egypt, had now a favourable opportunity of attack- ing him in his retreat, and of annihilating his troops ; but a new danger called him likewise to another quarter. A con- spiracy was formed against him by 4,000 Gauls, mercenaries, Avho resolved to drive him out of Egypt and seize it for them- selves. In order, therefore, to frustrate their design, he found himself compelled to return into Egypt, where he drew the conspirators into an island in the Nile, in which they perished by famine and their own swords. As soon as he had calmed the troubles Avhich occasioned HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 191 ills return, Magas renewed his designs on Egypt, and he en- gaged his father-in-law, Antiochus Soter, to enter into his plan. It was resolved that Antiochus should attack Ptolemy on one side, while Magas invaded him on the other ; hut Ptolemy, who possessed secret intelligence of the treaty, anticipated Antiochus in his designs, and gave him so much employment in his maritime provinces, by repeated descents, and the de- vastation made by the troops he sent into those parts, that this prince was obliged to continue in his own dominions ; and Magas desisted from carrying his designs into effect. About B. c. 267, Ptolemy conceived an expedient to draw into Egypt all the maritime commerce of the east, which till then had been in possession of the Tyrians, who transacted it by sea as far as Elath, and from thence by land to Rhinoco- rura, and from this place by sea again to the city of Tyre. Elath and Rhinocorura were two sea-ports ; the first on the eastern shore of the Red Sea ; the second at the extremity of the Mediterranean, between Egypt and Palestine, and near the mouths of the river of Egjrpt. In order to effect this design, Ptolemy thought it necessary to found a city on the western shore of the Red Sea, from Avhence the ships were to sail. He accordingly built one ahnost on the frontier of Ethiopia, and he gave it the name of his mother, Berenice. This port, however, was not very commodious, and that of Myos Hormos was eventually pre- ferred before it. At this port the treasures of Arabia, India, Persia, and Ethiopia were landed, and from thence they were carried on camels to Coptus, where they were again shipped and brought down the Nile to Alexandria, which transmitted them to all the west in exchange for merchandize, afterwards exported to the east. The passage from Coptus to the Red Sea lay across the deserts, where no water could be procured, and which had neither cities nor houses to lodge the caravans. Ptolemy remedied this inconvenience by causing a canal to be opened along the great road from the Nile, on the edge of which houses were erected, at stated distances, for the reception and accommodation of man and beast. These were useful labours, but Ptolemy did not deem them sufficient for the accomplishment of his design. He con- sidered that protection was required, and accordingly he fitted out two fleets, one for the Red Sea, and the other for the Mediterranean. This latter is mentioned by Theocritus 192 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. in his Idyllium, entitled Ptolemy, as being magnificent. He s«j^s, " E'en lesser Asia and her isles grew pale, As o'er the billows passed her crowd of saH."— Idyll, xvii. Some of the vessels of which it was composed were very large ; two of them, in particular, had thirty benches of oars ; one, twenty : four rowed with fourteen ; two with twelve ; four- teen with eleven; thirty with nine; thirty-seven with seven; five with six ; and seventeen with five. There were many more with four and three benches of oars, besides a number of small vessels. With this fleet, he not only protected his commerce, but kept in subjection most of the maritime pro- vinces of Asia Minor, as Cilicia, Pamphyha, Lycia, and Caria, as far as the Cjxlades. At this period, about b. c. 258, Magas, king of Cyrene and Libya, growing aged and infirm, caused overtures of accom- modation to be tendered to his brother Ptolemy, with the pro- posal of a marriage between Berenice, his only daughter, and the .eldest son of the king of Egypt, and a promise to give her his dominions for a dowry. The negotiation succeeded, and a peace was concluded on these terms. Before this treaty was executed, however, Magas died, and his widow Apame, whom Justin calls Arsinoe, resolved to break off" her daugh- ter's marriage with the son of Ptolemy, as it had been con- cluded against her consent. With this view, she employed persons in Macedonia to invite Demetrius, the uncle of Anti- gonus Gonatus, to come to her court, assuring him that her daughter and crown should be his. Demetrius accordingly came, but as soon as Apfeme beheld him, she conceived a vio- lent passion for him, and resolved to espouse him herself Demetrius was, however, afterwards slain by a conspiracy in which Berenice herself took part ; after which she went to Egypt, where her marriage with Ptolemy was completed, and Apame was sent to her brother Antiochus Theos, in Syria. Through the influence of this princess, Antiochus Theos proclaimed war against Ptolemy, b. c. 256, which continued its ravages a long while, and was productive of fatal conse- quences to the aggressor. During the next year, the con- tending armies met, but history has not preserved the particu- lars of what passed in this and several succeeding campaigns. In the mean time, notwithstanding the war, Ptolemy was intent upon enlarging his library. He Avas continually en- riching it with new books: and he added also to it paintings fll^^TORY DF TtlF. Ki';VPTI.\.N'S. 193 and designs by the best masters. Aratus, the famous Sicyo- jaian, was one of those who collected for him in Greece, and he so pleased Ptolemy, that he presented him with twenty-five talents, which he expended in the relief of the necessitous Sicyonians, and the redemption of such as were detained in captivity — a noble act and one that would put many professed Christians to the blush, if compared with their acts of benevo- lence. But while Antiochus was employed in war with Egypt, a formidable insurrection in the east made him desirous of end- ing the Avar with Ptolemy. Accordingly, b. c. 249, a treaty of peaiie was concluded between them. The conditions of this treaty were, that Antiochus should divorce Laodice, and espouse Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy; and that he should also disinherit his issue by the first marriage, and se- cure the crown to his children by the second. This treaty ,vas put into effect. After it was concluded, Airtiochus repu- diated Laodice, and Ptolemy then embarked at Pelusium, and conducted his daughter to Seleucia, a maritime city, near the mouth of the Orontes, a river of Syria, where the nuptials were solemnized with great magnificence. Ptolemy appears to have had a great affection for his daughter ; for he gave orders to have regular supplies of wa- ter from the Nile transmitted to her, believing it more condu- cive to health than any other water in the world, as noticed Oefore. It has been said, when marriages are contracted from no other motives than political views, and are founded on such unjust conditions, they are generally attended with calamitous and fatal events. Thus it was with this union ; and yet it was ordained of Heaven that it should be — a striking proof that God ruleth in the earth, and that no events occur without His permission. To this treaty and this marriage, there is allusion in the prophetic writings Daniel. After having explained the overthrow of the Persian empire, under Darius Codomanuus, the. last king, by Alexander the Great; and the division of his empire among his four generals, Dan. xi. 2 — 4, the pro- phet proceeds to notice the wars of the kings of the north and south, or Syria and Egypt, (ver. 5 ;) after which he says, " And in the end of [several] years they [the kings of the south and of the north] shall join themselves together, [by marriage ;] for [Berenice] the king's daughter of the south [Egypt] shall come to fhe king of the north [Syria] to make yoL. I. 17 194 HISTORY OF xrii" i:GYrT;/i.Y.5. in agreement ; but she shall not regain the power of the arm, [or her interests v/ith Antiochus, who after some time brnughi back his former wife, Laodice, and her children, to court :] neither shall lie [Antiochus] stand, nor his arm, [for he was poisoned:] but she [Berenice] shall be given up, and they that brought her, [her Egyptian attendants,] and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times," [her father, Philadelphus, who died shortly before,] ver. 6. The prophet in these two latter verses, and throughout the remaining part of this chapter, confines himself to the kings of Egypt and Syria, because they Avere the only princes who engaged in war against the people of God. This will obtain more ample notice hereafter. But we would here direct the reader's attention to the strong testimony that this fact in ancient history bears to the Divine origin of Scripture. The prediction was uttered nearly three hundred years before the event: Avhat hand, then, but that of an Almighty Being, could have caused so many different views, intrigues, and. passions, to tend to the same point ? What knowledge but that of Omniscience could with so much certainty have fore- seen such a variety of distinct circumstances, subject, not only to the freedom of man's will, but to his wild caprice ? Reader, reflect upon this, and adore that sovereign power v/hich God exercises, secretly indeed, but not less certainly, over kings and princes, whose very crimes he renders subservient to the execution of his holy will and pleasure, and the accomplish- ment of his immutable decrees. During the time that Ptolemy continued in Syria, he was presented with a statue of Diana, which he admired, and which he carried into Egypt on his return. This gave rise to an incident, as related by Libanius, which shows the debasing superstition and idolatry of that age. He says, that some time after the return of Ptolemy, his wife Arsinoe was seized with indisposition, and dreamed that Diana appeared to her, acquainting her that Ptolemy was the occasion of her illness, by his having taken her statue out of the temple where it was consecrated to her divinity. Upon this, the statue was imme- diately sent back to Syria, in order to be replaced in the tem- ple whence it was taken. It was also accompanied Avitli rich presents to the goddess, and a variety of sacrifices were offered up to appease the angry divinity. But they had no such effect. The disorder of the queen was so far from abating, that she died the same year, n. c. 248, leaving Ptolemy in- consolable at her loss. His grief, it is said, was Heightened HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 195 by the reflection of liis having removed the statue of Diana out of the temple, to which he imputed her death. Though Arsinoe was older than Ptolemy, he retained a constant and tender affection for her to the last ; and at her death, he rendered all imaginable honours to her memory. He gave her name to several cities, and by many remarkable actions testified his affectionate regard for her. Pliny states, that he formed a design of erecting a temple to her memory, with a dome rising above it, the concave part of which was to be lined with adamant, in order to keep an iron statue of the queen suspended in the air. This design was the invention of Dinocrates, a famous architect of antiquity ; and the mo- ment he proposed it to Ptolemy, orders were given to com- mence the work. But the project failed, for Ptolemy and the architect died within a short time after it was resolved upon. Ptolemy Philadelphus survived his beloved Arsinoe but a short period. He was naturally, says Athenseus, of a tender constitution, and the luxurious life he led contributed to the decay of health. His affliction, also, for the loss of his con- sort, seemed to hasten his end. He died, b. c. 247, in the sixty-third year of his age, and the thirty-eighth of his reign. Although this prince had many excellent qualities, he can- not be proposed as a model of a good king. His resentment against Demetrius Phalereus will ever remain as a stain upon his character ; and the luxuries and effeminate pleasures (the usual concomitants of such high fortunes) in which he in- dulged to excess, do not evince a noble mind. Nevertheless, his love of the arts and sciences, and his generosity to learned men, reflect no small honour upon his memory. The fame of these liberalities brought several illustrious poets to his court, among whom we may enumerate Callimachus, Ly- cophron, and Theocritus, the latter of whom celebrated Pto- lemy's- fame in his poems. His taste for books has been noticed : he also always retained a peculiar taste for the sciences, and in order to perpetuate it among his subjects, he erected public schools and academies at Alexandria, where they flourished for many ages. He loved to converse with men of learning, and as the greatest masters in every kind of science were emulous to obtain his favour, he possessed an enviable advantage of obtaining wisdom. Happy are those princes who follow his footsteps in this particular, who know how to use the opportunity of acquiring, in agreeable conver- 196 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. sations, knowledge whereby they may learn how to govern a people wisely. The intercourse of Philadelphus with learned men, and his care to give due honour to the arts, may be considered as the source of those measures he pursued, to make commerce flourish in his dominions, in which he so happily succeeded, as his history testifies. It has been already observed, that he built cities in order to protect and facilitate trafhc ; that he opened a canal through the arid desert ; and that he main- tained a navy in each of the two seas, merely for the defence of his merchants. His principal aim was to secure to strangers safety, convenience, and freedom in his ports, without fetter- ing trade, or endeavouring to turn it from its proper channel, in order to make it subservient to his own interest. He was persuaded that commerce resembled those springs that cease to flow when diverted from their natural course. These were views worthy of a great prince, and a consum- mate politician ; and their effects Avere highly beneficial to his kingdom. Their effects have, indeed, continued to the pre- sent day, strengthened by the principles of the first establish- ment, after a duration of above two thousand years ; pouring a perpetual flow of new riches, and new commodities of every kind into all nations ; drawing continually from them a return of voluntary contributions; uniting the east and west by the mutual supply of their respective wants ; and establishing on this basis a commerce that has supported itself from age to age without interruption. Conquerors and heroes, whom the world has applauded so much, have scarcely left behind them any traces of the acquisitions they have made for aggrandizing their empires ; or, if they have, the revolutions to which the most potent states are subject, divest them of their conquests in a few short years, and transfer them to others. On the contrary, the commerce of Egypt, established thus by Phila- delphus, instead of being shaken by time, has rather increased through a long succession of ages, and become daily more useful to all nations. If we trace commerce, therefore, up to its true source, we shall be sensible that this prince was not only the benefactor of Egypt, but of mankind in general, to the latest posterity. About this epoch we may, at least, date the extension of that trade with India, by Avhich the products of the great Asiatic peninsula, and of Ceylon, were more generally diffused over the western world. The origin of the trade between the Indian peninsula and Arabia and Eastern Africa, belongs to a period anterior to any history ; and this com- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, 197 merce has probably never been totally interrupted at any period since its commencement. That the coast of Africa had been navigated long before this, may be seen in the history of the Carthaginians, vi^here it is stated that Hanno explored its western coasts, and, according to Dr. Vincent, as far as Q,uiloa on the southern coast. The most essential duty of kings, and the most grateful pleasure they can enjoy, amidst the splendours of a throne, is to gain the love of mankind, by making their goverment de- sirable. This appears to have been the policy of Ptolemy Philadelphus. He was sensible that the only expedient for extending his dominions without any act of violence, was to multiply his subjects, and attach them to his government by their interest and inclination ; to cause the land to be culti- vated ; to make arts and manufactures flourish ; and to aug- ment, by judicious measures, the power of a prince and his kingdom, whose strength, humanly speaking, consists in the multitude of his subjects. Hence it was, that so many from different nations transplanted themselves into Egypt during his reign, preferring a residence in a foreign land to their native soil. This is a favourable trait in the character of this prince, and cannot be too closely imitated by those who bear rule among the nations of the earth. Ptolemy Philadelphus was succeeded in his kingdom by his eldest son, PTOLEMT EUERGETES. The first act of Ptolemy Euergetes, was to revenge the wrongs of his sister. This princess had been repudiated by Antiochus Theos as soon as he heard of the death of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and Laodice and her children had been re- called to his court. Laodice caused Antiochus to be poisoned, and she concerted measures with Seleucus Calhnicus, her son, who had ascended his father's throne, to destroy Berenice and her son also. But Berenice being informed of their design, escaped with her son to Daphne, where she shut herself up in the asylum built by Seleucus Nicator. Thither Ptolemy Euergetes hastened, but before he arrived, Berenice had been betrayed by the perfidy of those who besieged her in her place of retreat, and had been murdered, with her son, and all her Egyptian attendants, by order of Laodice. The cities of Asia Minor, touched Avith pity at the misfor- tunes of Berenice, had also sent a body of troops to her relief. 17* 198 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. These now. joined those of Egypt, and Ptolemy, who com manded the whole army, made war upon Seleucus Callinicus. He soon had his revenge. The criminal proceeding of Lao- dice, and of Seleucus, had alienated the affection of the people from them ; and Ptolemy not only caused Laodice to suffer death, but made himself master of all Syria and Cilicia ; after which he passed the Euphrates, and conquered all the country as far as Babylon and the Tigris. If the progress of his arms had not been interrupted by a sedition, which obliged him to return to Egypt, it is probable he would have subdued all the provinces of the Syrian empire. He left Antiochus, one of the generals, to govern the provinces he had gained on this side of Mount Taurus, and Xanthippus was intrusted with those that lay beyond it. Ptolemy then marched back to Egypt laden with the spoils he had acquired by his conquests. These events occurred b. c. 246. The spoils which Ptolemy collected in this expedition were 40,000 talents of silver, (about six million pounds sterling,) a large quantity of gold and silver vessels, and 2,500 statues. Part of these statues were Egyptian idols, which Cambyses, after his conquest of that kingdom, had transported into Persia ; and Ptolemy gained the affections of his subjects by replacing them in their ancient temples. The Egyptians, mdeed, who were more devoted to their superstitious idolatry .than the rest of mankind, thought they could not sufficiently e.\;press their gratitude and veneration to Ptolemy for the res- toration of their gods. They gave him the title of Euergetes, which signifies " a benefactor," as a token of their gratitude ; a tittle which it were to be wished he had merited by some nobler action than the perpetuating idolatry, since it is infi- nitely preferable to all appellations which conquerors have assumed from a false idea of glorj^ It may here be observed, that all the facts that have been related proved an exact accomplishment of what the prophet Daniel had foretold. Foreseeing the result of the marriage of the "daughter of the south," with "the king of the north," as before noticed, he says of the former. " But she shall not I'etain the power of the arm ; neither shall he stand, nor his arm : but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times." He discovered that the issue of this princess, not- withstanding all the express precautions in the treaty for securing their succession to the crown, in the exclusion of the children by a former marriage, were so far from ascending HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 199 the throne, that they were entii'ely exterminated ; and that the new queen herself was delivered up to her rival, who caused her to be destroyed with all her officers who had con- ducted her out of Egypt and Syria, and who, till then, had been her strength and support. The prophet next describes the conquests of Euergetes : " But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate [her brother, Euergetes,] which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress [or the fenced cities] of the king of the north, and shall deal against them and shall prevail : and shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold ; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, [that is, the kingdom of Seleucus of the north,] and shall return into his own land," [into Egypt,] Dan. xi. 7 — 9. The remarkable precision with which this prediction was accomplished cannot fail to strike every reader. Porphyry has, indeed, discerned the resemblance betAveen the predic- tion and the accomplishment, and, strange to relate, at the ex- pense of truth, he has asserted that the prophecy was written after the several events to which it refers had occurred ; to such miserable artifices will the infidel resort, in order to fal- sify God's holy word. But all his endeavours are vain. " All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field : The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : But the word of our God shall stand for ever." — Isa. xl. 6 — 8. To return to the narrative. When Ptolemy Euergetes set out on this expedition, his queen Berenice, being apprehen- sive of the dangers to which he would be exposed in the war, made a vow to consecrate her hair if he should return in safety. This was a sacrifice of no mean kind, since it was esteemed by all ancient nations before all other personal or- naments. Accordingly, v/hen she saw him return, her firsts care was the accomplishment of her promise. She caused her hair to be cut off, and then dedicated it to the gods, in the temple which Ptolemy Philadelphus had founded in ho- nour of his beloved Arsinoe, on Zephyrion, a promontory in Cyprus, under the name of the Zephyrian Venus. This consecrated hair was lost soon after, and Ptolemy was ex- 200 HISTOB-Y OF THE EGYPTIANS. tremely oifended with the priests for their negligence : upon which Conon of Samos, who was then at Alexandria, being an artful courtier, took upon him to affirm that the locks of the queen's hair had been conveyed to heaven ; and pointed out seven stars near the lion's tail, which till then had never formed part of any constellation ; declaring, at the same time, that those were the hair of Berenice. Several other astronomers, either to make their court as well as Conon, or that they might not draw upon themselves the displeasure of Ptolemy, gave those stars the name of Berenice's hair, by which they are known to this day. On his return from this expedition, Ptolemy passed through Jerusalem, where he offered a great number of sacrifices to the God of Israel, in order to render homage to him, for the victories he had obtained over the king of Syria ; by which action he discovered his preference of the true God to all the idols of Egypt. Some have supposed that the prophecies of Daniel were shown to that prince, and that he might have concluded from thence, that his conquest and successes were owing to that God who had revealed them to his prophets. In the extremities to which Seleucus was reduced, he made application to his brother Antiochus, whom he pro- mised to invest with the sovereignty of the provinces of Asia Minor, if he would act in concert with him against Ptolemy. This young prince was then at the head of an army in those provinces ; and though he was but fourteen years of age, yet, according to Justin, he had all the ambition and maligni- ty of mind that appear in maturer years. He immediately accepted the offers made to him, and advanced in quest of his brother ; not Avith any intention to secure to him the en- joyment of his dominions, but to seize them for himself The avidity of this young prince was, indeed, so great, that he acquired the surname of Hierax, which signifies "a kite," the peculiar characteristic of which bird is, that it is read)/ to seize upon every thing within the range -of its flight. This alliance occurred b. c. 244. The next year, Ptolemy receiving intelligence that Antiochus was preparing to act in concert with Seleucus against him, reconciled himself with the latter, and concluded a truce with him for ten years, that he might not be at war with both these princes at the same time. From the time of his concluding the peace with Seleucus, he seems to have made it his principal care to extend his do minions to the south. Accordingly, before his death, he had HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 201 extended it the Avhole length of the Red Sea, as well along the Arabian, as the Ethiopian coast, and even to the Straits of Babelmandel, which form a coinmunication with the southern ocean. Ptolemy devoted the time of peace to the cultivation of the sciences in his dominions, and the enlargement of his fa- ther's library at Alexandria ; but as a proper collection of books could not be made without a librarian, Euergetes, upon the death of Zenodotus, who had held the office from the time of Ptolemy Soter, sent to Athens for Eratosthenes, the Cyrenian, who was then in great esteem for learning, and who had been educated by Callimachus. Eratosthenes was a man of universal learning ; but none of his works have reached our days, except his catalogue of the kings of Thebes, with the years of their respective reigns, from Menes, or Misraim, who first peopled Egypt after the deluge, to the Trojan war. This catalogue contains a succession of thirty- eight kings, and is still to be seen in Syncellus. In the year b, c. 233, the original manuscripts of ^schy- lus, Euripides, and Sophocles, were lent to Ptolemy Euer- getes on a pledge of fifteen talents. The same j-ear, Onias, the high priest of the JeAvs, having neglected to send to Egypt the usual tribute of twenty ta- lents, which his predecessors had always paid to the kings of that country, Ptolemy sent Athenion, one of his courtiers, to Jerusalem, to demand the payment of the arrears, which then amounted to a large sum ; and to threaten the Jews, in case of refusal, with a body of troops, who should be commissioned to expel them from their country, and divide it among themselves. This caused great alarm at Jerusalem, and it was deemed necessary to send a deputation to the king, in the person of Joseph, the nephew of Onias, who, though in the prime of his youth, was universally esteemed for his prudence, probity, and justice. Athenion, during his con- tinuance at Jerusalem, had conceived a great regard for his character, and as he set out for Egypt before him, he pro- mised to render him all the good offices in his power with the king. Joseph followed him soon after. On his way thither, he met with several of the most considerable persons of Ccelo-Syria and Palestine; who were also going to Egypt with an intention of offering terms for farming the great re- venues of those provinces. As the equipage of Joseph was less magnificent than theirs, they treated him with disrespect, and considered him as a person of little note. Joseph con- •202 lUbTonyr of the Egyptians. cealed his dissatisfaction at their behaviour ; but he drew from the conversation that passed between them all the infor- mation he could wish with relation to the afiairs that took them to court. When they arrived at Alexandria, they were informed that the king had gone to Memphis. Joseph immedi- ately repaired thither, and he met him as he was returning from Memphis, with the queen and Athenion in his chariot. The king, who had been prepossessed in his favour by Athe- nion, was pleased to see him, and invited him into his cha- riot. Joseph, to excuse his uncle, represented the infirmities of his great age, and the natural tardiness of his disposition, in such an engaging manner, as satisfied Ptolemy, and crea- ted in him a high esteem for the able advocate of the high priest. He ordered Joseph an apartment in the royal palace of Alexandria, and allowed him a place at his table. When the day arrived for purchasing, by a sort of auc- tion, the privilege of farming the revenues of the provinces, the companions of Joseph, in his journey to Egypt, ofiered 8,000 talents only for the provinces of Ccslo-Syria, Phenicia, Judea and Samaria. Joseph, who had discovered in the con- versation that passed between them in his presence, that this purchase was v.^orth double the sum they offered, reproached them for depreciating the king's revenues, and offered 16,000 talents. Ptolemy was well pleased to hear of his revenues being so much increased, but being apprehensive that the person who proffered so large a sum would not be able to pay it, he asked Joseph what security he would give him for the performance of the agreement. Joseph calmly replied, that he had such persons to offer for his security on that oc- casion as he was certain his majesty could have no objection to. Upon being ordered to mention them, he named the king and queen themselves, adding, that they Avould be his securities to eacli other. The king could not avoid smiling at this pleasantry, and he allowed him to farm the revenues without any other security than his verbal promise for pay- ment. Nor was his confidence abused. Joseph acted in that station for the space of ten years, to the ii:iutual satisfac- tion of the court and provinces. In the year b. c. 222, Ptolemy entertained Cleomenes the Spartan, who had been driven from his throne by Antigonus. He gave that prince repeated assurances, indeed, that he would send him into Greece Avith a fleet and a supply of mo- ney, and would re-establish him on hi? ihrone. The next HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 208 year, however, before his designs could be carried into exe- cution, Euergetes died, and Cleomenes found by experience how vain it was to trust in man. Truly wise is the advice of the psalmist, wherein he says : " Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to the earth ; in that very day his thoughts perish," Psa. cxlvi. 3, 4. Ptolemy Euergetes had reigned twenty-five years. He was the last of the race of the Ptolemies, says Strabo, "in whom any true virtue and moderation shone forth ; the generality of his successors being monsters of debauchery and wickedness. He was succeeded on the throne of Egypt by his son, PTOLEMY PHLLOPATER. This prince plunged himself in the most abominable ex- cesses during the whole of his reign. The very commence- ment of it was marked by outrage and bloodshed. By some historians he is said to have poisoned his father, whence he received the surname of Philopater, by antiphrasis, that word signifying, " a lover of his father." He received the name of Tryphon from his extravagance and debauchery ; and that of Gallus, because he appeared in the streets of Alexan- dria like one of the bacchanals, and with all the wild ges- tures of the priests of Cybele.* In the early part of his reign, a. c. 220, Ptolemy commit- ted a gross act of injustice and cruelty upon the person of Cleomenes. That prince still continued in Egypt ; but as Ptolemy regarded nothing but pleasures and excesses of every kind, he led a very solitary life. At first, however, Ptolemy made use of Cleomenes. As he was afraid of his brother Magas, who on his mother's account had great autho- rity and power over the soldiery, he admitted Cleomenes into his most secret councils, in which means for getting rid of his brother were devised. Cleomenes was the only person who had moral rectitude enough to oppose the unnatural scheme ; declaring, that a king cannot have any ministers more zealous for his service, or more able to aid him in sus- * In the celebration of the festivals of Cybele, her priests imitated the manners of madmen, and filled the air with dreadfid shrieks and bowl- ings, mixed with the confused noise of drums, tabrets, bucklers, and spears. This was in commemoration of the sorrows of Cybele for the losa of her favourite Atys. 204 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. taining the burden of government, than his brothers. This wise counsel prevailed for a moment ; but Ptolemy's suspi- cions soon returned, and he imagined there would be no other way to disperse them than by taking aAvay the life of him that occasioned them. Accordingly, he publicly caused Berenice his mother, and Magas, his brother, to be put to death. After this, says Plutarch, he thought himself secure, fondly concluding that he had no enemies to fear either at home or abroad ; because Antigonus and Seleucus at their death left no other successors but Philip and Antiochus, both of whom he despised on account of their tender age. In this security, he devoted himself to all kinds of pleasures, never interrupting them by cares or business. His very courtiers, and those who had employments in the state, dared not approach him, and he would scarcely deign to bestow the least attention on Avhat occurred in the neighbouring kingdoms. With such dispositions, it can readily be imagined that he had no great esteem for Cleomenes. This was manifested by his conduct. The instant the latter heard of the death of Antigonus, that the Achaaans Avere engaged in a war with the jEtolians, that the Lacedemonians were united with tlie latter against the Achasans and Macedonians, and that all things conspired to recall him to his native country, he solic- ited leave to depart from Alexandria. At first he implored the king to favour him with troops and warlike stores suffi- cient for his return, and when he found that he could not obtain this request, he desired that he at least might be suffered to depart with his family, and be allowed to embrace the favourable opportunity of repossessing himself of his king- dom. But Ptolemy was too much engaged by his pleasures to lend an ear to the entreaties of Cleomenes. Sosibius, who at this time had great authority in the king- dom, and who ministered to the king's brutal pleasures, as- sembled his friends ; and in this council a resolution was formed not to furnish Cleomenes either with a fleet or pro- visions. They supposed such an expense would be useless ; for, from the death of Antigonus, all foreign aflliirs had seemed to them of small importance. This council were ap- prehensive, moreover, that as Antigonus was dead, and as there was none to oppose Cleomenes, that that prince, after having made a conquest of Greece, would become a formida- ble enemy to Egypt. And what increased their fears was, his having thoroughly studied the stale of the kingdcni, hia HISTOB.Y OF THE EGYPTIANS. '205 knowing its weak points, his holding the king in sovereign contempt, and seeing many parts of the kingdom separated and at a great distance, Avhich an enemy might have many opportunities of invading. For these reasons, it was deemed politic not to grant Cleomenes the aid which he desired. And on the other side, to give so bold and enterprising a prince leave to depart, after having refused these succours, would be making an enemy, who would certainly one time or other resent the insult offered to him. Sosibius was therefore of opinion, that it was not safe to allow him to retire from, or even to allow him his liberty in Alexandria. A word which Cleomenes had previously uttered occurred to his memory, and confirmed him in this opinion. In a council, where Magas was the subject of the debate, the prime minister had signified his fears lest this prince should raise an insurrection by means of foreign soldiers. " I answer for them," says Cleomenes, speaking of those of Peloponnesus, "and you may depend, that upon the first signal I give, they will take up arms in your favour." This made Sosibius hesitate no longer. On a fictitious accusation, which he corroborated by a letter he himself had forged in the name of Cleomenes, he prevailed with the king to seize his person, and to imprison huTi in a secure place, where he might maintain him always in the manner he had hitherto done, with the liberty of seeing his friends, but not of going abroad with them. This treatment threw Cleomenes into the deepest affliction ; and as he did not perceive any end of his calamities, he formed a resolution, in concert with those friends who used to visit him, which despair only could suggest. This resolu- tion was, to repel the injustice of Ptolemy by force of arms ; to stir up his subjects against him ; to die a death worthy of Sparta ; and not to wait, as stalled victims, till it was deemed expedient they should be sacrificed. His friends having found means to get him forth from prison, they all ran in a body with drawn swords into the streets, exhorting and calling upon the populace to recover their liberty ; but no one joined them. They killed the gov- ernor of the city, and some noblemen who came to oppose them, and afterwards ran to the citadel with an intention of forcing the gates, and of setting the prisoners at liberty ; but they found it impracticable. Cleomenes noAv lost all hope. He ran up and down the city in despair, during which he was neither aided nor opposed by the citizens. When they, therefore, saw that it would be impossible for them to succeed VOL. I. 18 206 HISTOCY OF THE EGITPTIANS. in their enterprise, they terminated it in a tragical manner : they ran upon each others' swords to avoid the infamy of pun- ishment. Ptolemy caused his body to he hanged on a cross, and he ordered his wife, children, and all the women who attended them, to be put to death. When that unhappy prin- cess was brought to the place of execution, the only favour she asked was, that she might die before her children. But this was denied her. Her maternal feelings were outraged by the sight of the death of her offspring, a sight more grievous to a mother than death itself After this she presented her own neck to the executioner, mournfully exclaiming, " Ah ! my dear children, to what a place did they come !" While this tragical scene was performing, Ptolemy was pursuing his guilty pleasures. But in the midst of his wild career, b. c. 219, he was called to war with Antiochus, king of Syria. Theodotus, the ^Etolian governor of Ccelo-Syria under Ptolemy, had repulsed that prince the year before, in a battle wherein he had displayed great fidelity and courage. The court of Egypt, however, was not satisfied with his ser- vices on that occasion. Those who governed the king, had expected greater results from his valour ; and were persuaded that it was in his power to have done something more. He was accordingly sent for to Alexandria, to give an account of his conduct, and his life was even threatened. After the rea- sons for his conduct were heard, however, he was acquitted, and sent back to his government. Theodotus could not forget the insult which had been offered to him by this unjust accusation : he was, indeed, so exasper- ated at the affront, that he resolved to revenge it. The luxury and effeminacy of the whole court, to which he had been an eye-witness, increased, also, his indignation and resentment. He could not endure the idea of being dependent on the ca- price of so base and contemptible a set of courtiers, and there- fore he resolved to find a sovereign more worthy of his servi- ces. Accordingly, he had no sooner returned to his govern- ment, than he seized upon the cities of Tyre and Ptolemais, declared for Antiochus, and despatched a courier to invite him thither. One of Ptolemy's generals, Nicolaus, though he was of the same country with Theodotus, would not desert Ptolemy, but preserved his fidelity to that prince. The moment, therefore, that Theodotus had taken Ptolemais, he besieged him in it, possessed himself of the passes of Mount Libanus, to stop the T>ro"-Tpss of Antiochus. who was advancing to fbr> lirl nf n^V.^a. IlisTOllY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 207 dotus, and defended them to the last extremity. He was, howevei', finally obliged to abandon them, and Antiochus took possession of Tyre and Ptolemais. In these two cities were the stores which Ptolemy had laid up for the use of his army, with a fleet of forty sail. Antio- chus gave the command of these ships to Diognetus, his ad- miral, who was ordered to sail to Pelusium, whither the king- intended to march by land, with the view of invading Egypt on that side. Being informed, however, that this was the season in which the inhabitants used to lay the country under water, by opening the dykes of the Nile ; and consequently, that it would be impossible for him to advance into Egypt at that time, he abandoned the project, and employed his army in reducing the rest of Ccelo-Syria. He seized upon some fortresses, and others submitted to him ; and, at length, he possessed himself of Damascus, the capital of that province, after having deceived Dinonthe governor of it by a stratagem. The last action of this campaign was the seige of Dora, a maritime city in the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel. This place, which was strongly situated, had been so well fortified by Nicolaus, that it was impossible for Antiochus to reduce it. He was, therefore, forced to agree to a truce of four months, proposed to him in the name of Ptolemy ; and this served as an honourable pretence for marching back his army to Seleu- cia on the Orontes, where he put them into winter qxiarters. Theodotus was appointed by Antiochus governor of all the places he had conquered in this campaign. During the interval of this truce, a treaty was negotiated between the two crowns. The motive of both, however, in taking this step, was only to gain time. Ptolemy had occa- sion for this in order to make the necessary preparations for carrying on the war ; and Antiochus for reducing Achceus, who was endeavouring to dethrone him, and to dispossess him of all his dominions. In this treaty, the principal point was, to ascertain to whom Coelo-Syria, Phenicia, Judea, and Samaria had been given in the partition of Alexander the Great's empire. Ptolemy claimed themby virtue of their having been assigned by treaty to Ptolemy Soter, his grandfather. On the other side, Antio- chus pretended that they had been given to Seleucus Nicator, and therefore that they were his right, he being heir and suc- cessor of that king in the empire of Syria. Another difficulty embarrassed the commissioners. Ptolemy would have Achasus included in the treaty ; but Antiochus opposed this, 208 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. alleging that it was infamous for a king like Ptolemy to es- pouse the quarrel of rebels, and countenance revolt. The period of the truce at length arrived, b. c. 218, and no- thing being concluded, recourse was had to arms. Nicolaus the .^tolian had given so many proofs of valour and fidelity in the last campaign, that Ptolemy gave him the command in chief of his army, and charged him with every thing relating to the service of the king in those provinces which were the occasion of the war. Perigenes, the admiral, put to sea with the fleet, in order to act against the enemy on that side. Ni- colaus appointed Gaza for the rendezvous of all his forces, whither all the provisions necessary for the campaign had been sent from Egypt. From thence he marched to Mount Libanus, where he seized all the passes between that chain of mountains and the sea, by which Antiochus was necessarily obliged to pass, hoping thereby to prevent his further pro- gress. Antiochus, on the other hand, made every preparation both by sea and land for a vigorous invasion. He headed his land forces himself, and gave the command of his fleet to Diogne- tus. Both fleets sailed along the coasts, and followed the ar- my, so that the naval as Avell as land forces met at the passes which Nicolaus had seized. Whilst Antiochus attacked Ni- colaus by land, the fleets also came to an engagement, so that the battle began by sea and land at the same time. At sea, neither party gained the superiority, but on land Nicolaus was overpowered. He was forced to retire to, Sidon, after losing 4,000 of his soldiers, who were either killed or taken prisoners. Perigenes followed him thither with the Egyp- tian fleet, and Antiochus pursued them to that city both by sea and land. He designed to besiege them there ; but he. found •that this would be attended with many difiiculties, because of the great number of troops in the city, and the quantity of provision and other necessaries laid up in store for them there. Instead, therefore, of besieging this city, he sent his fleet to Tyre, and marched into Galilee. After having made him- self master of it by the- capture of several cities, he passed the river .Jordan, entered Gilead, and possessed himself of all that part of the country formerly inhabited by the tribes of Reu- ben, Gad, -^nd the half tribe of Manasseh. The season was now too far advanced to prolong the cam- paign, for Avhich reason he returned by the river Jordan, left the government of Samaria to Hippolochus and Koreas, who had deserted Ptolemy's service, and gave llicm 5,000 men to HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 209 keep it in subjection. He then marched back the rest of the forces to Ptolemais, where he put them into winter quarters. The campaign was opened in the spring b. c. 217. Ptole- my caused 70,000 foot, 5,000 horse, and seventy-three ele- phants to advance towards Pelusium. He placed himself at the head of these forces, and marched them through the deserts which divide Egypt from Palestine, and encamped at Raphia, between Rhinocorura and Gaza at the latter of which cities the two armies met. That of Antiochus was something more numerous than the other. His forces consisted of 72,000 foot, 6,000 horse, and 102 elephants. He first en- camped within ten furlongs, and then within five of the ene- my. All the time they lay so near one another, there were perpetual skirmishes between the parties who went to fetch fresh water or to forage, as well as between individuals who wished to distinguish themselves by deeds of bravery. Theodotus the iEtolian, favoured by the darkness of the night, and accompanied by two accomplices, entered the camp of the Egyptians with a design of killing Ptolemy, and there- by, putting an end to the Avar. He was taken for an Egyp- tian, so that he met with no difficulty in approaching Ptole- my's tent. He entered the tent, but the king was not there. The rage of Theodotus, however, was so great, and he was so blinded by this mad principle, that he did not perceive it, and he killed the first physician in mistake for the monarch. He also wounded two other persons, and during the alarm which the attempt occasioned he escaped to his own camp. The two kings at length resolving to decide their quarrel, drew up their armies in battle array. They rode amongst their troops to animate them, and encourage them to behave valiantly. Arsinoe, the sister and wife of Ptolemy, was not content with exhorting the soldiers to behave manfully before the battle, but did not leave her husband-brother during the heat of the engagement. The issue of this engagement was, that Antiochus, at the head of his right wing, defeated the enemy's left. But whilst hurried on with rash ardour, he engaged too warmly in the pursuit. Ptolemy, who had been as successful in the other wing, charged the centre of the troops of Antiochus in flank, which was then exposed, and he broke it before it was pos- sible for that prince to come to its relief An old officer, watching the direction of the dust, concluded that the centre was defeated, and drew the attention of Antiochus to that point. He faced about that instant, but he came too late to amend 18* 210 HlSTOilV OF IHE liGYPTIANS. his fault, for his army was broken and put to flight. Anti- ochus himself was obliged to retreat. He retired to Raphia, and afterwards to Gaza, with the loss of 10,000 men killed, and 4,000 taken prisoners. Finally, finding it impossible for him to maintain himself in that country against Ptolemy, he . abandoned all his conquests, and retreated to Antioch with the remains of his army. The battle of Raphia was fought at the same time with that in which Hannibal defeated Flaminius the consul, on the banks of the lake Thrasymenus in Etruria. The inhabitants of Coelo-Syria and Palestine, having been long accustomed to the yoke of Egypt, were more attached to the Egyptians than to Antiochus ; hence, after his retreat, they submitted to Ptolemy with great cheerfulness. The court of the conqueror Avas soon croAvded with ambassadors from all the cities, and from Judea among the rest, to make their submission and to offer him presents. After receiving these ambassadors, Ptolemy made a pro- gress through his conquered provinces, and among other cities, he visited Jerusalem. We learn from the book of Mac- cabees that he Avent to the temple, and even offered sacrifices to the God of Israel ; making at the same time oblations and bestoAving considerable gifts. Not being satisfied however, Avith vieAving it from the outward court, beyond Avhich no Gentile Avas alloAved to go, he AA'as desirous to enter the sanc- tuary, and to go even as far as the Holy of Holies, to Avhich no one was alloAved access but the high priest, and that but once* every year, on the great day of expiation. See Heb. ix. 7 — 10. The report of this rash desire soon spread abroad, and it occasioned a great tumult". The high priest informed Ptolemy of the holiness of that place, and the express laAv of God, by Avhich all others AA^ere forbidden to enter it.f The priests and Levites, also, AAdth one accord, opposed his rash * That is, on not more than one day in the year. During that day, he entered four times : the first time to offer incense ; the second time, to sprinkle the blood of the bullock ; the third time, with the blood of the ofoat ; and the fourth time, to bring out the censer. If he entered a fifth time that day, it was considered that he was Avorthy of death. + It was death for any one else, priest or layman, to enter the sanctuary. So carefully was this observed and provided for, that, to prevent its being necessary for any one to enter to bring out the body of the high priest in case he should die there before the Lord on the great day of sup- plication, a cord was fastened to lus foot, the end of Avhich Avas left beyond the veil. The Jews were always in fear lest the high priest should perish in performing the services of that great day. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 211 design, and the people at large conjured him to lay it aside. Every place echoed with lamentations, occasioned by the idea of the profanation to which their temple would be exposed, and the multitude lifted up their hands to implore the interpo- sition of Heaven. This opposition, instead of prevailing with the king, only inflamed his curiosity the more. He forced his way as far as the second court ; but as he was preparing to enter the temple itself, he was struck with such terror that he was carried off half dead. After this, he left the city, highly exasperated against the Jewish nation, and threaten- ing it with vengeance. He kept his word. The following year, b. c. 216, he raised a cruel persecution, especially against the Jews of Alexandria, whom he endeavoured to reduce by force to worsliip idols. When Antiochus arrived in Antioch, he sent an embassy to Ptolemy, to sue for peace. The circumstances which prompted him to this were, his suspicions of the fidelity of his people, with whom his credit was lessened since his last de- feat, and his desire of checking the progress which Achceus was making in his dominions. To obviate these dangers, he invested his ambassador with powers to give up to Ptolemy the provinces of Ccelo-Syria and Palestine,* which were the subject of their contest. A truce was therefore agreed. upon for twelve months ; and before the expiration of that time, a peace was concluded on the offered terms. Ptolemy, who might have taken advantage of this victory, and probably have conquered all Syria, was desirous of put- ting an end to the war, that he might devote himself to his pleasures. His subjects, knowing his Avant of spirit and effeminacy, could not conceive how it had been possible for him to have been so successful ; and at the same time they were displeased at his having concluded a peace so readily. The discontent they conceived on this account was the chief source of the subsequent disorders in Egypt, which finally rose to an open rebellion ; so that Ptolemy, by endeavouring to avoid a foreign war, drew one upon himself in his own dominions. This occurred b. c. 215 ; and, according to Po- lybius, it occasioned a civil war ; but neither that author nor any other relates the particulars of that event. About B. c. 210, the Romans, according to Livy, sent de- * Coelo-Syria included that part of Syria which lies between the moun- tains Libanus and Anti-Libanus and Palestine, or the country which anciently was inherited by the Hebrewrs : the coast of these two provinces was what the Greeks called Phenicia. • 212 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. puties to Ptolemy and Cleopatra, (the same queen before called Arsinoe,*) to renew their ancient friendship and alliance with Egypt. These carried, as a present to the king, a robe and purple tunic, with an ivory chair ; and to the queen, an em- broidered robe and a purple scarf, presents which bear testi- mony to the happy simplicity which prevailed among the Ro- mans at this period. During the ten succeeding years, after the signal victory which Philopater had obtained over Antiochus at Raphia, he abandoned himself to pleasures and excesses of every kind. Agathoclea his concubine, Agathocles her brother, and their mother, governed him entirely. All his time was spent in gaming, drinking, and the most infamous irregularities. His nights were passed in debauches, and his days in feasts and revels. Forgetting the duties and character of a king, instead of applying himself to the affairs of state, he valued himself upon presiding at concerts, and his skill in music. The women, Justin says, disposed of every thing. They con- ferred all employments and governments ; and no one had less authority in the kingdom than the king himself Sosi- bius, who had been in office during three reigns, was at the helm, and his experience had made him capable of the ad- ministration. He could not act indeed as he desired, but as the favourites would permit him ; and he was so servile and so wicked, that he paid blind obedience to the unjust com- mands of a corrupt prince and his unworthy minions. Arsinoe, it appears, had no power or authority at court during this period. The favourites and prime minister did not, indeed, show her the least respect ; and she was not patient enough to suffer every thing without murmuring. At length, the king and those who governed him greAV weary of her complaints, and they commanded Sosibius to rid them of her. The degenerate minister obeyed : for that purpose, he employed one Philaraimon, who, it has been conjectured, was experienced in' such barbarous deeds. This last base action drew xipon the head of Sosibius the vengeance of the people ; and their clamours were so loud, that he was obliged to quit his employment. He was suc- ceeded by Tlepolemus, a young man of quality, Avho had sig- nalized himself in the army by his valour and conduct ; and ♦ Justin calls her Eurydice: if he is not in error, this queen had, therefore, three names — Arsinoe, Cleopatra, and Eurydice. Cleopatra was, however, a iinme roinimm to the queens of Egypt, as that of Ptolcmv was to tl\c kiji-^s. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 213 who was chosen unanimously by the grand council held for the purpose of choosing a prime minister. Sosibius resigned to him the king's seal, which was the badge of his office. Tlepolemus performed the several functions of it, and go- verned all the affairs of the kingdom during the king's life. But though this was not long, he discovered that he had not all the qualifications necessary for so difficult a post. He had neither the experience, ability, nor application of his pre- decessor. As he had the administration of the finances, and disposed of all honours and dignities in the state, all the peo- ple were assiduous in making their court to him. He was extremely liberal ; but his bounty was bestowed without dis- cernment, and almost solely on those who shared in his plea- sures. The extravagant flatteries of those who crowded about his person made him fancy his talents superior to those of all other men : till at length he assumed haughty airs, abandoned himself, like his master, to luxury and profusion, and at last grew insupportable to all around him. In the mean time, Philopater was pursuing his guilty round of pleasure. But it has been well said by the poet, that, Death treads on pleasure's footsteps round the world, When pleasure treads the path which reason shuns, When against reason riot shuts the door, And luxury supplies the place of sense. — Dr. Young. Before Philopater had lived half the allotted days of man, he fell a victim to his intemperance and excesses. He died b. c. ■204, after a reign of seventeen years, and was succeeded in his kingdom by Ptolemy Epiphanes, his son, who was then only five years of age. PTOLEMY EPIPHANES. As the only persons present at the death of Philopater were Agathocles, his sister, and their creatures, they con- cealed it as long as possible from the public, in order that they might have time to possess themselves of the money, jewels, and other valuable effects in the palace. The also formed a plan to maintain themselves in the same authority they had enjoyed under the deceased monarch, by usurping the regency during the minority of his son. They imagined this might easily be done, if they could despatch Tlepolemus and measures were concerted by them for this purpose. 214 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. But the mischief they designed for others fell upon their own heads. The people were informed, at length, of the king's death ; and a great council of the Macedonians was assem- bled, in which Agathocles, and Agathoclea his sister M'ere pre- sent. Agathocles, with tears in his eyes, opened the proceed- ings by imploring protection for the infant king, whom he held in his arms. He told them, that his royal sire, in his expiring moments, committed him to the care of Agathoclea, whom he pointed out to them ; and had recommended him to the fidelity of the Macedonians : that, for this reason, he was come to implore their assistance against Tlepolemus, who me- ditated, the design of usurping the crown. He offered to bring witnesses to prove the treason of Tlepolemus. But his artifice was too gross to be believed. It served only, indeed, to recall to the remembrance of the people the many other crimes of which the favourites of Philopater had been guilty, and they immediately resolved upon the destruction of Aga- thocles, his sister, and all their creatures. The young king was taken out of their hands, and seated on the throne in the Hippodrome, after which, Agathocles, his sister, and (Enan- the their mother were brought before him, and there put to death as by his order. The populace exposed their dead bodies to all the indignities possible, dragging them through the streets, and literally tearing them to pieces. All their re- lations and creatures met with the same treatment. Among those who died was Philammon, the assassin who murdered Arsinoe. This man having returned from Cja-ene to Alexandria two or three days before the tumult broke out, the ladies of honour of that unfortunate queen had instant notice of it, and taking the opportunity which the distractions of the city gave them, they resolved to revenge her death. Accordingly, they broke open the door of the house Avhere he was, and killed him with clubs and stones. The care of the king's person was now given to Sosibius, son to him who had governed during the last three reigns. History does not state M'liether the father was still alive ; but it is certain that he lived to a great age, as he had passed above sixty years in the administration. Polj'bius says, that no minister was ever more corrupt or more subtle than Sosi- bius. Provided tbcy conduced to his purpose, he made no scruple of committing the blackest crimes. This author, in- deed, attributes to him the murder of Lysimachus, son of Pto- lemy ; of Arsinoe, daughter of that Lysimachus ; of Magas, son of Ptolemy ; of Berenice, daughter of Magas ; of Bere- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTLiNS. 215 nice, mother of Ptolemy Pliilopater ; of Cleomenes, king of Sparta ; and of Arsinoe, daughter of Berenice. If he was such a monster of iniquity, it is surprising that he should so long have supported himself in the administration. Although Antiochus king of Syria, and Philip king of Macedonia, had, during the reign of Ptolemy Philopater, dis- covered great zeal for the interest of that monarch, and were ready to assist him on all occasions, yet, no sooner was he dead, than they joined in a criminal alliance to destroy the infant heir, whom the laws of humanity and justice enjoined them not to disturb, in order to divide his dominions between them. Philip was to possess Caria, Lybia, Cyrenaica, and Egypt ; and Antiochus all the rest. With this view, the lat- ter entered C(Elo-Syria and Palestine ; and, in less than two campaigns, made an entire conquest of those two provinces, with all their cities and dependencies. Their guilt, says Po- lybius, would not have been so glaring, had they, like tyrants, endeavoured to gloss over their crimes with some specious pretence ; but, so far from doing this, their injustice and cruelty were so barefaced, that to them was applied what is generally said of fishes, that the larger ones, though of the same species, prey on the lesser. This author adds : — '• One would be tempted, at seeing the most sacred laws of society thus openly violated, to accuse Providence of being indiffer- ent to the crimes of man." But the issue showed that there is One \vho ruleth on high ; One Avho taketh note of all the deeds of every man, and who rewardeth them according to their deserts. Whilst these princes were meditating the de- struction of an infant, and the subversion of his kingdom, Providence raised up the Romans against them, who entirely subverted their kingdoms, and subdued their successors. This confederacy was formed b. c. 203, and during the next two years Egypt was threatened. At the end of that time, the court, sensible of their danger, had recourse to the Romans for protection, offering them the sole guardianship of the king, and the regency of his dominions during his minority ; declaring that the late monarch, at his death, had recommended them thus to act. It was the interest of the Romans not to suffer the power of Philip and Antiochus to increase, by the addition of so many rich provinces, of which the empire of Egypt at that time consisted. They foresaw, also, that they would soon be engaged in war with those two princes, with one of Avhom they were already involved in a quarrel. For these reasons, thev did not hesitate to accent 216 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the guardianship of Epiphanes. They sent thither ^milius, who, pursuant to the instructions he had received from the. senate, settled every thing to as much advantage as the state of affairs in Egypt would then admit. He appointed Aris- tomenes, the Acarnaniaa, who had long been connected with the court of Egj^pt, to superintend the education and person of the young monarch, and made him prime minister; duties which he discharged with the utmost prudence and fidehty. At the same time that iEmilius was sent into Egypt to as- sume the guardianship of Epiphanes, two other deputies were despatched to Antiochus and Philip, to acquaint them with their resolution, and to enjoin them not to molest the domin- ions of their royal pupil : otherwise, they would be compelled to declare war against them. This declaration in favour of an oppressed infant monarch was making a just and noble use of their power ; and it were to be wished that powerful states would at all times act thus generously. The first thing Aristomenes sought to effect was, to defend himself against the invasion of the two confederate kings. For this purpose, he sent Scopas into iEtolia, Avith large sums of money, to levy as many troops as possible ; the .zEtolians being looked upon at that time as the best soldiers in the world. In this mission Scopas succeeded ; he brought 6000 soldiers from that country, which was considered to be a valu- able reinforcement for the Egyptian army. This Scopas had formerly enjoyed the highest post in his own country, and was thought to be one of the bravest and most experienced generals of that age. When the time of continuing his emplojanent expired, he flattered himself with the hopes of being continued in his office, but was disap- pointed. This gave him disgust, so that he left .lEtolia, and engaged in the service of the king of Egypt. The next year, b. c. 199, the Egyptians, seeing Antiochus employed in Asia Minor, in the war which had broken out between him and Attains, king of Pergamus, sent Scopas into Palestine and Coelo-Syria, to endeavour to recover those pro- vinces. He carried on the war so successfully, that he re- covered several cities, retook Judea, threw a garrison into the citadel of Jerusalem, and upon the approach of winter re- turned to Alexandria, whither he brought exceeding rich spoils, taken in the conquered countries. But the success of this campaign was principally owing to the absence of Antiochus, and to the little resistance which had been made, for he was no sooner arrived there, k. c. 198, HISTORY OF THE r'GYPTIAfJS. 217 than victory declared in his favour. Scopas, who had re- turned with an army, was defeated at Paneas, near the source of the river Jordan, in a battle wherein a great slaughter was rhade of his troops. He was forced to fly to Sidon, where he shut himself up with the 1 0.000 men he had left. Antiochus besieged him in it, and reduced him to such extremities, that, being in want of provisions, he was forced to surrender the city, and content himself with having his life spared. The governnient of Alexandria employed its utmost efforts to re- lieve him in Sidon, and three of the best generals, at the head of the choicest troops of the state, had been sent to false the siege. But Antiochus made such judicious arrangements, that all their eflbrts were defeated, and Scopas was obliged to accept of the ignominious condition of being sent home, naked and disarmed. Antiochus went from thence to Gaza, where he met with a strong resistance, which highly incensed him ; and, accord- ingly, having taken the city, he abandoned the plunder of it to his soldiers. He then secured the passes through which the troops of Egypt approached, and, returning back, sub- jected all Palestine and Coslo-Syria. The instant that the Jews, who had at that time cause to be offended with the Egyptians, knew that Antiochus was ad- vancing towards their country, they came to meet him, and to deliver up the keys of all their cities. When he came to Jerusalem, the priests and elders came out in great pomp to meet him and to pay him honour. They likewise assisted him in driving from the castle the soldiers whom Scopas had left there. In return for these services, Antiochus granted them a great many privileges ; and he enacted, by a particu- lar decree, that no stranger should be allowed access to the inner part of the temple, a prohibition which had reference to Philopater's attempt to force his way thither. Having thus subjected all Coelo-Syria and Palestine, Anti- ochus resolved upon making the like conquest in Asia Minor. But as it would be necessary, for the success of his design, to prevent the Egyptians from molesting him in his new con- quests, at a time that he should be far away from his king- dom, he sent Eucles the Rhodian to Alexandria, to offer his daughter in marriage to Ptolemy ; but on this condition, that they should not celebrate their nuptials till they should be a little older ; and that then, on the day of their marriage, he would give up those provinces to Egypt, as his daughter's dowry. This proposal being accepted, the treaty was con- voy. I. 19 218 IIISTOKY OF TI!E rGYPTIAKS. eluded and ratified ; and the Egyptians, relying on his pro- mises, suffered him to carry on his conquests unmolested. About the year b. c. 196, a conspiracy was formed against the life of Ptolemy, by Scopas. That general, seeing himself at the head of all the foreign troops, the greatest part of which were, like himself, ^tolians, imagined that with these vete- ran forces it would be easy for him to usurp the crown dur- ing the king's minority. His plan was already formed ; and, had he not wasted his time in consulting and debating with his friends, instead of acting, it is probable he would have succeeded. Aristomenes, the prime minister, being apprised of the conspiracy, laid Scopas under an arrest ; after which, he was examined before the coupcil, found guilty, and exe- cuted, with all his accomplices. This plot made the government no longer confide in the ^Etolians, who till then had been held in great esteem for their fidelity ; most of them were removed from their employ- ments, and sent into their own country. The transition from avarice to perfidy and treason is very short, and the fidelity of the man who is governed by a pas- sion for riches cannot be safely relied on. This it was that led Scopas to his tragical end. After his death, immense treasures were found in his coffers, which he had amassed by plundering the provinces over which he commanded, more especially that of Judea. It has been well observed, that " a wise man will desire no more than what he can get justlj'^, use prudently, distribute cheerfully, and live contentedly with ;" for when avarice rules dominant in the heart, it leads to various crimes, and to ultimate ruin, of which this is a striking instance. One of the principal accomplices of Scopas was Dicearchus, who had formerly been admiral to Philip, king of Macedo- nia. A strairge action is recorded of this man. That prince having commanded him to fall upon the islands called Cy- clades, in open violation of the most solemn treaties, he set up two altars, one to Injustice, and the other to Impiety, and of- fered sacrifices on both, thereby insulting both gods and men. As this man had so greatly distinguished himself by his crimes, Aristomenes distinguished him from the rest of the conspirators in his sufferings ; for while they were de- spatched by poison, he was made to endure the most severe torments. About this time, Epiphanes, although he had not attained the years appointed by the laws, was declared of age, and HISTORY OF THK EGYPTIANS. 219 was set upon the throne with great pomp and solemnity; after which, he took the government upon himself. Three years after, b. c. 193, the marriage of Epiphanes Math Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus, took place. She Avas brought by her father to Raphia, a frontier city of Palestine, towards Egypt, where the marriage was solemnized, and where Epiphanes received the provinces of CcElo-Syria and Palestine as her dowry, but upon condition that he should pay to Antiochus half the revenues. Immediately upon his accession to the throne, Epiphanes sent an ambassador into Achaia, to renew the alliance which the king his father had formerly concluded with the Achaeans. The latter readily embraced the friendship of Epiphanes, and accordingly sent as deputies to the king, Lycortas, father of Polybius the historian, and two other ambassadors. The alli- ance being renewed, Philopcemcn, who was at that time in office, invited Ptolemy's ambassador to a banquet, at which the conversation turned upon Epiphanes. His ambassador expatiated long and loud on his dexterity in the chase, his address in riding, and his vigour and activity in the exercise of his arms ; and, to give an example of what he asserted, he declared that this prince had killed, on horseback, a wild bull with one stroke of his javelin ; as though such a deed was an ennobling virtue, redounding to the honour, and not, as it in reality did, to the disgrace of Epiphanes ; since such dex- terity could only be attained by neglecting his duties as a king. It was a wise saying of Antisthenes, " It is better to fall amongst birds of prey than flatterers ; for they only devoiir the dead, but the flatterer devours the living." As long as Aristomenes was at the helm, and Epiphanes listened to his wise counsels, the affairs of state were managed so as to gain universal approbation. But as soon, almost, as he became his own master, the flattery of his courtiers gained the ascendancy over him ; and the remain- ing part of his reign was rendered infamous. Aristomenes did not cease to give him good advice, and to intreat him to conduct himself in a manner more worthy of his exalted sta- tion. But he was unheeded. Plunging himself into all the vices which had rendered his father's name and reign odious, instead of hearkening to his wholesome admonitions, Epi- phanes ordered Aristomenes to be put to death for the liberties he had taken. After this foul deed, he aba,ndoned himself to excesses of every kind, following no other guides, in the ad- 220 HISTDEY or THE EGYPTUNS. ministratioa of affairs, but his own wild passions, and exercis- ing a most cruel tyranny over his subjects. This brought Epiphanes into great difficulties. The Egyptians, (b. c. 183,) unable to endure the grievances to which they were daily exposed, formed associations, and entered into a conspiracy, with a design to depose him, which Diodorus says, they were upon the point of executing. To extricate himself, however, Epiphanes appointed Polycrates prime minister. This man possessed great bravery, superior abilities, and consummate experience, in affairs both of peace and war. He had commanded in the capacity of general under his father in the battle of Raphia, on which occasion he greatly contributed to the victory. Afterwards, he was made governor of Cyprus, and happening to come to Alex- andria, when the conspiracy of Scopas was brought to light, the expedients he adopted conduced much to the preservation of the state. By his aid Ptolemy, indeed, overcame the rebels. He obliged their leaders, who were the chief lords of the country, to capitulate and submit, upon certain conditions. But having got them into his power, he violated his promise ; and, after exercising various cruelties upon them, he caused them to be put to death. This treacherous conduct involved him in fresh difficulties, from which he was again delivered by the counsel of Polycrates. Epiphanes maintained, during the whole of his reign, a strict friendship with the Romans. Livy tells us that he offered them a thousand pounds' weight of gold, and twenty thousand of silver, to carry on the war against Antiochus, king of Syria, whose daughter he had married ; and that when Antiochus Avas driven out of Europe by the Roman arms, he sent an embassy to Rome to congratulate the senate on the deliverance of Greece, and the flight of Antiochus ; and to offer them, in his name, and in that of his queen Cleo- patra, ships, money, or provisions, to aid them in their strife with the Syrian monarch. This is veiy probable ; for Pto- lemy hated Antiochus on account of disturbances Avhich he had fomented in his kindom, and Cleopatra, in all likelihood, was shocked at her father's treachery and cruelty ; for he is said to have married her to Ptolemy with no other view biU to get rid of him by her means, and to possess himself of Egypt. The virtuous young queen, inviolably attached to her duty, joined Avith Ptolemy against Antiochus, and pre- ferred, says Jerome, conjugal affection to the ties of blood. Ptolemy cultivated with great care the friendship of the HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 22 J Achaean republic. In the end of his reign, he sent ambassa- dors to them, inviting the-confederacy to join with him in an offensive and defensive league, and promising them six thou- sand shields, two hundred talents of brass, and ten ships of fifty oars each, equipped for war. His offer was accepted, and ambassadors were appointed, namely, Lycortas, with his son Polybius, and Aratus, to renew the aUiance, and bring the ten ships into Peloponnesus. This treaty, however, was not carried into effect. Ptolemy, having reduced his subjects at home, was preparing to make war upon Seleucus, king of Syria. But as his finances were exhausted, one of his chief ofiicers asked him by what means he would carry on his designs. He replied that his friends were his treasures. This answer being circulated among his officers and courtiers, they concluded that he designed to pursue the Avar with their fortunes and estates. To prevent this evil, therefore, which had more weight with them than the allegiance they owed their king, or any misfortune which could befall their country, they caused him to be poisoned. This tragical act occurred b. c. 180, after Ptolemy- had lived twenty-nine, and had reigned twenty-four years. He was succeeded in his kingdom by his son, PTOLEMY PHTLOMETER under the guajdianship of his mother, who for the space of eight years governed the kingdom of Egypt with great pru- dence and moderation. At the end of that time, Cleopatra dying, the regency fell to Lanasus, a nobleman of great distinc- tion in that country, and to Eulseus, an eunuch, who was charged Avith the care of the young king's education. They had no sooner entered upon the administration, than they demanded Ccelo-Syria and Palestine of Antiochus Epiphanes, who at that time reigned in Syria ; a demand that eventually occasioned a war between the two croAvns. Cleopatra, who was mother to one of these kings, and sister to the other, had prevented the strife as long as she lived ; but the new regents did not show much regard for Antiochus, nor scruple to demand of him Avhat they believed belonged to their sovereign by right. It is certain, indeed, that the Egyptian monarchs had always possessed the sovereignty of these provinces, from the time of Ptolemy Soter, till Antiochus the Great wrested them from Ptolemy Epiphanes, and left them to Seleucus, his son. His 19* 222 IJISTOllV OF THE EG^VPTliLNS. right, therefore, was no other than that of conquest, and as such alone they had descended to Antiochus Epiphanes. To enforce their pretensions, the Egyptians declared that, in the last division of the empire between the successors of Alexander, these provinces had been assigned to Ptolemy Soter ; that himself, and his successors to the crown of Egypt, had enjoyed them from that time to the battle of Paneas, when Antiochus the Great dispossessed Egypt of them ; that this prince had stipulated, when he gave his daughter to the king of Egypt, to restore to him those provinces as her dowry ; and that this was the principal article of the marriage contract. Antiochus denied these facts, and pretended that, on the contrary, in the general division which had been made of Alexander's empire, all Syria, including Coelo-Syria and Palestine, had been assigned to Seleucus Nicator, and that, consequently, they belonged to the prince in possession of the kingdom of Syria. With regard to the marriage contract, by virtue of which the Egyptians demanded back those pro- vinces, he asserted that it was chimerical. In fine, after having given their reasons on both sides, without coming to any conclusion, they resolved to decide their pretensions by force of arms. At this time, b. c. 171, Ptolemy Philometer, having attained his fifteenth year, Avas declared of age. Great preparations were made in Alexandria for the solemnity of his coronation, according to the Egyptian custom. Antiochus sent an am- bassador, on that occasion to congratulate the young king in his name. This was, ostensibly, to do honour to his nephew; but his real motive was to discover, if possible, the designs of that court with respect to the provinces of Ccelo-Syria and Palestine. His ambassador returned with the intelligence that preparations were making for war ; whereupon he visited the frontiers of the country, and put himself in a pos- ture of defence against the Egyptians. Nor did he stop here. Finding himself in a condition to begin war, he resolved not to wait for it in his own dominions, but to carry his arms into Egypt. He imagined that, qs Ptolemy was but sixteen years of age, and was governed by unskilful ministers, he should be able to bring him to what terms he pleased. He was per- suaded, also, that the Romans, under whose protection Egypt still remained, had such deeji warlike engagements, that it would be impossible for them to give the Egyptians the least succour ; and that the war they were cairying on against HiSTOllV OF TIIK EGYPTIANS. 223 ■Perseus, king of Macedon, would afiford them no leisure. He thought in short, that the present juncture was very favourable for him to decide his differences with the Egyptians. In the mean time, he sent ambassadors to Rome, to repre- sent the right he had to the disputed provinces, and the neces- sity of his engaging in a war to support that right. Imme- diately after, he put himself at the head of his army, and marched towards the frontiers of Egypt. The two contend-, ing armies met near Mount Cassius and Pelusium, and a battle was fought, in which Antiochus was victorious. He now put the frontier in a condition to serve as a barrier, and to check the utmost efforts the Egyptians might make to re- cover the provinces ; after which enterprise, he retired to Tyre. The next year, b. c. 170, Antiochus again invaded Egypt, both by sea and land. By this time, Ptolemy had raised a very considerable army, but it was to no purpose. Antiochus gained a second battle on the frontiers, took the city of Pelu- sium, and marched into the very heart of Egypt. In this defeat of the Egyptians, it was in the power of An- tiochus to have caused a universal desolation. But it was the ruin of his nephew alone that he sought. With this end in view, instead of carrying on the work of slaughter, he obliged his soldiers to sheathe the sword, which affected clemency gained him the hearts of the Egyptians. When he advanced into the country, the inhabitants came in crowds to pay hom- age to him, so that he soon took Memphis and all Egypt, Alexandria excepted. Philometer was either taken or else surrendered himself to Antiochus, who set him at liberty. After this they Hved apparently in great friendship. For some time, indeed, An- tiochus affected to be anxious for the interests of his nephew, and to regulate his affairs as his guardian. But when he had gained a firm footing in the country, he seized whatever he thought fit. He plundered all places, and enriched him- self as well as his soldiers with the spoils of the Egyptians. All this time, says Justin, Philometer made a miserable figure. In the field he avoided danger, and did not even show himself to those who fought for him. And after the battle, he submitted himself to Antiochus in the most abject manner, without even making one effort to recover his king- dom. This, however, was not so much owing to want of courage and capacity, (for he afterwards gave proofs of both,) as the effects of his effeminate education under Euleeus. That 224 HISTORY OF THE EUYTTlAiXS, perfidious minister had used his utmost endeavours to plung'e Philometer into luxury and effeminacy, in order to make him mcapable of public business, that he might retain all power in his own hands, even when he, the king, had attained the right of governing for himself The Alexandrians, b. c. ItjQ, seeing Philometer in the hands of Antiochus, considered him as lost, and therefore they declared the kingdom void, and seated his younger brother upon the throne. This prince, according to Porphyry, had the name of Ptolemy Euergetes ii. given him, which was soon changed to that of Cacoergetes ; the former signifying " beneficent," and the latter " evil doer." Afterwards, he was named .Physcon, which was a term of derision, alluding to his gluttony, which had made him remarkably corpulent, Under which name he is usually mentioned by ancient his- torians. Cineas and Cumanus were appointed the chief ministers of Physcon, and they were directed to use their utmost endeavours to restore the affairs of the kingdom to their former flourishing condition. Antiochus took note of these proceedings, and returned a third time into Egypt, under the specious pretence of restoring the dethroned monarch, but in reality, to make himself abso- lute master of the kingdom. He defeated the Alexandrians in a sea-fight near Pelusium, marched his forces into Egypt, and advanced directly towards Alexandria, in order to besiege it. The young king consulted his ministers, who advised him to assemble a grand council to deliberate on the mea- sures proper to be taken in the present exigency. After many debates, the council called came to this resolution — That, as their affairs were reduced to so low an ebb, it would be necessary for them to seek a reconciliation with Antiochus ; and that the ambassadors of the several states of Greece, who were in Alexandria, should be desired to employ their media- tion, to which they readily consented. They repaired with two of Ptolemy's ambassadors to the camp of Antiochus \vith the overtures of peace. The king gave them a favourable reception, regaled them in a magnificent manner, and ap- pointed the next day for them to make their proposals. The Achseans spoke first, and afterwards the rest in their turns. All were unanimous in their accusation of Eulceus ; ascribing the calamities of the war to his mal-administration, and to the minority of Philometer. At the same time, they apologized in a very artful manner for the new king, and employed all th6 powers of their rhetoric to move Antiochus in his favour. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 1^5 i'ft wdfer to mduce him to treat with him, laying particular stress on their affinity. Antiochus, in his reply, agreed with them as to the cause and origin of the war, and took occasion from thence to ex- patiate on the right he had to Ccelo-Syria and Palestine, alleg- ing the reasons before stated, and producing some documents which were judged so conclusive, that the members of this congress were convinced of the justice of his claim to these provinces. As to the conditions of the peace, he postponed them til] another opportunity ; giving them reasons to hope that a solemn treaty would be drawn up as soon as two ab- sent persons, Avhom he named, should be with him ; declar- ing, at the same time, that he would not take any measures without them. But this was a subterfrge. After he had given this answer, he decamped, came to Naucratis, march«d from thence to Alexandria, and besieged it. In this extremity, Euergetes, and Cleopatra his sister, who were in the city, sent ambassadors to Rome, representing the deplorable condition to which they were reduced, and im- ploring the aid of the Romans. The ambassadors appeared in the audience with all the marks of ceremonial sorrow used at that time in great national afflictions, and made a speech still more afiecting. They observed, that the authority of the Romans was so much revered by all nations ; and that Antiochus particularly had received so many obligations from them, that if they would only declare by their ambassadors that the senate did not approve of his making war against na- tions in alliance with Rome, he would draw off his troops from Alexandria, and return to- Syria. They likewise repre- sented, that should the senate refuse to afford them their pro- tection, Ptolemy and Cleopatra, being expelled from their kingdom, would be compelled to repair to Rome, an act, they said, that would reflect dishonour on the Roman name. The senate, moved with their remonstrances, and per- suaded that it v/as their interest to check the designs of An- tiochus, resolved to send an embassy to Egypt to put an end to the war. C. Popilius Lenas, C. Decimns, and C. Hostilius, were appointed for this important negotiation. They were instructed to wait first upon Antiochus, and afterwards on Ptolemy; to order them, in the name of the senate, to suspend all hostihties, and put an end to the war ; and to declare, thai should either of the parties refuse compliance, the Romans would no longer consider them as allies. As the danger was imminent, three days after the resolution had been, taken in 226 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the senate, the Roman deputies set '>ut from Rome with the Egyptian ambassadors. A little before their departure, ambassadors from Rhodes arrived in Egypt to terminate, if possible, the disputes be- tween the two crowns. They visited Antiochus in his camp, and did all that lay in their power to induce him to come to an accommodation with the king of Egypt ; strongly insisting on the friendship with which both crowns had so long honoured them ; and how nearly it concerned them to employ their good offices, in order to settle a lasting peace between them. As they expatiated largely on these topics, Antiochus in- terrupted them, and declared that they had no occasion to make a long harangue on this subject, that the crown belonged to the elder of the two brothers, with whom he had concluded a peace, and contracted a strict friendship ; and that if he were recalled and placed upon the throne, the war would be ended. These were his declarations, but his intentions Avere very different ; his views being only, says Livy, to perplex affairs for the attainment of his own ends. But the resistance he met with from Alexandria, the siege of which he forsaw he should be forced to raise, obliged him to change his plan, and conclude that it would henceforth be his wisdom to preserve an enmity, and occasion a war between the two brothers. He conceived that this might so weaken both powers, that he might seize upon their kingdom at his pleasure. With this unhallowed view, which demands a sigh for human depravi- ty, he raised the siege, marched towards Memphis, and gave Philometer, in outward appearance, possession of the whole kingdom, Pelusium excepted. This city he reserved as a key for entering Egypt the instant matters should be ripe for his evil purpose. But these selfish and malicious designs of Antiochus Avere defeated. Philometer began at length to wake from his lethargy, and to be sensible of the calamities brought upon him. He saw, indeed, through the designs of Antiochus, and rightly concluded that he reserved Pelusium for a future opportunity of making war upon Egypt, should himself and his brother carry on war against each other. The instant, therefore, that Antiochus marched away, he sent to inform his brother that he was willing to come to an accommodation, which was accordingly affected by the mediation of Cleopatra, their sister, on condition that the two brothers should reign jointly. Philometer returned to Alexjindiiii, and Egypt was HISTOKY OF THE EGYPTUNS. 227 restored to its former tranquillity, to the great joy of its in- habitants, particularly those of Alexandria, who had suffered severely from this unhallowed warfare. Reader, it was unhallowed^ because the ties of blood were not sufficient to stem the tide of ambition. The kings of Syria and Egypt were all united in near relationship ; but this was of no avail ; ambition had uprooted all family affec- tion, and hence the discord that prevailed between the two powers. Bi;t why need we wonder at this ? Our great fore- father had not long fallen from his lofty state of innocence, when one of his offspring lifted up the arm of revenge against the other, and slew him. Thence, therefore, springs all the discord in families and kingdoms : and, till mankind are re- stored to their original righteousness, till they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and sanctified by God's Holy Spirit, the Christian exalted far above his fellows, will have occasion to sigh over the actions of the world at large, and to pray ardently for their conversion, that deeds at which his heart sickens, and discord at which he trembles, may cease. To proceed with the history. Had Antiochus spoken truly, when he declared that the sole design of his coming into Egypt was to restore Philometer to his throne, he would have been pleased to have heard that the brothers were reconciled. But he was far from entertaining such thoughts. As soon as he heard of their reconciliation, he resolved to employ his whole forces against them both. The brothers anticipated such a result, and prepared for the blow. They sent ambassadors into Greece, to desire some auxiliary forces from the Achteans. The assembly was held in Corinth. The two kings requested only 1,000 foot soldiers, under the command of Lycortas, and 200 horse, un- der Polybius. Callicrates, who presided in the assembly, op- posed this request, under the pretence that it would not be for the interest of the Achcean confederates to concern themselves with foreign affairs ; and he asserted, that they ought to pre- serve their soldiers to aid the Romans, who were menanced with a fierce battle with Perseus. Lycortas and Polybius, speaking next, observed, that Polybius having been the year before with Marcius, who commanded the Roman army in Macedonia, to offer him the aid which the Achaean league had decreed to send him, the consul had declined the offer, stating that, as he had got footing in Macedonia, he should not want the aid of the allies ; therefore, the Achseans, they §28 ttlSTOKY OF THE EGYPTIAJN'S. *dded, tould not haV6 that pretext for abandoning the kings b'f Egypt They further represented, that, as the league was able, without inconvenience, to levj'- 30,000 or 40,000 men, So small a number as was required by the Egyptian princes Would not lessen their strength ; that it would be ungrateful of them to forget the favours they had received from the Egyp- tians ; and that their refusal would be a violation of the trea- ties and oaths on which the alliance was founded. As the fnajority were for granting the aid, CaUicrates dismissed the ambassadors, pretending that it was contrary to the laws, to debate an affair of that nature in such an assembly. Another assembly was therefore held, some time after, in Sicyon ; and, as the members were about to take the same resolution, CaUicrates read a forged letter from Q,. Marcius, by which the Achcsans were exhorted to employ their media- tion for terminating the war between the two Ptolemies and Antiochus; and, in consequence, caused a decree to pass, whereby the Achaean confederates agreed to send only an embassy to these princes. In the mean time, Antiochus, after taking measures for pre- serving the possession of the island of Cyprus, marched at the lie&d of a very powerful army, with the express design of Subduing Egypt to his yoke. Upon his arrival at Rhinoco- rura, he found ambassadors from Philometer, who repre- isented to him, that their sovereigir was very sensible that he owed his restoration to Antiochus ; and tliat he conjured him not to destroy his own work, by employing force of arms, but to acquaint him amicably with his intentions. Antiochus, now throwing off" the mask of friendship whicli he jiad hith- erto worn, told the ambassadors that he insisted upon having the island of Cyprus. Avith the city of Pelusium, and all the land along the arm of the Nile on which it was situated, re- signed to him for ever, on which conditions alone he would make peace. He also fixed a day for a final answer to his demand. That day having arrived, and the satisfaction he claimed not being made, Antiochus began hostilities. He penetrated as far as Memphis, subjecting the whole country through which he passed, and he there received the submission of al- most all the rest of the kingdom. Afterwards, he marched towards Alexandria, with a design to besiege that city, the possession of which would have made him absolute master of Egypt. He would have succeeded in his enterprise, had he not been checked in his career by the Roman embassy, be- HISTORV OF TUK EGYPTIANS. 229 fore meationed, which broke all the measures he had fakeh b possess himself of Egypt. These ambassadors landed at Alexandria, as Antiochus was marching to besiege it. They accordingly went out to meet him. They met with him at Eleusine, which was not a mile from Alexandria. The king seeing Popilius, with whom he had been intimately acquainted at Rome, when he was a hostage in that city, opened his arms to embrace him as an old friend. The Roman, however, Avho did not con- sider himself on that occasion as a private man, but a servant of the public, desired to know, before he answered his com- pliment, whether he spoke to a friend or an enemy of Rome. He then gave him the decree of the senate, bade him read it over, and return him an immediate answer. Antiochus, after perusing it, said, he would examine the contents of it with his friends, and give his answer in a short time. Po- pilius, displeased with this evasion, drew, Avith the wand he held in his hand, a circle round Antiochus, and then raising his voice — " Answer," says he, " the senate, before )^ou stir out of that circle." The king, confounded at so haughty an order, after a moment's reflection, replied, that he would act according to the desire of the senate. Popilius then received his civilities, and returned his friendship. It may be mentioned, that the circumstance which made Popilias so bold, and Antiochus so submissive on this occa- sion, was, the news that arrived just before of the great victory gained by the Romans over Perseus, king of Macedonia. From that instant, every thing was prostrate before them, and the Roman name was formidable to all princes and nations: thus realizing the descriptioii of their empire found in the ..prophecies of Daniel : " And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron : forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and sub- dueth all things : and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise," Dan. ii. 40. The use the Ro- mans made of this power was, in this instance, a noble one. Justice and humanity shone forth conspicuous in the action, and it would have been well for the Roman name had they always acted thus. But with their prosperity, pride entered their ranks, and luxury followed in its train, Avhich led them to acts of rapine and of slaughter among the nations around. Antiochus having left Egypt at the time stipulated, Popi- lius and his colleagues returned to Alexandria, where he brought to a conclusion the treaty of union between the two brothers. He then crossed into Cvprus. sent home the flee' VOL. ]. 20 -230 HISTORY OF THK EGi'nlA^"S. of Antiochus, which had gained a victory over that of the Egyptians, restored the island to the kings of Egypt, and then returned to Rome, to acquaint the senate with the success of his embassy. Almost at the same time, ambassadors from Antiochus, the two Ptolemie?, and Cleopatra their sister, arrived in Rome. The former reported, " That the peace which the senate had been pleased to grant their sovereign appeared to him more glorious than the most splendid conquests ; and that he had obeyed the commands of the Roman ambassadors, as strictly as if they had been sent from the gods !" They afterwards con- gratulated the Romans on the victory they had gained over Perseus. The other ambassadors spoke in the same fulsome and impious strain. They said, " That the two Ptolemies and Cleopatra thought themselves bound in as great obligations to the senate and people of Rome, as to their parents, and even to the gods ; having been delivered, by the protection Avhich Rome had granted them, from a very grievous siege, and re- established on the throne of their ancestors, of which they had been well nigh dispossessed." The senate replied, " That Antiochus acted wisely in paying obedience to the ambassadors ; and that the senate and people of Rome were pleased with him for it." With regard to the Ptolemies and Cleopatra, it was answered, " That the senate were very much pleased ^vith the opportunity of doing them some service ; and that they would endeavour to make them sensible, that they ought to look upon the friendship and protection of the Ro- mans as the most solid support of their kingdom." The prae- tor was then directed to make the ambassadors the usual pre- sents. All these latter events occurred b. c. 168. The swords of the uncle and uepheAv had scarcely been jiheathed, by the intervention of the Romans, when the bro- thers turned theirs against each other. Their divisions, in- deed, rose to such a height, that the Roman senate gave orders to the ambassadors they had sent into Syria, to pro- ceed to Alexandria, and to use their utmost endeavours to re- concile the two kings. But before the ambassador reached Egypt, Physcon, the younger brother, had driven Philometer from the throne, and obliged him to quit the kingdom. He embarked for Italy, and landed at Brundusium, from whence he travelled to Rome on foot, meanly dressed, and with very few attendants. This humble appearance he affected in all likelihood, to excite the pity of the senate. Demetrius, the son of Seleucus Philopater, late king of Syria, was then a hos- HJSXORY OF THE ECiVPTIAiNS. 231 tage at Rome ; and when he had notice of the arrival of Ptolemy in Italy, and of the deploigbfe condition in which he was going to appear in the mei'iopolis of the world, he caused an equipage to be prepared for him suitable to his dig- nity, and went out with it himself to meet him, that he might appear at Rome as a king. Demetrius found Philometer at twenty-six miles distant from Rome, covered with dust. He embraced him, put a crown upon his head, and begged he would make use of the royal equipage, which he had brought for that purpose. Ptolemy expressed his gratitude for the honour and respect the Syrian had shown him, but had his reasons for not accepting the offers of the prince. . He would not even permit Demetrius to accompany him the rest of his journey, but entered Rome on foot, with the same mean at- tendance, and in the same dress with which he first set out on his journey, and without any state or ceremony took up his lodging with a painter of Alexandria. When the senate were informed of his arrival, they sent for Philometer, and excused themselves for not having re- ceived him with those ceremonies which were usual on such occasions ; assuring him that it was not from any neglect, or want of respect, but because his arrival in Italy had been kept so secret, that they were not apprized of it till after he had entered Rome. After this, having desired him to quit the habit he wore, and to fix a day for an audience of the senate in order to lay before them the motives of his journey, he was conducted by some of the senators to lodgings suitable to his dignity, and the quaestor was ordered to supply him with every necessary, at the expense of the public. On the day appointed for his audience with the senate, he represented to them the injustice of his brother, and the wrongs he had received at his hands, so effectually, that they imme- diately decreed his restoration, and deputed two of their body, Gluintius and Canuleius, to attend him to Alexandria, and cause their decree to be put into execution. They recon- ducted him, accordingly, and on their arrival in Egypt, suc- ceeded in negotiating an accommodation between the two bro- thers, in virtue of which, Physcon was put in possession of Lybia and the province of Gyrene ; and Philometer of all Egypt and the island of Cyprus, each of them being declared independent of the other in the dominion allotted them. The treaty of agreement was confirmed with the customary oaths and sacrifices. Oaths and sacrifices, however, at this date, (b. r. 162,) had 282 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. long" been with the generality "of princes mere ceremonies, by which they did not consider themselves bound in the slightest degree. Accordingly, soon after, Physcon being dissatisfied with his portion, went to Rome to complain to the senate. He demanded that the treaty of partition should be annulled, and that he should be restored to the possession of the isle of Cyprus. He alleged that he had been forced by the neces- sity of the times to comply with the former proposals, and that, even though Cyprus should be granted him, his share would be still inferior to his brother's. Menithyllus, Avhom Philometer had sent to plead his cause, maintained it with great zeal and ability. He made it appear that Physcon not only held Libya and Cyrenaica, but his Hfe also from the goodness of his brother ; that he had made himself so much abhorred by the people by his violent proceedings, that they would have left him neither life nor government had not his brother rescued him from their resentment, by making him- self mediator ; that at the time he was preserved from this danger, he thought himself happy in presiding over the re- gion allotted to him ; and that both sides had ratified the treaty before the gods, and SAvom to observe their agreement with each other. The truth of this statement was confirmed by Quintius and Canuleius, who had negotiated the treaty be- tween the brothers. Nothing could be more equitable than the decisions of the senate of Rome, when their own interest did not interfere and help to turn the balance. But as it was for the advantage of the republic that the strength of the kingdom should be divided, and consequently lessened, those refined politicians, without any regard to justice, granted the younger brother his de- mands. Polybius observes on this transaction, that the Ro- mans were ever careful to improve to their own advantage the quarrels and disputes vv'hich arose among kings and prin- ces, conducting themselves therein in such a manner as to make the contending parties believe that they favoured them, while they promoted their own interest, which they had solely in view in all their resolutions. This alone prompted them to favour Physcon, and adjiidgp to him the island of Cyprus. While Physcon was at Rome on this occasion, he had fre- quent opportunity of seeing Cornelia, the mother of the (Irac- chi, who was the pattern of her sex, and the prodigy of her age. Being taken, not so mucli with herciiarms as Avith her virtue and extraordinary quTlilications. ho i\\used proposal HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 233 of marriage to be made to her. But she, being the daughter of Scipio Africanus, and the widow of Tiberius Gracchus, who had been twice consul, and once censor, despised the offer, imagining it to be more honourable to be one of the first matrons of Rome than to reign with Physcon upon the throne of Libya. WheA Physcon returned, two commissioners were sent with him to carry their decree into effect — to put him in possession of Cyprus. Their orders were, to use gentle methods, and endeavour by fair means to prevail upon Philometer to give up Cyprus to his brother. Their plan was to concert an in- terview between the two brothers on the frontiers of their do- minions, and there to settle matters between them agreeably to their instructions. But Torquatus, on his arrival at the court of Alexandria, found Philometer no way inclined to comply with the decree of the senate. He urged the late agreement made by him and his brother by Quintius and Canuleius, the former ambassadors, in virtue of which, Cy- prus having been allotted to him, he deemed it strange that it should, contrary to the articles of that treaty, be now taken from him and given to his brother. Philometer did not, how- ever, absolutely refuse to yield to the order of the senate, but showing himself inclined to grant some things, and objecting against others, he spun out the time without coming to any determination, in order that he might concert secret measures against his brother. In the mean time, Physcon, who waited at Apis in Libya, as had been agreed, to hear the result of the negotiations of Torquatus, receiving no intelligence from him, sent Merula the other ambassador also to Alexandria, hoping that both might be able to prevail upon Philometer to comply with the orders of the republic. But Philometer still observed the same conduct, treating the ambassadors with great kindness, flattering them Avith fair words, and entertaining them in a costly manner for forty days together vdthout giving them any definite reply At length, Avhen he found that he could evade their demands no longer, he declared that he was resolved to stand to the first treaty, and no other. With this answer Merula returned to Physcon, and Torquatus to Rome. The Cyreneans in the mean time, being informed of the conduct of Physcon during his brief reign at Alexandria, con- ceived so Strong an aversion against him, that they resolved to keep him out of their country by force of aitns. Philometer, 20*- 234 uitxoKV o;- Tiii; LuvrriANs. it was believed, secretly formented these disturbances, in order to find his brother employment at home, "and thereby divert him from raising fresh commotions in Egypt or Cyprus. Physcon being informed of these troubles, and at the same time receiving intelligence that the Cyreneans were already in the field, laid aside all thoughts of Cyprus, and leaving Apis, where his fleet lay in harbour, he hastened to Cyrene with all his forces, but was on his arrival overthrown by the rebels. Having now well nigh lost all hope, Physcon sent two deputies to Rome, there to renew his complaints against his brother, and to solicit their protection. The senate, of- fended at Philometer's refusal to evacuate Cyprus according to their decree, declared that there was no longer any amity and alliance between him and the Romans, and ordered his ambassador to leave the city in five days. Two ambassadors were despatched to Cyrene to acquaint Physcon with the re- solution of the Roman senate. Physcon, at length, having subdued his rebellious subjects, re-established himself in Cyrenaica, But his wicked and vicious conduct soon estranged the minds of the Cyreneans from him to such a degree, that some of them conspired against him, and wounded him in several places, leaving him for dead. This he laid to the charge of his brother Philome- ter, and as soon as he was recovered, returned to Rome to make his complaints to the senate, he showed them the scars of his wounds, and accused him of having employed the as- sassins from whom he received them. Though Philometer was known to be a prince of a mild disposition, and of all men living the most unlikely to coun- tenance so black a crime, yet the senate, being offended at his refusal to submit to their decree with reference to Cyprus, hearkened to this false accusation. They carried their pre- judice against him, indeed, to such an extent, that they would not so much as hear what his ambassadors had to say in his defence. Orders were sent to them to quit Rome immedi- ately. At the same time, they appointed five commissioners to conduct Physcon into Cyprus, and put him in possession of that island, enjoining all their allies in the adjacent coun- tries to furnish him with forces for that purpose. By these means, b. c. 159, Physcon landed in the island of Cyprus. Philometer, however, who had gone there in person to defend his territories, defeated him, and obliged him to shut himself up in Lapitho, a city in that Island, where he was closely be- sieged, and at length taken and delivered up to Philometer, HISTORY OF THE E&VPTIANS. '235 whom he had so deeply injured. Philometer's gentleness of heart appeared conspicuous upon this occasion. After all that Physcon had devised and executed against him, it was expected that he would make him sensible of his indignation and revenge. But how lovely was the reverse ! He not only freely forgave him, but restored him Libya and Cyre- naica, and added, farther, some amends in lieu of the island of Cyprus. This act of generosity put an end to the war be- tween the two brothers ; and the Romans were ashamed of opposing any longer a prince of such distinguished clemency. Christian reader, go and do thou likewise. If thy brother trespass against thee, copy the example of this pagan monarch, and forgive him. But thou art taught to perform a nobler action even than this. " But I say unto you," says the blessed Redeemer, " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which de- spitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust," Matt. v. 44, 45. On his return to Alexandria, Philometer appointed Archias governor of Cyprus. This man had formerly served Ptolemy with great fidelity, and even attended him to Rome when he was driven from his kingdom. But as he was of a covetous temper, his fidelity was not proof against gold ; he agreed with Demetrius, king of Syria, to betray Cyprus to him for 500 talents. The treachery was discovered before it was car- ried into effect, and the traitor, to avoid punishment, laid vio- lent hands on himself Ptolemy, being disgusted with De- metrius for his attempt upon Cyprus, joined Attains king of Pergamus, and Ariarathes king of Cappadocia, in setting up Alexander Balas as a pretender to his crown, and supporting him with all the strength of his kingdom. About B. c. 150, Alexander, who had become master of the empire of Syria, sent to demand Cleopatra, the daughter of Philometer king of Egypt, in marriage. She was granted him ; and her father conducted her in person to Ptolemais, where the nuptials were celebrated. The same year, Onias, son of Onias III., who had retired into Egypt in consequence of being disappointed of the high- priesthood after the death of Menelaus his uncle, obtained permission of Philometer for building a temple for the Jews in Egypt, like that in Jerusalem ; and at the same time, he ob- tained a grant of the high-priesthood to him and his descend- S36 History of the Egyptians. ants for ever. Philometer was induced to make this grant, by the assurances of Onias that such a favour would bring the whole nation over to his side against Antiochus Epiphanes. His act was therefore one of policy, and readily performed. But Onias had some difficulty to make the Jews accede to this innovation ; it being strictly forbidden by the law to offer sac- rifices in any place but the temple of Jerusalem. He over- came their repugnance, however, through the means of a pas- sage in Isaiah, wherein the prophet foretells the event in these terms : " In that day shall five cities* in the land of Egypt Speak the language of Canaan, And swear to the Lord of hosts; One shall be called, The city of destruction.t In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord In the midst of the land of Egypt, And a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be ibr a sign and for a witness Unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt : For they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, And he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, And he shall deliver them. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, And the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, And shall do sacrifice and oblation ; Yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it."t Isa. xix. 18—21. * These " five cities" were probably those in which the Jews chiefly resided. Some think a definite number is used for an indefinite one, while others conceive that four of the cities are those named Jer. xhv. I, the fifth being that particularly mentioned as " The city of destruction," or, as it is in the margin, Heres, " The city of the sun." t There has been much discussion about this clause, arising from the tvord rendered destruction. The Hebrew word, hcres, by the change of a single letter, easily mistaken by a transcriber, becomes cheres, the sun, which makes the clause read, " The city of the sun," which would refer to Heliopolis. Lowth, Boothroyd, and others, follow the Vulgate in adopting the last reading. Onias understood the prophecy, that the tem- ple should be built in the district or nome of Heliopolis, where it was accordingly built on the site of a ruined temple of Bubastis. He called the city which contained (he temple after his own name. Onion. It was situated about twenty-four miles from Memphis, and remained till the time of Vespasian, who ordered it to be destroyed. ; Philo estimated the number of Jews in Egypt at not less than one uiillion. Through the presence of so many, together with the translation of the Old Testament into Greek at the instance of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the Lord must in some degree have been known in Egypt, and the Egyp (ians have known the Lord. We read, indeed. Acts ii. 10, of dwellers m Egypt, " Jews and pro.sciytes," among tiiosc who went up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of Pontero.-,!. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 237 The event here predicted by Isaiah is one of the most sin- gular, and at the same time the most remote from all proba- bility of ever coming to pass. Nothing was more strictly for- bidden to the Jevi^s than to offer sacrifices to God in any other place but the temple at Jerusalem. How sacrilegious, then, must it have been considered by the Jews to erect a temple elsewhere, especially in a land so polluted with gross idolatry as Egypt was, and among a people who were always at en- mity with the people of God ! But the word of God had gone forth that such an event should occur ; and no power or device could prevent or retard its accomplishment. In the year b. c. 146, Philometer marched with a large army into Palestine, to the aid of his son-in-law against De- metrius, the son of that Demetrius whom they had deposed, and who now sought to regain his father's kingdom. All the cities opened their gates to him, according to orders they re- ceived from Alexander. Upon his arrival, however, at Pto- lemais, a conspiracy was discovered, which had been formed by Ammonius, the prime minister of Alexander, against the life of Philometer. As Alexander refused to deliver up the traitor, he concluded that he had entered into the conspiracy himself, and in consequence took his daughter from him, gave her to Demetrius, and made a treaty with him, by which he engaged to aid him in re-ascending the throne of his father, which he accomplished. He marched against Alexander, routed his army in the neighbourhood of Antioch, and there- by estabhshed Demetrius upon the throne. But in this battle he received wounds of which he died some few days after. His death occurred b. c. 145, after a reign of thirty-five years. Polybius, who was the contemporary of Philometer, gives him this character : " He was an enemy to all kinds of cru- elty and oppression, averse from spilling the blood of his sub- jects, and so much inclined to mercy, that during the period of his long reign, he put none of his nobles, nor even of the citizens of Alexandria to death, though some of them well deserved it. Though his brother," continues the same writer, "had provoked him to the highest degree, and committed such crimes as to others would have seemed unpardonable, yet he not only forgave him, but treated him with the afFec .tion of a kind brother." Josephus and Justin agree with Po- lybius in their estimate of Philometer' s character ; but the au thor of the book of Maccabees represents him as an ambitious prince, trampling under foot the most sacred laws of justice and nature, to raise himself on the ruins of his son-in-few, 238 HISTORY OF THE rCYPTIANS. Alexander Balas. Aristobulus, an Alexandrian Jew, and a peripatetic philosopher of great note, is said to have been Pto- lemy's preceptor, and to have dedicated to him a comment which he wrote on the five books of Moses. PTOLEMY PHYSCON. The succession of Egypt was attended in the first instance with some difficulty. Cleopatra, wife of Philometer, endea- voured to place the crown upon the head of her son. She was supported in her designs by some of the lords of the kingdom ; but others, declaring for Physcon, sent ambassadors to desire him to come to Alexandria. This obliging Cleo- patra to take measures for her defence, she had recourse to Onias and Dositheus, two Jews, who had the sole manage- ment of affairs during the last years of Philometer's reign. These, with an army of their countrymen, hastened to her as- sistance. Before hostilities commenced, however, matters were compromised by the interposition of Thermus a Roman am- bassador at that time in Alexandria. It was agreed that Physcon should marry Cleopatra, and educate her son, who should be declared heir to the crown ; and that Physcon should possess it during his life. But Physcon had no sooner married the queen, than looking with jealousy on the young prince, Avhose birth entitled him to the crown, he murdered him in the arms of his mother. The reader has seen that the surname of Physcon given to this prince was properly a nickname. That which he took himself was Eiiergeles, which signifies " a benefactor." The Alexandrians changed it into that of Cacoergetes, or, "one who delights in doing harm,^' a name to which he had a just title ; for he was the most cruel, wicked, and at the same time, the most vile and despicable of the Ptolemies who reigned in Egypt. He began his reign with the murder of his nephew, and he continued it to the last with similar cruelty and wicked- ness. He was no sooner seated on the throne, than he caused all those to be put to death who had lamented the fate of the young prince. Transported with rage against the Jews, also, for having espoused the cause of Cleopatra, he used them more like slaves than subjects. His own people were treated no better by him than the Jews. Every day he put some of them to death, either on groundless suspicions, or for trifling faults, or to gratify his inhuman caprice. Those who had the ffreatest share in the confidence of his brother Philometer HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 239 were sacrificed the first, and next to them most of the leading men, who had declared in his own favour against Cleopatra ; for as they had by their interest placed him on the throne, so he apprehended they might drive him from it, and therefore, says Justin, he resolved to despatch his own friends, after he had rid himself of his brother's. In the second year of his reign, queen Cleopatra brought him a son, while he was employed in the performance of cer- tain religious ceremonies, practised, according to the rites of Egypt, hj their kings soon after their accession to the throne. Physcon was transported with joy at the birth of a son, whom he designed for a successor, and he called him Memphitis, from the ceremonies which he was discharging at the time of his birth in the city of Memphis. He could not, however, forbear his cruel practices, even during the public rejoicings on this festive occasion : he caused some of the lords of Cy- rene to be barbarously murdered for having cast some reflec- tions on one of his favourite concubines, named Irene. On his return to Alexandria, Physcon banished all those who had been brought up with his brother Philometer, and, without provocation, gave his guards, who consisted of Greek nnd Asiatic mercenaries, free liberty to murder and plunder the inhabitants at pleasure ; and the cruelties practised by these inhuman wretches upon this license are not to be ex- pressed. Justin and Athenasus tell us, that not only the pri- vate houses, but the streets and the temples streamed daily with the blood of the innocent citizens. The Alexandrians were so terrified, indeed, that many of them fled into other countries, leaving their native city almost desolate. To sup- ply their places, when he perceived that nothing remained but empty houses, he caused proclamation to be made in all the neighbouring countries, that whosoever should come and settle there should meet with the greatest encouragement and advantages. Upon this invitation, great numbers flocked thither, to whom he gave the habitations of those who had fied, and whom he admitted to all the rites, privileges, and immunities of the former citizens. As there were among those who quitted Egypt on this oc- casion, many grammarians, philosophers, physicians, geome- tricians, and masters of other liberal arts and sciences, by their means learning was revived in Greece, Asia Minor, the islands of the Archipelago, and in other places where they settled. The wars which had been raging for a long space of time among the successors of Alexander had almost extin- 240 lUSTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. guished learning in those parts ; and it M^ould have been entirely lost, but for the protection and encouragement given to learned men by the Ptolemies of Egypt. The first of these princes, by founding his museum, or college, for the suppoit of those who devoted their time and talents to the study of the liberal arts, and adding to it an extensive library for their use, drew most of the learned men out of Greece to his me- tropolis. The second and third following the founder's stepe, Alexandria became the principal city in the world, where the liberal arts and sciences were most cultivated, whilst they were almost wholly neglected every where else. Whence, when the Alexandrians were driven by the cruelty and op- pression of this wicked tyrant into foreign countries, as most of them had been bred up in the knowledge of some science or other, they were qualified to gain themselves a mainte- nance by teaching, in the places where they settled, the partic- ular arts they had studied. The)- opened schools for this purpose, and being satisfied with a small salary, great num- bers of scholars flocked to them. By this means, the several branches of learning were revived in the eastern parts in the same manner as they were in later ages in the western, after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. While foreigners were flocking from all parts to Alexan- dria, (about B. c. 1 36,) three Roman ambassadors, P. Scipio Africanus the younger, Sp.' Mummius, and L. Metellus, landed at that port. They had been sent by their republic to visit the countries which were subject to Rome, as Greece and Macedon, and those also that were in alliance with her ; their commission being to pass through Greece and Macedon, and from thence to the courts of the princes of Egypt, Syria, Pergamus, Bithynia, etc. ; to observe the state of affairs in each kingdom, to compose what differences they should dis- cover among their kings, and to settle in all places peace and concord. Physcon received these ambassadors Avith great magnifi- cence. During their residence at Alexandria, also, he enter- tained them in the most hospitable manner. He caused them to be served with whatever was most delicate and exquisite ; but they never touched any thing but the most simple and common meats, despising the luxuries, as serving only to en- ervate body and mind ; so great, even at this date, were the moderation and temperance of the Romans. They knew that, HISTURY OF THE EGYPTJANS. 241 " If thou well observ'st The rule of not too much, by temperance taught, In what thou eat'st and drink'st, seeking from thence Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight, Till many years over thy head return, So may'st thou live till like ripe fruit thou dropp'st Into thy mother's lap," Milton. ■ When the ambassadors had examined Alexandria, and regulated the affairs which had brought them thither, they sailed up the Nile to visit Memphis and the other parts of Egypt. In this progress, observing the great number of cities, the vast multitude of inhabitants, the fertility of the soil, etc., they concluded that nothing was wanting to render the kingdom of Egypt one of the most powerful states in the world, but a prince of abilities and application. They were, therefore, pleased to find a prince on the throne destitute of every qualification that was necessary for obtaining such power. Nothing, indeed, was so wretched as the idea he gave them of himself in all his audiences. The deformity of his body, corresponding with that of his mind, disgusted every beholder. But over this it is better to draw a veil. The ambassadors had no sooner left Egypt, than Physcon began to exercise the same cruelties upon the new inhabitants of Alexandria. No day passed without some signal instance of his cruelty and tyranny ; such of the citizens as were pos- sessed of large property being daily destroyed, under som(. pretence or other. It has been before observed that Physcon married Cleopa- tra, his brother's w^idow, who was also their sister ; he now fell in love with a daughter she had by Philometer, who was also called Cleopatra. He first violated the chastity of this princess, then divorced her mother, and married her. But his race of iniquity was now drawing to a close. These, and many other vile excesses of the like nature, exasperated the Alexandrians to such a degree, that they Avaited only for an opportunity of taking up arms to rid themselves of the tyrant who ruled over them. That Physcon kept the crown on his head, under so gene- ral an aversion of his subjects, was owing to Hierax, his chief minister. This man was a native of Antioch, and had, in the reign of Alexander Balas, in a joint commission with. Diodotus, called afterwards Tryphon, governed the city of Antioch. When adverse events happened in that city, he re- tired into Egypt, and there, entering into the service of Phys- VOL. I. 21 242 HISTORY OF THE EGyPTlANS. con, was raised to the chief command of the army, and charged with the management of the affairs of the kingdom. As he was a man of great valour and wisdom, he took care to gain the affections of his soldiery by paying them punc- tually, and to balance, so far as lay in his power, by his good and wise administration, the evil conduct of his master. By this means, he kept the kingdom quiet for several years, though ruled, says Diodorus, by the most contemptible, brutal, and cruel tyrant that had ever swayed a sceptre. But afterwards, about b. c. 130, Hierax being either dead or removed from his station,* the Alexandrians began openly to complain of their oppressions, and to throw out threats against their king, unless he changed the tenor of his con- duct. Physcon, however, ever fruitful in invention of deeds of cruelty, resolved to put it out of their power to attempt any thing against him, by destroying all their young men, in whom the strength of the city consisted. Accordingly, when they were one day assembled in the gymnasium, or place of their public exercises, he caused fire to be set to it, whilst at the same time he invested it by his mercenaries, so that they all perished in the flames or by the sword. But this exaspe- rated the people to the highest degree ; and, guided by their rage and despair, they ran to the king's palace, set fire to it, and reduced it to ashes. Physcon made his escape undis- covered, and retired to the island of Cyprus, with Cleopatra his wife and Memphitis his son. Upon his arrival there, he was informed that the people of Alexandria had placed the government in the hands of Cleopatra, whom he had repu- diated ; and he immediately raised troops to make war upon the new queen and her adherents. At this time, b. c. 129, he committed two of the most fear- ful acts of iniquity that ever stained the annals of crime. He had appointed his son governor of Cyrene, but fearing lest the Alexandrians should place him on the throne of Egypt, he sent for him into Cyprus, and, as soon as he was landed, caused him to be assassinated. This new act of cruelty pro- voked the people still more against him. They pulled down, and dashed to pieces, all the statues that had been erected to his honour in Alexandria. This led to the second crime. Supposing this to have been executed at the instigation of his divorced queen, to be revenged on her, he slew Memphitis, • Athensus says that he was slain by order of Physcon, as were his other friends ; but he does not mention the time. HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS. 243 her son, a prince who was equally admired for his heauty and his virtues. Nor did his^ revenge stop here. He caused his mangled body to be enclosed in a chest, with the head entire, that it might be known, and then sent it by one of his guards to Alexandria. The messenger was ordered to wait till the queen's birth-day, which approached, and which was to be celebrated with extraordinary pomp and magnificence, and then to present it. This order, Avhich emanated from the most refined cruelty, was strictly executed. The box was conveyed to the queen, in the midst of the public rejoicings, and changed the mirth of all present into sadness. But it was not sorrow alone that was there felt. The horror and detestation which the sight of such an object stirred up in every breast, against the author of such a monstrous and un- paralleled cruelty, cannot be expressed. The present, also, being exposed to the view of the public, had the same effect on the populace as it had on the nobles at court. They saw what they had to expect from a king who had thus treated his own son ; and nothing was thought of but how to prevent the tyrant from reascending the throne. An army was soon raised, and the command of it given to Marsyas, whom the queen had appointed general, enjoining him to take all neces- sary steps for the defence of his country. On the other hand, Physcon, having hired a numerous body of mercenaries, sent them, (b. c. 128,) under the com- mand of Hegolochus, against the Alexandrians. The two armies met on the frontiers of Egypt, and a battle ensued, wherein the Egyptian army was entirely defeated, and their general Marsyas taken prisoner, and sent in chains to Physcon. Every one expected that the tyrant would have put the fallen general to death, first making him suffer the most ex- quisite torments. But he acted contrary to his usual course. Finding by experience that his cruelties only drew misfor- tunes upon him, he resolved to try whether he could, by using lenity, regain the affections of the people. He, there- fore, pardoned Marsyas, and set him at liberty. Cleopatra being greatly reduced by the loss of her army, which was almost entirely destroyed, sent to demand aid of Demetrius, king of Syria, who had married her eldest daugh- ter by Philometer, promising him the crown of Egypt for his reward. Demetrius accepted the proposal, and marched with all his forces into Egypt, and there laid siege to Pelusium This prince, however, was no less hated by the Syrians for 244 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. his haughtiness, tyranny, and excesses, than Physcon was by the Egyptians. Hence, when they saw him at a distance, •and employed in the siege of Pelusium, they took up arms against him, which obliged him to hasten back to Syria. Cleopatra, being destitute of the aid she expected, and unable to withstand Physcon, embarked with all her treasures, and set sail for Ptolemais, where her daughter Cleopatra, queen of Syria, then resided. Upon the flight' of Cleopatra, Physcon returned to Alexan- dria, and reassumed the government, there being no power in Egypt to withstand him. His first thoughts, after being settled anew upon the throne, were, to be revenged on Deme- trius for his late invasion. To this end, he set up an impos- tor against him, called Alexander Zebina, who drove him from his throne, and shared the kingdom with his wife Cleo- patra. From this time, b. c. 127, Physcon held the kingdom of Egypt undisturbed till the twenty-ninth year of his reign, b. c. 117, and sixty-seventh of his age, when he died at Alex- andria. Over his memory the tears of regret fall trickling down. But they are not called forth by respect for his vir- tues. They drop for the depravity of human nature exhibited in his life. What a monster man may become, when raised to power and left to himself, the actions of Physcon reveal. Christian reader, be thankful, then, that thou art not placed in such circumstances of temptation, and that thou art re- strained by a power from above from doing evil : it is the grace of God alone that maketh thee to differ from another. It can hardly be imagined, that a prince who is represented by historians as a monster rather than man, should have de- served the reputation of being the restorer of letters, and the patron of learned men. But this fact is attested by Athe- naeus, Vitruvius, Epiphanius, and others. Athenceus tells us, that, in the brief intervals between his debaucheries, he applied himself to the study of the polite arts and sciences. According to this author, indeed, he had so extensive a know- ledge, and so great an ease in discoursing of all kinds of lite- rature, that he acquired the surname of the Philologist. The same author adds, that he wrote a history, in twenty-four books, and a comment on Homer. His history, as Epipha- nius informs us, was in great repute among the ancients, and often quoted. Galen tells us, that he enriched the Alexan- drian library with a great number .of valuable books, which he purchased at a vast expense, ha\^ng sent men of learning HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 245 into all parts of the world for that purpose. He allowed one Panaretus, who had been a disciple of Arcesilaus, and who was a man of great learning, an annual pension of twelve talents, or 2,335/. sterling. This is a notable instance of the strange contrarieties that can exist in man, and of the insuffi- ciency of literary taste to raise the human character. Not lofty intellect the heart keeps clean From moral taint, nor yet illumes the mirid, By nature dark : grace can alone achieve This noble work, and make man meet for heaven. A man may astonish the world by his talents, and yet at the same time grovel in the lowest depths of human degrada- tion. A man may also produce by his talent works, bearing upon each page the stamp of morality, aye, and of Christianity likewise, and yet lead a Life of shameless immorality. Head- knowledge affects not the heart : grace alone can make and preserve that holy ; and he who has it not, however refined his taste may be, is a sinner in the sight of God. He also must be washed in the blood of the Lamb, or he can have no part in the matter of salvation. CLEOPATRA, PTOLEJIY LATHYRUS, ALEXANDER L At his death, Physcon left three sons. The first, named Apion, was a natural son ; the two others were legitimate, and the children of his niece, Cleopatra, whom he married after having repudiated her mother. The eldest of these was named Lathyrus and the other Alexander. Physcon left the kingdom of Cyrenaica by will to Apion, and Egypt to his widow Cleopatra in conjunction with one of her sons, whom she should think proper to associate with her. The crown belonged, by right of inheritance, to Lathyrus, the eldest of his lawful children ; but Cleopatra, looking upon Alexander as the most likely to bend to her will, resolved to choose him. The people of Alexandria, however, took up arms against her for this decision, and obliged her to send for Lathyrus from the island of Cyprus, whither she had caused him to be banished by his father, and to associate him with her on the throne. But before she would suffer him to be inaugurated, according to the custom of the country, at Mem- phis, she obliged him to repudiate his eldest sister, Cleopatra, whom he passionately loved, and to marry Selene, his youngest sister, for whom he had but little affection. 21* 246 hiStoAV of the Egyptians, On his inauguration, Lathyrus look the name of Soter ; hut he is called by Strabo, Pliny, Josephus, and other ancient Writers, Lathyrus ; and by Athenfcus and Pausanias, Philo- meter, " a lover of his mother," which was given him, as the la.tter author observes, by antiphrasis, no one having ever hated his mother more than he did. The generality of his- torians distinguish him by the name of Lathyrus, which, in the Greek tongue, signifies a kind of pea, from whence, it is supposed, that he had some mark of this description on his face. This is very probable ; for the Greek word Lathyrus msvvers to the Latin Cicer, whence the family of the Ciceros lerived their name ; one of their ancestors having an excres- cence like a pea on his face. Cleopatra, whom Lathyrus had been obliged to repudiate, wiisposed of herself in marriage to Antiochus Cyzicenus, carrying with her an army, which she raised in Cyprus, for ner marriage portion. By this army, Cyzicenus was enabled to make head against Antiochus Grypus, his half-brother and competitor. Cyzicenus, however, was defeated by Grjrpus, and his wife Cleopatra dragged from one of the temples of Antioch, where she had taken sanctuary, and put to death by the command of her sister Tryphena, the wife of Grypus. These latter events occurred from 1 17 to 113 b. c. In the mean time, Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, the mother of these two unnatural sisters, did not seem to be affected either with the death of the one, or the crime of the other. Her mind was so influenced by ambition, that the voice of nature was stifled, and all its gentle workings in her breast disregarded : her only aim was the support of her authority in Egypt, and to continue her reign without control during life. To strengthen herself the better, she gave the kingdom of Cyprus to Alexander, her younger son, that she might be assi^ed agaiiist Lathyrus, should he ever dispute her au- thority. Lathyrils hlid not reigned long, before his mother, provoked at some measures adopted against her will, by base artifices gained over the people of Alexandria. The matter is thus related by Justin, Pausanias, Porphyry, and Josephus. While the two competitors for the crown of Syria were wast- ing their strength against each other, b. c. 110. John Hyr- canus, prince of the Jews, undertook the siege of Samaria. The Samaritans had recourse to Cyzicenus, who marched to their relief, but had the misfortune to be overthrown in battl* by the two sons of Hyrcanus, who had besipcrpfl thp r^Uca HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIAKS. 247 After this victory, b. c. 109, the two brothers returned to the siege, and pursued it with such vigour, that the besieged were obliged to implore aid once more of Cyzicenus, who, not having sufficient forces of his own for such an attempt, requested Lathyrus, king of Egypt, to send him a body of troops to be employed against the victorious Jews. Lathyrus complied, and ordered 6,000 men into Syria, contrary to the opinion and incHnation of Cleopatra. She carried her resent- ment of this and some other encroachments so far, that she took his wife Selene from him, and obliged him, b. c. 107, to quit Egypt. As this could not be effected without the con- sent of the Alexandrians, the unnatural mother stirred up the populace against her son ; she caused some of her favourite eunuchs, on whose fidelity she could depend, to be wounded, and then, bringing them covered with blood into the public assembly of the Alexandrians, pretended that they had been thus treated and abused by Lathyrus, for defending her per- son against his wicked attempts. By this base fiction, she in- flamed the minds of the Alexandrians to such a degree, that they rose in a tumult against him, and would have killed him, had he not saved his life by retiring on board a ship, which immediately set sail and carried him out of danger. Upon the flight of Lathyrus, Cleopatra sent for her younger son, Alexander, on whom she had bestowed the kingdom of Cyprus ; and having declared him king of Egjrpt, in the room of Lathyrus, obliged the latter to be content with Cyprus. This event occurred, according to Porphyry, in the eighth year of Alexander's reign in Cyprus, and eleventh of Cleopatra's in Egypt. It is dated b. c. 107. Two years after this revolution, Alexander Jannosus, king of the Jews, having settled affairs at home, marched against the inhabitants of Ptolemais, and having vanquished them in battle, obliged them to retire into their city, where he besieged them. In this extremity, they despatched mes- sengers to Cyprus, imploring the aid of Lathyrus, and re- questing him to come personally to their relief. The mes- sengers, however, were scarcely gone, when they began to repent of what they had done. They apprehended that Cleopatra, upon their entering into an alliance with Lathyrus, would march against them with all the forces of Egypt, so that they would suffer as much from Lathyrus, as a friend, as from Alexander, as an enemy. Upon this consideration, they resolved to defend themselves, and they despatched other mes- sengers to Lathyrus, to acquaint him with their resolution. 248 insTORT.oF the Egyptians. In the mean time, Lathyrus had increased his army to the number of 30,000 men, and prepared vessels to transport them thither ; and, notwithstanding their remonstrances, he landed his forces in Phenicia, and marched towards Ptole- mais, encamping at a small distance from the city. But the inhabitants refusing to admit his ambassadors into the town, or to enter into any treaty with him, he was for some time greatly perplexed to know what course to pursue. He was relieved from this perplexity by messengers arriving at his camp from Zoilus, prince of Dora, and from the people of Gaza, Avho desired his assistance' against the Jews ; for Alexander, having divided his army, besieged Ptolemais with one part of his forces, and had sent the other to lay waste the territories of Zoilus and Gaza. Lathyrus embraced this opportunity of employing his troops, and marched to their assistance. This obliged Alexander to raise the siege of Pto- lemais, and lead back his army to watch the motions of La- thyrus. As he was not able to cope with so powerful an enemy, he pretended to court his friendship, and entering into a treaty with him, he engaged to pay him 400 talents of silver, on condition that he would deliver Zoilus into his hands, with the places in his possession. Lathyrus closed with this proposal, and accordingly seized on Zoilus, and all his territories, in order to deliver them up to Alexander. In the mean time, he was informed that Alexander was negociating with Cleopatra, in order to bring her against him with all her forces, and drive him out of Palestine, on Avhich Lathyrus became his declared enemy, and resolved to do him all the injury in his power. Accordingly, the next year, b. c. 104, having divided his army into two bodies, he detached one of them to form the siege of Ptolemais, for not having admitted his ambassadors, while he marched in person with the other against Alexander. He took Asochis, a city of Galilee, on a sabbath day, and carried away from thence much treasures and a great number of captives. From thence he advanced to Sepphoris, another city of the same country, which he likewise invested. He was soon, however, obliged to raise the siege of this city ; for intelligence arrived inform- ing him that Alexander was advancing to give him battle, at the head of a numerous army. The two armies met at Asophos, not far from the Jordan, and they engaged with the utmost fury. Victory was for a long time doubtful ; eight thousand of Alexander's soldiers, who carried brazen bucklers, linving fought with great intre- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 249 pidity and resolution. But at length the Jews were routed, after having lost a great number slain, and many prisoners. The success of Lathyrus was chiefly owing to one Philoste- phanus, who, observing that his soldiers were ready to fly, being warmly charged with the Jewish targeteers, flanked the enemy with fresh troops, put them in confusion, and obliged them to give ground, and save themselves by a pre- cipitate flight. A most barbarous action is related to have been committed by Lathyrus on this occasion. Having taken up his quarters, in the evening after this victory, in the neighbouring villages, and finding them crowded with women and children, he caused them all to be put to the sword, and their mangled limbs to be put into boiling cauldrons, as though he intended to make a repast with them for his army. His design was to make the Jews believe that his troops fed upon human flesh, and thereby strike a greater dread of his army into the neighbouring country. This circumstance is related by Jo- sephus, on the authority of Strabo and Nicolaus Damascenus. For the honour of humanity, we would fain disbelieve this story ; but it is certain that Lathyrus, after the death of Alex- ander, ravaged and desolated the whole country, the Jews being utterly unable to oppose his progress. This Adctory, and the results that followed, alarmed Cleo- patra. She apprehended that if Lathyrus should make him- self master of Judea and Phenicia, he would be enabled to invade Egypt, and recover that kingdom. She, therefore, re- solved to put a stop to his further progress. She commanded an army to be raised with all possible expedition, under the command of Chalcias and Ananias, two Jews, in whom she placed great confidence. At the same time, she equipped a powerful fleet, with a great number of transports, and, putting her troops on board, she embarked with them, and set sail for Phenicia. She carried with her a great sum of money, and her richest jewels, which she deposited in the isle of Cos, in case of untoward events. She landed in Phenicia b. c. 103. The arrival of Cleopatra made Lathyrus immediately raise the siege of Ptolemais, and he retired in great haste to Coslo- Syria. Cleopatra despatched Chalcias, with one division of her army, after him, and marched with the other to Ptole- mais, expecting the citizens would open the gates to her. But in this she was disappointed ; they refused all alliance 250 ftfSTORV OF THE EGYPTIANS. With het, and she invested the place, with a design to redttbe ft by force. In the mean time, Chalcias having lost his life in the pur- suit of Lathyrus, that prince, b. c. 102, taking advantage of the disorder occasioned in the army by the loss of their gen- eral, marched with all his troops into Egypt, hoping to find it unprovided with forces in the absence of his mother, who had carried her best troops with her into Phenicia. But his hopes were ill-founded. The forces which Cleopatra had left for the defence of the country bravely defended it, till others, which she had despatched from Phenicia upon receiv- ing advice of the invasion, arrived. Lathyrus was, in conse- quence, obliged to return to Palestine, where he took up his winter quarters at Gaza. Cleopatra pushed the siege of Ptolemais with so much vigour, that she at length reduced it. As soon as she entered the city, Alexander made her a visit, and brought rich presents with him to recommend himself to her favour. He was successful in his application ; but what conduced most to this was, his hatred for her son Lathyrus, which alone was sufficient to insure him a favourable reception with Cleopa- tra ; tiius reversing the order of nature, Avhose dictates are, love to our offspring. An inspired prophet has asked — " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?" Isa. xlix. 15 ; there- by indicating that such conduct was foreign to human nature. The history of Cleopatra declares that the tender mother may become the bitter persecutor of her offspring, that affection for them may be swallowed up in self-love and vain ambition ; and that which is • the shade of immortality, And in itself a shadow," can transform the parent into a monster. Some of Cleopatra's courtiers pointed out to her the fair opportunity she now had of making herself mistress of Judea, and all the dominions of Alexander, by seizing his person, earnestly pressing her to perform this foul act. The queen was inclined to follow their advice ; but Ananias represented to her the infamy of such a deed : that it would be acting contrary to the honour and good faith, which are the founda- tions of society ; that such conduct would be prejudicial to her interests ; and that it Avould draw upon her the abhoT- rence of all the Jews dispersed throughout the world. He so HISTORY OF THE EGYFTUNS. 251 effectually prevailed by his arguments and influence with Cleopatra, that she abandoned the design, and renewed her alliance with Alexander, who having, after his return to Jeru- salem, recruited his army, took the field anew, and crossing the Jordan, laid seige to Gadara. Lathyrus having spent the winter at Gaza, and finding that all his efforts against Palestine were of no avail, so long as his mother opposed him, left the country, and returned to Cyprus. Cleopatra then sailed back into Egypt ; and thus Palestine, says Josephus, was delivered from all foreign forces, to the great joy of the Jewish nation. Being informed, upon her return to Alexandria, that La- thyrus had entered into a treaty, at Damascus, with Antiochus Cyzicenus, and that with the aid expected from him he was preparing to make a new attempt for the recovery of the crown of Egypt ; to make a diversion, she gave her daughter Se- lene, whom she had taken from Lathyrus, to Antiochus Gry- pus, sending him at the same time a considerable supply of troops and money. By this means, Grypus being enabled to renew the war with his brother Cyzicenus, the latter was so entirely employed in defending himself, that he could not lend any assistance to Lathyrus, who was thereby obliged to forego his intentions, and return to Cyprus. During these years, Ptolemy Alexander, the younger bro- ther, acted the base part of a slave, under the specious appear- ance of a sovereign. At length, however, tired out with the indignities he suffered from this warlike fury, and terrified with the cruelty with which Cleopatra persecuted his brother Lathyrus, especially in thus taking from him his wife, and giving her to his enemy ; and, moreover, observing that she did not scruple to commit the greatest crimes to gratify her ambition, that prince did not consider himself any longer safe near her, and therefore stole away privately from Alexandria, choosing rather to live in safety, than to reign with so wicked and cruel a mother, in continual danger of his life. His flight alarmed the queen ; for she was well aware that the Alexandrians would not suffer her to reign without one of her sons. She therefore used all her art to prevail upon Alexander to return ; and, after much soUcitation, he was prevailed upon to accede to her request. Not long after, however, b. c. 89, Cleopatra, not being able to bear a com- panion in the supreme authority, nor to admit her son to share the honour of the throne with her, resolved to put him to death. The prince heard of her resolve, and he prevented 252 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. its performance by cutting her off first, thus punishing her for her crimes, but by a crime equal to her own. Surely, when we read of such dark deeds as these being committed without repugnance under the influence of paganism, we ought to lift up our heart unto the Giver of all good for the privileges we enjoy — for living in a country where, and at an age when, doctrines are promulgated which inculcate the love of God and man, and which are calculated to bind mankind together in one holy bond of love and concord. The crime of Alexander (for it was a crime which even his mother's evil designs cannot extenuate) did not remain unpunished. As soon as it was known that the son had caused the mother to be put to death, the enormity of the crime stirred up all his subjects against him. They would not suffer a parricide to reign over them, but drove him out of the country with ignominy, and recalled Lathyrus from Cyprus, and replaced him on the throne. For some time, Alexander led a rambling life in the island of Cos, while his brother returned in triumph, amidst the ac- clamations of his people. But the next year, Alexander, hav- ing collected some ships, attempted to return into Egypt. He was met at sea by Tyrrhus, Ptolemy's admiral, who defeated him, and obliged him to flee to Myra, in Lycia. From Myra, he steered towards the island of Cyprus, hoping the inhabit- ants would declare in his favour, and place him on the throne, which his brother had vacated to return to Egypt. But Choereas, another of Ptolemy's admirals, came up with him while he was preparing to land, and killed him in the engage- ment, after he had borne the title of king for the space of nineteen years. During the troubles that disturbed Egypt. Apion, the natural son of Physcon, maintained peace and tranquillity in his dominions. At length, after a reign of twenty-one years, he died, devising Cyrenaica to the Romans, in order to se- cure them from the miseries in which the countries subject to the Egyptian government were involved. Lathyrus, upon re-ascending the throne of Egypt, began to settle all things upon tbeir ancient footing, and to remedy, as far as possible, the many disorders and abuses which had crept in during the late troubles. But the inhabitants of Thebes refused to submit to his regulations, and even at- tempted to shake off the yoke, and resume their ancient liber- ties. Lathyrus marched against the rebels, defeated them, and laid siege to their city, which they defiended with incrrdi- HISTORV OF THE EGYPTIANS. 253 ble obstinacy for three years. At the end of that time. b. c. 82, he took it, and, by way of punishment, suffered the en- raged soldiers to plunder it, who left every where melancholy marks of their avarice and cruelty. Thebes, which till then had been one of the greatest and wealthiest cities of Egypt, was reduced so effectually, that it never after made any figure in history. Towards the latter end of the reign of Lathyrus, Lucullus being sent by Sylla to procure ships from the princes who re- tained any regard for the Roman name, in order to block up the ports of Piraeeus and Munychia, landed at Alexandria ; where the inhabitants, pursuant to the orders of Lathyrus, re- ceived him with those honours which were paid only to the kings of Egypt. The king, however, could not be prevailed upon to part with any of his ships, pretending that he was threatened with a civil war in his own dominions. He there- fore dismissed Lucullus, after having presented him with his portrait, cut in an emerald of great value. Lathyrus did not long survice the ruin of Thebes. The next year, b. c. 81, he died, after having reigned thirty -six years ; eleven jointly with his mother in Egypt, eighteen in Cyprus, and seven alone in Egypt, after the death of his mo- ther. He was succeeded by his only legitimate child, Avhose f)roper name was Berenice, but who, according to the estab- ished custom of that family, was called Cleopatra, under which name her brief history is here introduced. CLEOPATRA. ALEXANDER II. Sylla, at the time of Cleopatra's accession to the throne, was perpetual dictator at Rome ; and his power was so great, that he gave or took away crowns at pleasure. Hearing, therefore, that Lathyrus was dead, without male issue, he sent Alexander, the son of that Alexander who had reigned before Lathyrus, and murdered his mother, to succeed his uncle in the kingdom, as the next heir of the male line. This Alexander had met with many adventures. When Cleopatra, the mother of Alexander and Lathyrus, marched with her army into Phenicia against the latter, she sent her grandson, Alexander, of whom we are now speaking, into the island of Cos, wdth a large sum of money, jewels, and other valuable articles, as noticed before. When Mithridates made himself master of that Island, the inhabitants delivered into his hands the Egyptian prince, and the treasures which Cleo- vnT I '2 '2 254 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. patra deposited there with him. The king of Pontus gave him an education suitable to his birth ; but he, not thinking himself safe with a prince who had imbrued his hands in the blood of his own children, fled from the court of Mithridates, and took refuge in the camp of Sylla, w^ho was then at war in Asia. From that time, he had resided in the dictator's family, some say, as a domestic, till news was brought to Rome of the death of Lathyrus. Sylla then sent him to take possession of the crown of Egypt, as the proper heir of the deceased king. But the Alexandrians having placed Cleopatra, the daughter of Lathyrus, on the throne, six months before his arrival in Egypt, some difficulty occurred. To compromise the matter, however, and avoid displeasing Sylla, the Alexandrians pre- vailed upon Alexander to marry Cleopatra, and reign jointly with her. The nuptials were celebrated with great pomp and mag- nificence ; but Alexander, either out of dislike to Cleopatra, or wishing to have no associate on the throne, caused her to be assassinated, nineteen days after the marriage. Porphyry and Appian tell us, that the Alexandrians, pro- voked at this murder, and the haughty and imperious airs their new king assumed, rose up in arms, surrounded his palace, and dragging him into the gymnasium, put him to death, after a reign of nineteen days. Suetonius and Cicero, however, make it manifest that he reigned fifteen years after this tragical act, during which time he made himself odious to his subjects by his cruelty and his vices, till at length they made a general insurrection, and would have sacrificed him to their resentment, had he not withdrawn from Egypt. He fled flrst to Pompey, who was then in that neighbourhood, carrying on the war with Mithridates, king of Pontus, and he offered him rich presents to espouse his cause, and restore him to the crown. But Pompey refused to meddle with this matter, as being foreign to his commission. Alexander then took refuge in the city of Tyre, whither he had sent before a great part of his treasures. While in this city, Alexander sent ambassadors to the Roman senate, to make an appeal against his rebellious subjects : but, dying before the negotia- tion was finished, he made over, by his last will, all his rights to the Roman people, declaring them heirs to his kingdom, in order that he might raise a dispute between Rome and his rival, Auletes. v^ horn the Egyptians had placed on the throne. B. c. 65. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 266 PTOLEMY AULETES, BERENICE, SELETJCUS, ARCHELATJS. Ptolemy Auletes was the natural son of Ptolemy Lathyrus. He was surnamed Auletes, or, "the player upon the flute," because he piqued himself so much upon the skill he dis- played on this instrument, that he disputed the prize for play- ing on the flute in the public games. Strabo tells us that Auletes surpassed all the kings who reigned before him in the effeminacy of his manners, and was no less infamous on that account than Physcon was for his wickedness. He took great pleasure in imitating the effeminacies of the Bacchanals, dancing in a female dress, and in the same measures they used during the solemnity of their god Bacchus : hence he is called by some historians, Dionysius Neos, or the New Bacchus. As Auletes had only a dubious right to the crown, and the Romans pretending that, in virtue of the last will of Alexander, his dominions devolved upon their re- public, his first care was to cause himself to be declared an ally of Rome, which was a certain means of being acknow- ledged lawful king of Egypt. This he obtained of Julius Cesar, who was the consul at Rome. That ambitious man, who believed all expedients just that conduced to his ends, being greatly in debt, sold him the alliance of Rome for 6,000 talents, that is 1,262,500Z. sterling ; part of which was to be paid to himself, and part to Pompey, whose interest was necessary for obtaining the consent of the people. Though the yearly revenues of Egypt were twice this sum, Auletes could not raise it immediately without overtax- ing his subjects, which occasioned general discontent through- out the kingdom. At this time, e. c. 58, while the Egyptians were dissatisfied with the conduct of Auletes, and even ready to take up arms against him, an unjust decree was carried at Rome by the tribune Clodius for deposing Ptolemy, king of Cyprus, seizing the kingdom for the republic, and confiscating his effects. When the Alexandrians heard of the intention of the republic, they pressed Auletes to demand that island as an an- cient appendage to Egypt ; and on refusal, to declare war against Rome. This was opposed by Auletes : upon which the Alexandrians flew to arms, and surrounding the palace, Would have sacrificed him to their fury ; but having timely notice of the insurrection, he withdrew from Alexandria, 266 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. crossed Egypt, and embarked for Rhodes with a design to implore the assistance of his former protectors at Rome. Having arrived at Rhodes, Auletes was informed that Cato, who after his death was called Cato of Utica, had arrived there some time before, being charged by Clodius to put in execution the unjust decree before mentioned. Auletes, de- sirous to confer with a man of his prudence and integrity about his affairs, sent immediately to acquaint him with his arrival, expecting that he would without delay come and wait upon him. But he was mistaken. The proud Roman in- formed the messenger that if the king of Egypt had any thing to say to Cato, he might, if he thought proper, come to his house. Auletes, accordingly, waited upon Cato, who did not vouchsafe to rise when the king entered his chamber, and he saluted him only as a private person. Auletes was surprised at this ; for the simplicity and modesty of the Roman dress and equipage by no means accorded with so much haughti- ness. But he was still more surprised, whea Cato, after he had laid the situation of his affairs before him, blamed him for leaving Egypt, the richest kingdom in the Avorld, in order to expose himself to insults and indignities at Rome, nothing being in request there, at this date, but wealth, power, and grandeur. He did not scruple to tell him, that though he should sell all Egypt, it would not suffice their cupidity. He advised him therefore, to return to Egypt, and reconcile him- self with his subjects; adding, that he was ready to accom- pany him thither, and employ his mediation and good offices in his behalf Ptolemy, reflecting on what Cato told him, perceived the error he had committed in quitting his king- dom, and entertained some thoughts of returning to it ; but the friends he had with him, being gained by Pompey to urge him onwards to Rome, dissuaded him from following Cato's wholesome advice, of which he afterwards repented. On his arrival at Rome, Auletes found, to his great concern that Julius Cesar, on whom he chiefly relied, was making war in Gaul. Pompey, however, who was there, gave him an apartment in his house, and omitted nothing that lay in his power to serve him. But notwithstanding Auletes possessed the protection of so powerful a man, he was forced to go from house to house to solicit the suffrages of the senators. At length, after he had spent vast sums in procuring a strong party, he was, by the interest of Pompey, permitted to lay his complaints before the senate. This he did with much art; exaggerating the hard usage he had met with from his re- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 257 bellious subjects, and putting the senators in mind of his al- liance with the republic, by the articles of which they were bound to support him against his enemies both foreign and domestic. While Auletes was thus making interest at Rome, and courting the republic for her consent to his being restored by force of arms, the Alexandrians, being informed of what passed in Italy, sent an embassy to the senate, consisting of a hundred citizens of distinction, to justify their revolt. Dion, a celebrated academic philosopher, who had many powerful friends at Rome, was at the head of this embassy ; but Ptole- my found means to destroy most of them either at Rome or before they arri-ved, which so intimidated the rest, that they declined acquitting themselves of their commission, or even demanding justice for the murder of their colleagues. The rumour of these murders raised the indignation of the public, and caused a general alarm. M. Favonius, the Stoic philosopher, was the first who declared in senate against Ptolemy. Upon his motion it was resolved, that Dion, the chief of the embassy, should be directed to attend, in order to give upon oath an authentic account of the assassination of the ambassadors. Dion, however, was afraid to appear, and he was soon after stabbed by an assassin, whom the king had hired for that purpose. Auletes, knowing he could depend on Pompey's protection, was not ashamed to own himself the chief author of that crime, and he even pretended to justify the treacherous action. A prosecution was instituted against Ascitius the assassin ; and his own accomplices, who were for the most part the domestics of Luccius, at whose house Dion lodged, attested upon" oath that he committed the crime with his own hand ; but notwithstanding his guilt was clear- ly proved, Ascitius was acquitted. An action was then brought against the judges for selling themselves to Ptolemy and betraying their trust ; but Pompey and his faction em- ployed all their interest against the accusers, and the venal judges were justified, and injustice triumphed. Whether Auletes thought that he had nothing fixrther to transact at Rome, or apprehended danger if he continued there any longer, is not certain, but he set out from thence some few days after, and retired to the temple of the goddess at Ephesus, (the most venerable asylum in Asia.) there to await the decision of the senate. Though his evil conduct had made him odious to the generality of the Romans, vet, by the interest of Pompey's '22* 258 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIAiS'S. faction, a decree was carried in the senate, whereby it was enacted, that the Egyptians should he compelled by force of arms to receive their king. A contest now arose Avho should be charged with the honour of reconducting him thither No one had more reason to expect it than P. Lentulus Spin- ther, the proconsul, he having been appointed governor of Silicia, and being supported by the interest and eloquence of Cicero. Pompey and many others were desirous of perform- ing this office, well knowing that it would be attended with an accumulation of wealth. After several months' warm de- bate, however, Lentulus was appointed to the exclusion of Pompey, whose presence it was pretended was necessary at Rome, he being charged with the care of maintaining plenty there. The affairs of Auletes now, b. c. 57, made more noise than ever at Rome. One of the tribunes, C. Portius Cato, an ac- tive, enterprising young man, and very eloquent, declared himself in frequent harangues against Ptolemy and Lentu- lus, and was listened to by the people with pleasure and ap- plause. The next year, as soon as Lentulus had quitted the office of consul, a new device was formed to frustrate his expedition. A Sibylline prophecy was forged, which ran thus : " If a king of Egypt applies to you for aid, you shall not refuse him your amity : but you shall not furnish him with troops, for if you do, you will suffer and hazard much." The law re- quired that these oracles should never be divulged, before an examination by the senate, who suppressed or published them, as they thought proper ; laut Cato, apprehending that Pom- pey's faction would pass a resolution for its suppression, im- mediately presented the priests with whom the Sibylline books were deposited to the people, and obliged them by the au- thority which his office of tribune gave him, to lay what they found in them before the people, without demanding the opinion of the senate. This was an unexpected stroke to Ptolemy and Lentulus. The words of the Sybyl were explicit, and they made all the impression upon the vulgar which their enemies desired, and the decree which empowered Lentulus to carry back Auletes to his dominions was at their request revoked. This Lentu- lus had expected, and therefore, not willing to receive the af- front publicly, he had, before its revocation, set out for his pro- vince in the quality of proconsul. This new incident obliged Auletes to change his measures. HISTORY OF THE EG-YPTIANS. 259 Seeing that Lentulus had many enemies at Rome, he abaix- doned the decree by which he had been commissioned with his re-estabhshment, and demanded by Aramonius, his ambassador, whom he had left at Rome, that Pompey should be appointed to execute the same commission. His letter being read before the multitude by Aulus Plautius, tribune of the people, his col- league Caninius was of opinion, that Pompey, attended only by two lictors, (for no violence could be used without disobey- ing the oracle,) should go into Egypt, and, by his authority alone, bring the king into favour with his rebellious subjects. But the tribune was opposed by the senate, and Pompey, not- withstanding his great interest, was obliged to relinquish the pursuit of an honour he ardently desired. Pompey being thus excluded, the senators were greatly divided in their sentiments. Bibulus and the consul Marcel- linus were of opinion that the king should be restored by three ambassadors, and that those only should be chosen who had no employment in the state. Their view in this pro- position was to exclude Lentulus, who was then governor of Cnicia and Cyprus. Crassus agreed to the sentiments of these two tribunes, as to the re-establishing the king on his throne without an army, but opposed the exclusion of such as had employments. Cicero never quitted the interest of Len- tulus his friend, who, during his consulship, had greatly con- tributed to his recall from exile. He was, indeed, so desirous that his friend should have the honour of re establishing Au- letes on the throne of Egypt, and enjoy the advantages which would accrue to him from thence, that, after Lentulus was gone into Cilicia, he wrote to him, advising him to advance without any further orders from the senate, with all his sea and land forces to Alexandria, and oblige the inhabitants by force of arms to receive their king. " You are," says he in his letter, " the best judge of what you can undertake and perform. If you can reduce Alexandria and the other cities of Egypt, it is, without doubt, both for your own honour, and that of the republic, that you advance thither with your fleet and army, leaving the king at Ptolemais, or some adjacent place, till you have suhdued the rebels, and left strong gar- risons, where necessary, in order to secure peace, so that he may return without danger. In this manner, you will rein- state him without troops, which our zealots pretend is the meaning of the Sibyl." The Romans were prohibited by the oracle to re-conduct the king of Egypt with an army ; and Cicero was of opinion, that if Lentulus had first reduced Egypt 260 HISTORY or THE EGYPTIANS. by force of a7ms, and then carried back the king without an army, he would not have acted contiary ' : 'he prohibition of the Sibyl, since it would still be true that ihe king had re- turned in peace. One would scare el}' believe that such a grave senator as Cicero could be capable of thinking to elude the oracle by such an evasion ; but he looked upon it only as a pohtical contrivance, (as it in reahty was,) to disappoint the expectations of Pompey's faction. But Lentulus, aware of the numerous difficulties which would attend this enterprise, fol- lowed the advice which Cicero gave him at the conclusion of his letter, namely, that he should by no means undertake so great an enterprise, unless he could promise hunself certain success. On his exclusion from the honour of restoring Auletes, Pompey Avrote to that prince, advising him to recur to Gabi- nius, who commanded in Syria as proconsul, which advice he followed. This Gabinius was a man of infamous character, ready to undertake any thing for money, without the least regard to law, justice, or religion. He had ruined, by his robberies and oppressions, the unhappy province of Syria, whither he had been sent after his consulship ; and finding that the Syrians could no longer gratify his avarice, he had resolved to make war on the Arabians, in hopes of enriching himself with their spoils. In the mean time, however, IVIi- thridates, who had been driven out of Parthia by his brother Orodes, fleeing for refuge to Gabinius, prevailed on him, by promising him large sums, to turn his arms against Parthia, and assist him in the recovery of his crown. He had already begun his march, and passed the Euphrates, with a design to replace Mith'ridates on his throne, when Auletes overtook him, and delivered into his hands letters from Pompey, their com- mon patron, wherein he was desired to restore the banished king, upon such terms as he should think fit to require, and the king to grant. It was contrary to an express Roman law for any governor to go out of the limits of his province, or to make war upon any pretence whatever, without orders from the senate and people of Rome. But the authority of Pompey, and the ex- pectation of reward, induced the proconsul to despise this law, and undertake the re-establishing Auletes, contrary to the opinion of all the army, except Mark Antony, who supported the interest of Auletes with great ardour. The more dan- gerous the enterprise was, the more Gabinius thought he had a right to expect for the imdertaking ; and therefore he did HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. 261 not blush to ask of the king- 10,000 talents, about 1,937,500Z. sterling ; one half of which was to be paid immediately, and the other as soon as he should be settled on the throne. Aule- tes, who was glad to be restored upon any terms, agreed to pay this sum ; but Gabinius would not take any measures till the first payment was made, which obliged the king to borrow it of Caius Rabirius Posthumus, a Roman knight, Pompey interposing his credit and authority for the payment of both capital and interest. «■ When Auletes fled from Egypt, the Alexandrians placed Berenice his daughter on the throne, and sent an embassy into Syria to Antiochus Asiaticus, who by his mother Selene, the daughter of Physcon, was the next male heir of the fam- ily, inviting him into Egypt, in order that he might marry Berenice and reign jointly with her. But this prince died before the embassy arrived, and the ambassadors were then directed to make the same proposal to Seleucus his brother, who willingly accepted the offer. Strabo describes this prince as a monster of iniquity. His inclinations were mean and sordid, and his only aim was the accumulation of riches. The Egyptians soon discovered his real character, and gave him the nickname of Cybiosactes, that is, " the scullion ;" for his conduct answered to that description. He was scarcely seated on the throne, when he gave a signal instance of his sordid and avaricious temper. Ptolemy Lagus had caused the body of Alexander the Great to be interred in a coffin of massy gold ; this Cybiosactes seized, substituting for it a coffin of glass. This provoked Berenice (who, in common with the Egyptians, was already grown weary of him) to such a degree, that breaking through the most sacred ties, she caused him to be strangled. He was the last prince of the Seleucidae. Berenice afterwards espoused Archelaus, high priest of Co- marra, in Pontus, who called himself the son of the great Mi- thridates, though he was in reality the son of that king's chief general. These were the rulers in Egypt, when Gabinius undertook to reinstate Auletes on the throne. Gabinius, having received the stipulated sum, repassed the Euphrates, and, leaving Mithridates to shift for himself, began his march towards Egypt. As he drew near the borders of that country, he detached Antony with a body of horse to seize the passes, and open the way for the rest of the army. As this young Roman was the chief promoter of the expedi- tion, so he acted in it with great vigour and resolution. He not only possessed himself of the passes of a sandy desert, 262 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. and found a way through the fens of Serbonis, which the Egyptians call the exhalations of Tryphon, but took the city of Peiusium, which Plutarch calls the key of Egypt on that side, with the whole of the garrison, thereby making a way for the rest of the army. Auletes had no sooner entered Pe- iusium, than, urged by his hatred and resentment, he pro- posed the destruction of its inhabitants by the sword. But Antony opposed this barbarous proposition, remonstratingthat it would draw both upon him and the Romans the general hatred of the nation, and thereby retard, if not prev^ent, his restoration. As soon as Gabinius received advice of Antony's good suc- cess, he entered the heart of Egypt, It was in winter, when the waters of the Nile were diminished, that this occurrence took place. Archelaus, who was brave and experienced, did all that could be done in defence of the country, and disputed his ground with much resolution. After he quitted the city, in order to march against the Romans, when it was necessary to encamp and break the ground for entrenchments, the Egyptians, accustomed to live an idle and voluptuous life, raised an outcry that Archelaus should employ the mercena- ries in such work, at the expense of the public. This indi- cated their unfitness for battle. Archelaus, however, led them against Gabinius, but it was only to experience an overthrow : the Egyptian troops were cut in pieces, and himself taken prisoner. By this victory, the proconsul might have put an end to the war ; but his avarice prompted him to prolong it : he gave Archelaus his liberty upon his paying a considerable ransom, and then, pretending he had made his escape, demanded fresh sums of Auletes to pursue the war. Rabirius, who followed the king in this expedition, lent him what money he required at a very high interest. Such Avere the despicable artifices made use of by the Romans at this date to enrich themselves. Archelaus, when again at liberty, would have long dis- puted the crown with his rival, had his troops seconded his valour ; but, the Egyptians having in several encounters turned their backs at the very first onset, Tie was at length ob- liged to shut himself up in Alexandria, which Gabinius closely besieged, both with his sea and land forces. Arche- laus defended the place with great bravery, till he was reduced to the last extremity ; then, urged onward by despair, he marched out to hazard another battle, in which, being aban- doned by his effeminate troops, he lost both his crown and his life. Mark Antony, who, on a former occasion, had been HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 263 his particular friend and guest, hearing that he was slain, commanded search to be made for his body, wept over it when it was found, and took upon himself to inter it with all the honours due to a person of his rank. Auletes, being now master of Alexandria, easily reduced the rest of Egypt to his authority, and was thereby re-estab- lished upon his throne. In order to strengthen him in it, Gabinius left some Roman troops to guard his person. But these soldiers soon exchanged their Roman manners for the luxury and effeminacy of those among whom they lived, so that they placed very little restraint upon the Alexandrians. Seeing himself in quiet possession of the throne, Auletes began to vent his rage on all those who had been concerned in the rebellion. His own daughter, Berenice, was the first sacrifice to his resentment. The crime he laid to her charge was, her having accepted the vacant throne when the Alex- andrians offered it to her. Afterwards, he sacrificed most of the wealthy citizens, under pretence that they had been con- cerned in the rebellion. Their estates were confiscated, in order to raise the vast sums which he had still to pay to Gabi- nius, or to return to Rabirius. To be rich, was a crime for which many were condemned ; the king filling his dominions, as Dion Cassius expresses it, with blood and slaughter, that he might fill his coffers with the treasures of his unhappy subjects. These oppressions the effeminate Egyptians suffered with great patience for a short time, being kept in awe by the Ro- man garrison which Gabinius had left in Alexandria. But neither the fear of the Romans, nor the authority of Ptolemy, could make them endure a far less affront. A Roman soldier, having accidentally killed a cat, which animal was worship- ped by the Egyptians, the supposed sacrilege was no sooner known, than the Alexandrians made a general insurrection ; and gathering together in crowds, made their way through the Roman guards, dragged the soldier out of his house, and tore him in pieces. Diodorus Siculus, who relates this insur- rection, was an eye witness of it. C. Rabirius Posthumus had lent Auletes immense sums to defray the expenses of his expedition against his rebellious subjects. When Auletes was estabhshed on his throne, he sent to him requesting payment ; and, finding that the king was very backward, he resolved to leave Rome, and seek repay- ment in person. When he arrived at Alexandria, he pressed tbe king to perform his engagements. Auletes. however. 264 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTUNS. showed little regard to his remonstrances, excusing himself on account of the low state of his finances since the revolution. He gave him, indeed, to understand that he despaired of sa- tisfying him, unless he would consent to take upon him the care of his revenues, by which means he might reimburse himself by occasional small sums with his own hands. The unfortunate creditor accepted the oifer, for fear of losing the amount for which he was huxiself indebted to others ; but the wicked Auletes soon after, upon some frivolous pretence, or- dered him and his servants to be imprisoned. This shameful treatment exasperated Pompey as much as Rabirius ; the for- mer having been, in some measure, security for the debt, in- asmuch as the money ^vas lent at his request, and the whole business transacted by him at a country house of his oa\t.i near Alba. But Rabirius found means to escape from prison ; and, as he had reason to fear the worst from so cruel and faithless a prince, he Avas well pleased to be able to flee from Egypt without further molestation. To complete his disgrace, he was prosecuted as soon as he returned to Rome, for having aided Auletes in corrupting the senate, by his gold ; for having dishonoured the character of a Roman knight, by farming the revenues, and becoming the servant of a foreign prince ; and for having been an accomplice with Gabinius, and sharing with him the ten thousand talents which the proconsul had received for his Egyptian expedition. Rabirius appears to have been acquitted ; and the eloquent oration of Cicero in his defence, which is still extant, will be a lasting monument of the treachery and ingratitude of Auletes. Notwithstanding the unheard-of tyranny with which Aule- tes harassed his subjects, he died, b. c. 5 1 , in the peaceable pos- session of his kingdom, about four years after his re-establish- ment, and thirty after he had first ascended the throne. He left two sons and two daughters. He bequeathed his crown to his eldest son and daughter, ordering them to be joined in marriage, according to the vile and scandalous custom of their family, and to govern with equal power. These being both under age, (the daughter, who was the elder, was seven- teen years old only,) he left them under the tuition of the Ro- man people, whom he conjured by all his idol gods, and his allegiance with Rome, to take care that his will was duly ex- ecuted. Eutropius tells us, that, a copy of his will being transmitted to Rome, Pompey was appointed the guardian of the young prince. Both the sons were called Ptolemy ; the daughters' iiames were Clropatrn and Arsinoe. This was HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 265 the Cleopatra whose history is so conspicuous, or rather so ia- famous, in the ancient records, and which is related in the succeeding pages. PTOLEMY, CLEOPATRA. Little is known of the beginning of the reign of Cleopatra and her brother. The first act recorded of her is, that, two of the sons of Bibulus, who had been consul with Julius Ce- sar, and was at this time, b. c. 48, proconsul of Syria, being killed in Alexandria by the Roman soldiers, whom Gabinius had left to guard Auletes, Cleopatra sent the murderers to Bibulus that he might punish them as he thought fit ; but the proconsul sent them back with this message, that their punish- ment belonged not to him, but to the senate of Rome. As Ptolemy was a minor, under the tuition of Pothinas a eunuch, and Achillas, general of his army, these two minis- ters, to engross the whole power to themselves, deprived Cleo- patra of the share in the sovereignty left her by the will of Auletes. Cleopatra, thus injured, retired into Syria, and raised in that country, and in Palestine, a very considerable army, in order to assert her rights by force of arms. On the other hand, Ptolemy, having drawn together all the forces he could, took the field, and marched against his sister. Both armies encamped between Pelusium and Mount Casius, ob- serving the motions of each other, neither of them being inclined to venture" an engagement. It was at this juncture that Pompey, after having lost the battle of Pharsalia, fled to Egypt, conceiving that he should find there an asylum in his misfortunes. He had been, as narrated, the protector of Auletes, the father of the reigning king ; and it was solely to Pompey's influence, that he was indebted for his re-estabUshment : and therefore it might have been expected that gratitude would have taught the king to receive him with open arms.. But gratitude was a virtue unknown to most princes and ministers at this date, as Pompey found by experience. The unfortunate Roman, observing from the sea a great army encamped on the shore, concluded from thence, that the king was at war with his sister, and that, in such a conjuncture, he should find the young prince the more ready to protect him, since he might stand in need of his as- sistance ; he therefore sent some of his friends to acquaint the king with his arrival, and to demand permission to land and enter his kingdom. VOL. I. " 23 ^^6 itfe-BikV OF tut EGYPTIANS. T*toIemy hirfiSelf returned no answer to Pompey's request ; but Pothinas and Achillas, the two reigning ministers, with Theodotus the rhetorician, the young king's preceptor, and some others, consulted together what answer to return. This council differed in opinion ; some were for receiving him, others for sending him word to seek a retreat elsewhere. Theodotus opposed both these propositions, and, displaying all his eloquence, undertook to demonstrate that there was no other choice to be made, than that of ridding themselves of him. His reasons were, because, if they protected him, Cesar would not fail to be revenged on them for abetting his enemy ; and, if they refused to receive him, and affairs should take a turn in his favour, he would without doubt make them pay dear for their refusal ; and therefore, the only safe way to guard against both these evils, was to put him to death, which, said he, will gain us the friendship of Cesar, and pre- vent the other from doing us mischief; for, according to the ancient proverb, " Dead men do not bite." Some writers tell us, that Theodotus maintained this cruel paradox only to display his eloquence and talents. But, be this as it may, it had a fatal effect. The advice prevailed, as being in their opinion the wisest and safest course to pursue ; and Achillas Septimius, a Roman officer in the service of the king of Egypt, and some others, were charged wath putting it into execution. They went to take Pompey on board a shallop, under the pretext that large vessels could not ap- proach the shore without difficulty. The troops were drawn up at the seaside, as with design to do honour to Pompey, Ptolemy being at their head. The perfidious Septimius ten- dered his hand to Pompey in the name of his master, and bade him come to a king, his friend, whom he ought to re- gard as his ward and son. Pompey then embraced his wife Cornelia, who wept over him as one lost to her ; and, after having repeated some lines of Sophocles, to the effect that *' every man who enters the court of a tyrant becomes his slave, though free before," he went into the shallop. The tragedy soon followed. When they saw themselves near the shore, they stabbed Pompey before the king's eyes, cut off his head, and threw his body upon the strand, where it had no other funeral than one of his frecd-men could give it, with the assistance of an old Roman, who was accidentally passing that way. They raised him a wretched funeral pile, and for that purpose made use of some fragments of an old wreck that Imd been driven ashore. Lucan, in his Pharsalia, re- HiStO&V OF THE feGYPTIANS. Sdt latefe, vHat the freed-HJtan^, Whbrh he iaunortahzes under the wame of Oordus, erected a sfdrife over the spcit w^here he buiied Mm, With this inscriiytion, "beneath this stone, the once great POMPEY LffiS;" than wJhich nothing can be more emphatic, or better show the vanity of human greatness. . The name of Pompey had filled the World with alarms ; but beneath that stone he lay silently, not even striking terror into the worms that devoured his mortal frame. A Christian poet thus moralizes oh his fail : "The dust of heroes cast abroad, And kick'd and trampled in the road The relics of a lofty mind That lately wars and croWns designed, Tossed for a jest from wind to wind, Bid me be humble, and forbear Tall monuments of fame to rear — They are but castles in the air. The toWering heights and frightful falls, The ruined heaps and funerals Of smoking kingdoms and their kings, Tell me a thousand mournful things > In melancholy silence He, That living could not bear to see An equal, now lies torn and dead — Here his pale trunk, and there his head. Great Pompey ! while I meditate, With solemn horror, thy sad fate. Thy carcass scattered on the shore Without a name, instructs me more Than my whole library before." — Dr. Watts. Cornelia Avitnessed the death of Pompey ; and it is easier to imagine the condition of a woman, in the height of her grief from so tragical an occurrence, than to describe it. Those who were in the galley with her, and in two other ships in company with it, made the coast resound with the cries they raised, and, weighing anchor immediately, set sail, and prevented the Egyptians, who were preparing to chase them, from pursuing this design. In the mean time, Julius Cesar, being informed that Pom- ppy had steered his course towards Egypt, pursued him thither ; and he arrived at Alexandria just as the news of his death was brought to that city. Theodotus, or, as others say, Achillas, believing he should do him a pleasure, presented hmi the head of that illustrious fugitive. But Cesar, though 268 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. the enemy of Pompey, was more merciful, and exhibited far more humanity, than those who ought to have befriended him. He Avept at the sight, and, turning away his eyes with abhorrence, ordered the head to be buried with the usual so- lemnities. For the greater expedition, Cesar had pursued Pompey with few forces, having with him, when he arrived at Alex- andria, only 800 horsey and 3,200 foot. The rest of his army he had left behind him in Greece and Asia Minor, under the command of his lieutenants, with orders to pursue the advan- tages of his victory, and secure his interests in those parts. He was very nigh paying dear for this temerity. The few forces he had with him not being sufficient to defend him against the populace of Alexandria, who were all in an up- roar on account of Pompey's death, he, with much difficulty, gained an entrance into the king's palace, and there shut him- self up with part of his men, the rest having been driven back to their ships by the enraged multitude. As it was not in Cesar's power to leave Alexandria, by reason of the Etesian winds, which, in that country, blow without cessation during the dog-days, (in the beginning of which Cesar had entered that port,) and prevent any ships from sailing out, he sent orders to the legions he had left in Asia to join him with all possible expedition. The tumult, however, was appeased before the arrival of his troops ; and he ventured out of the palace, and gained the affections of the common people by his affable behaviour. He spent his time in visiting the curiosities of that great and stately metropolis, and took pleasure in assisting at the public speeches and harangues made by the Alexandrian orators and rhetoricians. But, that he might not spend his whole time in diversions, he began to solicit the payment of the money due to him from Auletes, and to take cognizance of the difference between Ptolemy and Cleopatra. The reader has been informed, that, during Cesar's first consulship, Auletes had bribed him by the promise of 6,000 talents, by which he had gained his interest, and finally the friendship and alliance of Rome, with the croAvn of Egypt. The king had only paid him part of this sum, and had given him a bond for the remainder. Cesar now demanded what was unpaid ; and, as he needed it for the subsistence of his troops, he urged his claims with rigour. Pothinas, the king's treasurer, made this rigour appear more severe than it really was : for he plundered their temples of all the gold and silver HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 269 Utensils, and persuaded the king and all the chief men of the kingdom, to eat out of earthen or wooden vessels His mo- tive for this was to stir up the people against Cesar ; for he insinuated to them that he had seized all their gold and silver plate. This had the desired effect ; for it effectually estranged the minds of the Alexandrians from Cesar. But what most provoked their indignation, and at length drove them to take ap arms against Cesar, was the haughtiness with which he acted, as judge between Ptolemy and Cleopatra. He not only cited them to appear before him for the decision of their difference, but issued a peremptory order, commanding them to disband their armies, and appear and plead their cause be- fore him, to receive such sentence as he should please to pro- nounce. This was looked upon in Egypt as a violation of the royal dignity, and an open encroachment on the prerogative of their sovereign, who, being independent, acknowledged no superior, and therefore could not be judged by any tribunal. To complaints made to this effect, Cesar replied, that he did not take upon him to decide the matter as a superior, but ae an arbitrator appointed by the will of Auletes ; who having placed his children under the tuition of the Roman people and all their power being now vested in him as their dictator, it belonged to him to arbitrate and determine this controversy, a9 guardian of Ptolemy and Cleopatra by virtue of this will : he added, that he claimed no other prerogative than to settle peace between the king and his sister. This explanation a layed the animosity of the Egyptians for a short time ; anft the cause was brought to Cesar's tribunal, and advocates wer* appointed on both sides to plead before him. Cleopatra, thinking that Cesar would regard such of he- sex as had youth and beauty on their side, resolved to employ her own blandishments to attach him to her person and hei cause. Accordingly, she sent a private messenger to Cesar, complaining that her cause was betrayed by those she em- ployed, and demanding his permission to appear before him in person. Plutarch says, it was Cesar himself who pressed her to come and plead her own cause. Be this as it may, she no sooner knew that Cesar was inclined to see her, than, taking with her ApoUodorus, the Sicilian, she embarked in a small vessel, and, in the dusk of the evening, arrived under the walls of Alexandria. She was afraid of being discovered by her brother, or those of his party who were masters of the city, as they would not have failed to prevent her going to 23* 270 HISTORY OF THE EGX?TU»S. Cesar's house. In order, therefore, to get thither without be* ing discovered, she caused herself to be tied up in a mattress, and was thus carried by Apollodorus on his back through the streets to Cesar's apartment. Her blandishments pre- vailed. The next morning Cesar sent for Ptolemy, and pressed him to receive his sister again upon her own terms. By this proposal, Ptolemy found that Cesar was become his sister's advocate and his adversary ; and, having learned that Cleopatra was then in Cesar's own apartment, he retired in the utmost fury, and, returning into the streets, took the dia- dem from his head, tore it to pieces, and threw it on the ground, complaining that he was betrayed, and relating the circumstances to the multitude who assembled around him. In a moment, the whole city was in an uproar. The king himself, at the head of the populace, led them tumultuously to charge Cesar, with all the fury of madness. The Roman soldiers, however, who guarded Cesar, by their own prowess prevented their entrance into the palace. They even secured the person of Ptolemy, and delivered him up to Cesar. Nevertheless, as the rest of his forces were dispersed in the several quarters of the city, and knew nothing of what was passing, Cesar would inevitably have been overpowered an4 torn to pieces by the enraged multitude, had he not had the presence of mind to show himself from a balcony, which was out of their reach, and from thence assure them that he was ready to do whatever they should think fit to suggest to him. This specious promise allayed the tumult for the moment. The next day, having sununoned a general assembly of the people, he brought out to them Ptolemy and Cleopatra ; and then, causing the will of Auletes to be read, he decreed, as guardian and arbitrator, that Ptolemy and Cleopatra should reign jointly in Egypt, agreeably to the will ; and that Pto- lemy, the younger son, and Arsinoe, the younger daughter, should reign in Cyprus. This last article was added to ap- pease the people; for it was an absolute gift that he made them, as the Romans were in actual possession of the island. Every one was satisfied with this decree, except Pothinas. As this minister had occasioned the breach between Cleopatra and her brother, and the expulsion of that princess from the throne, he had reason to apprehend that the consequences of this decree would prove fatal to him. To prevent the effect of it, therefore, he inspired the people with new jealousies and discontent. He gave out that the Roman dictator had, through fear alone, made this just decree, and that his true design was HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 27!! to place Cleopatra alone on the throne. When he had, hy such reports as these, stirred up the populace anew against Cesar, he directed Achillas to advance at the head of the army from Pelusium, in order to drive Cesar out of Alex- andria. Achillas approached Alexandria (b. c. 47) vs^ith 20,000 well disciplined troops ; and confusion again prevailed throughout the city. Cesar, whose forces were few, per- suaded the king to send out ambassadors to Achillas, ordering him to forbear using any violence, since he was well pleased with what Cesar had decreed. Dioscorides and Serapion, who had been ambassadors at Rome, and at great authority at court, were employed on this occasion. But Achillas was so far from complying with the king's orders, that he com- manded the ambassadors to be seized and put to death ; and accordingly, one was slain, and the other carried off for dead. Finding that Achillas would listen to no proposals, Cesar resolved to keep within the walls of the town, not being able to oppose his enemy in the field. He therefore posted his men so judiciously in the streets and avenues of that quarter of the town of which he had taken possession, that he defied the force of the Egyptian army. Achillas, finding that his efibrts were ineffectual in this quarter, changed his measures, and marched towards the port, with a design to make himself master of the fleet; to cut off" Cesar's communication with the sea ; and to prevent him, in consequence, from receiving succours and convoys on that side. But Cesar again frustrated his designs, by causing the Egyption fleet to be set on fire, and by possessing himself of the tower of Pharos, which he garrisoned. By this means, he preserved his communication with the sea, without which he must have been eventually ruined. Some of the ships when on fire, driving to the shore, communicated their flames to the adjoining houses, which spreading into the quarter of the city called Bruchium, consumed the noble library, which the several Ptolemies had erected and enlarged, and which contained 400,000 volumes. This was a loss to literature that has never been repaired. In the mean time, Cesar, that he might not be compelled to meet the numerous troops of the enemy till his succours arrived, strengthened that quarter of the city where he lived with walls, towers, and other fortifications ; including within them the palace, a theatre adjoining to it, and a passage to the harbour. From the beginning of the tumult, Cesar had 272 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. taken care to keep the king in his power, that this war might seem to be undertaken only by a few malcontents, and not by his authority or approbation. While Ptolemy was thus de- tained, Pothinas, who attended him as his governor and minister, carried on a secret correspondence with Achillas, giving him advice of all that passed, and encouraging him to prosecute the seige with vigour. One of his letters was at length intercepted ; and, his treason being thereby discovered, Cesar ordered him to be put to death. Ganymedes, another eunuch, who was charged with the education of Arsinoe, the younger of the king's sisters, was a party in this treason ; and, fearing the same punishment, he fled secretly, carrying with him the young princess. He presented her to the Egyptian army, who, wanting one of the royal family to head them, were overjoyed at her arrival, and proclaimed her queen. After this, Ganymedes, who enter- tained thoughts of supplanting Achillas, caused an accusation to be formed against him, charging him with giving up the fleet which had been burned in the harbour to Cesar. By this device, he obtained the condemnation and execution of Achillas, whereupon he took on himself the command of the army, and the administration of all the affairs of that party. Ganymedes did not want capacity for the office of a prime minister, probity only excepted ; for he contrived a thousand artful stratagems to distress Cesar during the course of this war, showing himself at the same time a discerning statesman and a crafty general. One of his devices is thus recorded. The Alexandrians possessed no fresh water but that of the Nile ; to preserve which, the whole city was vaulted underneath the houses.* Once a year, on the great swell of the Nile, the water of that river came into the city by a canal, and by sluices was turned into the vaults, where it gradually became clear. The prin- cipal families of the city drank of this AA'^ater ; but the poor were forced to drink the common water, which was muddy and unwholesome. These vaults were so constructed, that they all had communication with each other. The provision of water they contained after the supply from the Nile, served for the whole year. Every house had an opening, not un like the mouth of a well, through which the water was drawn * Thevenot says, that the same kind of caves exist to this day at Alex- andria, and that they are filled once a year, as in ancient times. More modern travellers also relate, that the cisterns for keeping the Nile water are still in a great measure preserved. See the article Akxandria. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, 273 in buckets or pitchers. Ganyrnedes caused the communica- tions with the quarters where Cesar lived to be stopped up, and then found means to turn the sea-water into the latter, and thereby spoiled all the fresh water. This raised a general uproar among Cesar's soldiers ; and he would have been obliged to abandon his quarters, much to his disadvan- tage, had he not thought of ordering wells to be sunk, where springs of water were found, which made amends for that which was spoiled. After this, Cesar, receiving advice that a legion which Calvinus, his lieutenant in Asia, had sent him by sea, was arrived on the neighbouring coasts of Lybia, but was detained there by contrary winds, advanced with his whole fleet to convoy it safely to Alexandria. Ganymedes was apprised of this ; and he immediately collected all the Egyptian ships that could be found in order to attack him upon his return. A battle ensued between the two fleets, wherein Cesar gained a considerable advantage, and would have destroyed the Egyptian fleet, had he not been obliged, by the approaching night, to retire with his ships and legion into the harbour. To repair this loss, which was very considerable, Gany- medes drew together aU the ships that were in the mouth of the Nile and private arsenals, and, having formed with them another fleet, entered the port of Alexandria. This pro- duced another fight at sea, in which Cesar gained a second victory, which is chiefly ascribed to the valour of the Rho- dians, and their skill in naval tactics. It is said that the Alexandrians climbed in throngs to the tops of the houses next the port, to be spectators of the flight, and awaiting the result with fear and trembling, lifting up their hands to hea- ven to implore the assistance of the gods. To make the best of his advantage, Cesar endeavoured to capture the isle of Pharos, and to possess himself of the mole, called the Heptastadion, by which it was joined to the conti- nent ; but, after he had landed his troops, he was repulsed, with the loss of above 800 of his forces. Cesar himself was very near perishing in his retreat ; for, finding the ship in which he endeavoured to escape ready to sink, by reason of the numbers of those who crowded into it, he threw himself into the sea, and with great difficulty swam to the next ship. Dion Cassius, Plutarch, Suetonius, and Orosius tell us, that Cesar, while he thus made his escape, carried his Commen- taries, which he bad then with him, in one hand, holding up the papers the whole time, lest the water should reach them, 274 HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS. and swam with the other. When he reached the other ship, he saw, to his great concern, the vessel which he had left sink, with all those on board. The Alexandrians, finding that the Romans were rather encouraged than disheartened by their late loss, and were making active preparations to repair it, sent ambassadors to Cesar, demanding their king, and assuring him that his com- pliance with their request would allay all animosity, and put an end to the war. Cesar, though well acquainted with the subtle and deceitful characters' of the Alexandrians, readily complied with their request, knowing that he hazarded no- thing in giving them up the person of their king ; and that, if they failed in their promises, the continuation of the war, and its accompanying evils, would be laid to their charge. Before he dismissed the young prince, he exhorted him to take this opportunity of inspiring his subjects with sentiments of peace ; to redress the evils which a Avar, very imprudently undertaken, had brought upon his dominions ; to approve himself worthy of the confidence he reposed in him by grant- ing him his liberty ; and to show himself grateful for services he had rendered his father. Ptolemy, early instructed in the art of dissimulation and deceit, begged Cesar, with tears in his eyes, that he would not oblige him to depart, assuring him, that he had rather live with him as a private person than reign without him. The sequel showed how little sincerity there was in his tears and professions of amity. . He was no sooner placed at the head of his troops, than he renewed hos- tilities with more vigour than ever. The first thing Ptolemy, who was entirely governed by Ganymedes, attempted, Avas to intercept Cesar's provisions. This gave rise to another sea- fight near Canopus, in which Cesar was again victorious. In this engagement, Euphanor, the Rhodian admiral, lost his life and his ship, after having greatly signalized himself When this battle was fought, Mithridates of Pergamus was upon the point of arriving with the army which he weis bringing to the aid of Cesar. Mithridates had been sent into Syria and Cilicia, to assemble all the troops he could obtain, and to march them into Egypt. He acquitted himself of his commission Avith such diligence, that he had soon formed a considerable army. Antipater, the Idumean, contributed very much towards it. He had not only joined him Avith 3,000 Jews, but engaged several neighbouring princes of Arabia and Ccelo-Syria, and the free cities of Phenicia and Syria also, to send him troops. With these troops, Mithridates, HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 275 sitended by Antipater in person, marched into Egypt ; and, on his arrival at Pelusium, took that important place by storm, 't'his advantage was chiefly owing to Antipater ; for he was the first that mounted the breach, and thereby opened the way for those who followed him, to carry the town. From Pelusium, Mithridates advanced towards Alexandria- but, as they approached the borders of the province of Onion, they found all the passes seized by the Jews, who inhabited that part of Egypt, so that it was impossible for them to pro- ceed any farther. This obstruction would have rendered their design abortive, had not Antipater, partly by his OAvn aiithority, and partly by that of Hyrcanus, (who was then at the head of the Jewish nation, and from whom he brought letters to the Jews,) prevailed upon them to espouse the cause of Cesar. Their example was followed by the Jews of Mem- phis ; and Mithridates was plentifully supplied by both with provisions for his army. As Mithridates drew near the Delta, Ptolemy detached a considerable body of troops to dispute with them the passage of the Nile. This led to a battle. Mithridates put himself at the head of a part of his army, and Antipater commanded the other part. The wing which Mithridates commanded was soon obliged to give way, being attacked by the Egyp- tians with great fury ; but Antipater, who had defeated the enemy on his side, hastening to his relief, the battle was re- newed, and the Egyptians were totally routed. The two vic- torious generals pursued the advantage, drove the enemy out of the field with great slaughter, and, having taken their camp, obliged those who escaped the carnage to repass the Nile. Mithridates immediately acquainted Cesar with his victory, ascribing with great ingenuousness, according to Josephus, the whole glory of it to Antipater. Ptolemy, upon advice that the troops he had sent were de- feated, advanced with his whole army against Mithridates and Antipater. At the same time, Cesar, leaving the city under the cover of the night, marched with all possible expedition to join Mithridates, before the Egyptians could fall upon him. Accordingly he was the first who brought him intelligence of the king's design. The Egyptian army appeared soon after, and a decisive battle ensued, in which Cesar gained a complete victory. F*tolemy himself was drowned in the Nile, as he was attempting to make his escape in a boat. His body was after- wards thrown on the shore ; it was known by the gold cui- rass, which Julius Capitolinus informs us, the Ptblemies of 276 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Egypt used to wear. He had reigned from the death of his father Auletes, three years and eight months. It is recorded, that 20,000 Egyptians were slain in this hattle, and 12,000 taken prisoners. On Cesar's side, 500 only were killed, and about 1,000 wounded. Among the latter was Antipater, who fought with great bravery, and had a great share in the vic- tory. In confidence of this victory, Cesar returned to Alexandria, and, entering that city without opposition, bestowed the crown of Egypt on Cleopatra, in conjunction with Ptolemy, her younger brother. This was in effect giving it to Cleopatra alone, the young prince being then but eleven years of age. The passion which Cesar had conceived for Cleopatra was the sole motive that prompted him to embark in this danger- ous and infamous war ; and therefore, the enterprise having been attended with success, it is no wonder that he should take care that she should reap the advantages of his victory. Cesar Avas, indeed, so captivated by the charms of Cleopatra, that he remained longer in Egypt than his affairs could well admit, and very nearly to their ruin. Appian relates, that though he had settled all matters there in January, yet he did not leave that country till the latter end of April, and that he passed the time in revels and banquets with Cleopatra and her court. He took great pleasure in diverting himself with her on the Nile, in a large galley, called Thalamegos, Joeing attended by a fleet of 400 sail. Suetonius says, that he de- signed to sail with her as far as Ethiopia, but that his troops refused to follow him. He meditated the design of carrymg her with him to Rome, and there marrying her, after having caused a law to be passed in the comitia, by which the Ro- man citizens should be allowed to marry foreigners, and as many as they pleased. Helvius Cinna, the tribune of the peo- ple, declared, after the death of Cesar, that he had prepared an harangue in order to propose that law to the people, he being unable to refuse the assistance required of him by the dictator. Before Cesar left Alexandria, in acknowledgment of the assistance he had received from the Jews, he confirmed all the privileges they enjoyed in that city, and commanded a column to be erected, on which all those privileges were en- graved, with the decree confirming them. The cause of Cesar's quitting Egj^pt and Cleopatra (by whom he had a son called Cesarion) was the war with Phar- naces, king of the Cimmerian Bosphorus, and son of Mithri- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. , 277 dates, the last king of Pontus. The success that attended that prince in the recovery of his father's dominions, roused Cesar out of the lethargy into which Cleopatra's charms had lulled him, and called his warlike powers again into action. He left part of his forces in Egypt, to protect Cleopatra, and with the rest marched into Syria. He fought a great battle with Pharnaces, near the city of Zela, in Cappadocia, de- feated his whole army, and drove him out of the kingdom of Pontus. To denote the rapidity of his conquest, in writing to one of his friends, he made use of those three well-known words, Ferei, vidi, vici ; " I came, I saw, I conquered." In the war which Cesar waged in Egypt, he had taken Arsinoe prisoner. On his return to Rome, he carried her with him, and there caused her to walk before his chariot, bound with chains of gold. After this vain display, he gave her liberty, but would not allow her to return into Egypt, lest her presence should occasion new troubles in that kingdom. The banished princess took up her residence in Asia ; at least it was there that Antony found her after the battle of Philippi, and where, at the request of Cleopatra her sister, he caused her to be put to death. After Cesar had departed from Egypt, b. c. 47, Cleopatra enjoyed the crown without molestation, having all the power in her own hand during the minority of her brother. But this young prince no sooner attained the fourteenth year of his age, b. c. 43, when, according to the laws of his country, he was to share the royal authority, than she poisoned him, and remained sole queen of Egypt. Not long after, Julius Cesar being killed at Rome by conspirators, at the head of whom were Brutus and Cassius, and the celebrated triumvi- rate formed between Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius Cesar, Cleopatra declared for the triumvirs, and sent to Albienus the consul, Dolabella's lieutenant, four legions, which were the remains of the armies of Pompey and Crassus, and part of the troops which Cesar had left with her to guard Egypt. Cassius made himself master of these four legions, b. c. 42, and frequently solicited aid from Cleopatra, which she uni- formly refused. Cassius marched his army towards the fron- tiers of Egypt, with a design to invade that kingdom ; but, Brutus requiring his aid, he desisted from the enterprise. Cleopatra, being thus delivered from all fear of an invasion, sailed with a numerous fleet to join Antony and Octavius ; but a violent storm occasioned the loss of many of her ships, and she, falling sick, was obliged to return into Egypt. VOL. I. 24 278 HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. After the battle of Philippi, b. c. 41, Antony, having passed over into Asia, in order to establish the authority of the tri- umvirate there, was informed that the governors of Phenicia, which was dependent upon the kingdom of Egypt, had sent Cassius aid against Dolabella. Upon this, he summoned the queen of Egypt to appear before him at Tarsus in Cihcia, whither he was going to assemble the states of that province. This step was fatal in its consequences to Antony. Cleo- patra, assured of her charms, by the allurements she had al- ready so successfully employed on Julius Cesar, hoped to cap- tivate Antony also. For this purpose, she provided herself with rich presents, large sums of money, and magnificent habits and ornaments. Thus provided, she embarked in a stately galley, and set sail for Cilicia. Having crossed the sea of Pamphylia, she entered the Cydnus, and, sailing up that river, landed at Tarsus, where Antony waited for her. There had never been seen in these parts a more splendid equipage than this of Cleopatra's. The stern of her ship glittered with gold, the sails were purple, and the oars inlaid with silver. A pavilion of cloth of "gold was raised upon the deck, under which appeared the queen, dressed like Venus, and surrounded by many comely youths, fanning her lik'- Cupids, and beautiful damsels, representing some the Nereids and others the Graces. The hills and dales echoed as she sailed up the river, with the melody of various instruments ; and the oars, keeping time, rendered the harmony more agreeable. The great quantity of perfumes that were burned on the deck, filled the air with the most agreeable odours to a great distance on each side of the river. As soon as the arrival of Cleopatra was known, the citi- 2ens of all ranks went out to meet her : so that Antony, who was distributing justice, and hearing causes in the forum, saw his tribunal deserted, not a single person remaining with him but his lictors and domestics. A rumour was spread that it was the goddess Venus coming to pay a visit to Bacchus about the good of Asia ; alluding to a meeting between those two deities, as described in the fanciful pages of the mythnW gical poets. Cleopatra was no sooner landed, tYihti Antony sent to invite her to supper. She answered his deputies that she should be glad to regale him herself, and that she would expect him in the tents she had caused to be pitched upon the banks of the river. Antony complied with her invitation ; and, in return he invited her to an entertainment the next day, when he en- HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 379 deavQured, but in vain, to rival the magnificence of Cleopatra's feast. » The more Antony conversed virith Cleopatra, the more he was charmed with her conversation, till at length he was so captivated by her, that he could refuse her nothing, however repugnant to the laws of justice, humanity, or religion. She gained indeed, such an absolute ascendancy over him, that, at her entreaty, he despatched assassins to Miletus, or, as Josephus writes, to Ephesus, with orders to murder Arsinoe, her sister. This deed was executed in the temple of Diana, where she had taken refuge. So true it is, that one crime ever leads to another, and that the indulgence in vicious pas- sions hardens the human heart. It is probable that Antony, had he been told, previously to his connexion with the wicked Cleopatra, that he would be guilty of this dark deed, would have exclaimed Avith Hazael of old, " Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?" And yet now, hardened by a giddy round of pleasures, and panting for future enjoy- ments of the like sinful nature, he commissions assassins to work the work of darkness without compunction. It was the ^oice of experience that said of the strange woman, " Her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, Neither take they hold of the paths of life." — Prov. ii. 18, 19. In the mean time, Antony and Cleopatra were indulging in riot and excess. To attach him more to her person and interest, Cleopatra made daily entertainments during her stay at Tarsus, inviting him and his officers to partake of them, and spending on each occasion immense sums of money. In one of these banquets, Antony expressing surprise at the num- ber of gold cups enriched with jewels, which were displayed on every hand, Cleopatra told him, that, since he admired such trifles, he was welcome to them, and immediately ordered her servants to carry them all to his house. The next day she invited him again, and desired him to bring with him all his officers of rank and distinction. Antony complied ; and, when the banquet was over, and the company ready to de- part, Cleopatra presented them with all the vessels of gold and silver used at the entertainment.* * In one of these feasts happened what Pliny, and after him Macrohius, relates of Cleopatra's profuseness. The queen had two of the largest pearls in her ears that had ever been found ; each of them being valued at 52,500Z sterling. One of these she caused to be dissolved with vinegar, 280 HTSTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. » Antony being obliged by his affairs to leave Tarsus, Cleo- patra accompanied him as far as Tyre, and, there taking her leave of him, returned into Egypt : but he was so enslaved by her charms, that he could not novp^ live w^ithout her. Hav- ing, therefore, appointed Plancus to be his lieutenant in Asia Minor, and Saxa in Syria, he hastened after her to Alexan- dria, where they j)assed their time in sports and voluptuous- ness, treating each other every day at a ruinous expense, for- getting that " The house of laughter makes a house of woe." — YonNG. Cleopatra's whole study was to amuse Antony, and make him pass his hours agreeably. She never left him day or night, but was continually contriving new diversions, that he might not have leisure for reflection on his enervating mode of living, and its consequences. Whilst Antony was thus diverted, (b. c. 39,) the news he received of the conquests ofLabienus, at the head of the Par- thian army, awakened him from his lethargy, and obliged him to march against these enemies. But, as he was on his way, he altered his measures, and sailed into Italy, with 200 ships, against young Octavius, with whom he was soon after reconciled, and whose sister Octavia he married. Octa- via was a woman of extraordinary merit ; and it was believed that Antony's alliance with her would make him forget Cleo- patra. But when he resumed his march against the Parthi- ans, his passion for the Egyptian queen displayed itself with more violence than ever. He hastened back to Alexandria, where he gave himself up to the dissolute mode of living which he had followed before while in Egypt. On the removal of Antony from Alexandria into Syria, B. c. 38, to pursue the war against the Parthians, he left her in Egypt. Before he set out, however, he sent for Cleopatra into Syria, against the advice of all his friends. On her ar- rival, she influenced him to commit such flagrant acts of cru- elty and injustice as rendered his name and government odious to the whole nation. Many Syrian lords were, on false pretences, put to death, that she might possess their forfeited estates. and then swallowed it, in order to show how lightly she thought of such toys, and how much she could spend in one feast. She was preparing to melt the other, when Plancus, who was present, prevented her, and saved the pearl. This was afterwards carried to Rome by Augustus, and, being by his orders severed in two, served for pendants to the Venus of the Julian family. HISTORY OP THE EGYPTIANS. 281 The stay which Antony made with Cleopatra before he marched against the Parthians, and the haste he made to re- turn to her, were the occasion of the numerous misfortunes that befel him in that unhappy expedition. On his return into Syria, b. c. 35, having with difficulty reached the bor- ders of Armenia, instead of putting his army there into win- ter quarters, as his officers advised, he pursued his march over the mountainous country, then covered with snow, which, with previous hardships, so harassed his troops, that on his arrival in Syria he found that 60,000 had perished. He rested there in expectation of Cleopatra's arrival, and, having once more met, he passed his time in feasting and revelling, without showing any concern for the loss of his army. The queen brought with her clothes for the poor re- mains of his shattered troops, and a large donative, in money, was distributed in Cleopatra's name ; and, having thus quieted the soldiery, he returned with the queen into Egypt, where he spent the remainder of the winter in the same excess of riot as before. Early in the spring, b. c. 34, Antony set out for Syria, de- signing to march from thence into Parthia. Cleopatra at- tended him to the banks of the Euphrates. Before he com- menced his march, he bestowed on her all Cyrene, Cyprus, Ccelo-Syria, Ituria, Phenicia, with great part of Cilicia and Crete. But these provinces and kingdoms were not sufficient to satisfy her boundless ambition. She earnestly solicited him to put Herod king of Judea, and Malchus king of Arabia Petrea, to death, that she might possess their kingdoms like- wise. This Antony had the moral courage to refuse, or rather, it is probable that he feared the result ; but, to appease her, he gave her that part of the kingdom of Malchus which bordered upon Egypt, and the territory of Jericho, belonging to Herod, with the balsam gardens. These grants gave great offence to the Roman people, and estranged their minds from Antony, from which time his ruin was determined. In the mean time, b. c. 33, Antony, having, in defiance of the most sacred oaths and solemn promises, taken Artabazes, king of Armenia, prisoner, and reduced all that country, was preparing to return into Egypt. Before he left Armenia, he concerted a union between Alexander, one of his sons by Cleopatra, and a daughter of the king of Media ; and then, putting his army into winter quarters in Armenia and the neighbouring countries, he hastened back to Alexandria. He entered this city in a triumphal chariot, causing the booty 24* 28? HISTORY or THE EGyi'TUNS. h^ had seized, and the king, his wife, and children, with other persons of distinction, to be carried before him, in the same manner as in the triumphs at Rome. Cleopatra waited for Antony in the forum, being seated on a golden throne, which was placed on a scaffold overlaid with silver, and sur- rounded by the chief men in the kingdom. The captives were presented to her in golden chains, and they were di- rected to kneel before her ; but not one submitted to such a degrading obeisance. When the news of this triumph was brought to Rome, the citizens, who looked upon the ceremony as peculiarly of Roman origin, conceived an implacable ha- tred to Antony for carrying it into Egypt to gratify a woman of such infamous character. A few days after, Antony, having entertained at an im- mense charge all the people of Alexandria, summoned them to meet in the gymnasium ; and there, being seated on a throne of gold, and Cleopatra by him on another, he made an oration, wherein he proclaimed Cesarion, the son of Cleopa- tra and Julius Cesar, king of Egypt and Cyprus, in conjunc- tion with hit mother. As he himself had three children by the same Cleopatra, namely, Alexander, Ptolemy, whom he surnamed Philadelphus, and Cleopatra, at the same time he gave to Alexander, Armenia, Media, Parthia, and the eastern countries, from the Euphrates to India, when they should be subdued ; to Cleopatra, the twin sister of Alexander, Lybia and Cyrene ; and to Philadelphus, Phenicia, Syria, Cilicia, and all the countries of Asia Minor, from the Euphrates to the Hellespont, conferring on each of them the title of " king of kings." Antony also obliged Cleopatra to take the name of Isis, assuming to himself that of Osiris : the former being the chief goddess, and the latter the chief god, of the Egyp- tians. From thenceforward, says Dion Cassius, they both affected to appear in public in the habit peculiar to those dei- ties. But these follies lessened the character of Antony in the sight of all the right-thinking men, and daily alienated more and more the affections of the Romans from his person and cause, which Octavius Cesar made use of to hasten his ruin. As soon as the season allowed him to take the field, Antony marched into Armenia, in order to act against the Parthians. He had advanced as far as the banks of the Araxes, when the news was brought him, that Cesar had stirred up the people of Rome against him, and was making preparations, as though he designed to come to an open rupture with him. HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. Q§3 Upon this news, he aban, 41 6. Chaeris (.of remembrance, and he omits their names. J 17 7. Nephercheres. Fabulists reported the Nile to have flowed with honey during eleven days 25 8. Sesochiis 48 9. Cheneres (or Keneres.) Name omitted by Eusebius 30 Eusebius gives 297 years. Total 302 III. DYNASTY Of nine Memphite Icings. YlB. 1. Necherophes, (Echerophes or Necherocliis.) In his reign, the Libyans revolted from the Egyptians 28 2. Tosorthrus, (or Sesorthus.) He introduced the mode of build- ing with hewn stone, and patronized literature 29 3. Tyris ^ 4. Mesochris 5. Soyphis,(SonphisorZonphis.) Eusebius mentions six others after Sesorthus, but he omits 6. Tosertasis J- their names, because they had « 7. Aches 8. Sephuris 9. Cerpheres achieved nothing worthy of remembrance. 7 17 16 19 42 30 26 Eusebius gives 197 years. Total 214 IV. DYNASTY Of eight Memphite kings of a different branch. Yrs. 1. Soris , 29 2. Suphis. Built the largest pyramid, ascribed by HerodetiBS to Cheops €3 VOL. I. 26 }02 DYNASTIES OF EGYPTIAN MONAUCHS. 3 Suphis II "^ The names of these are ' omitted by Eusebius. Yrs. r 66 63 4. Mencheres Rhatoeses Bicheres Sebercheres Thampthis , I 5. fi. 25 22 7. 7 8. 9 Susebins gives 448 years. Total 284 V. DYNASTY Of nine Elephantine kings. 1 . Usercheris 2. Sephres 3. Nepherclieres (or Nechepheres.) . . . 4. Sisires (or Sisichis) 5. Chores (or Echeres) 6. Rathiires (or Rathuris) 7. Mencheres (or Mercheres) 8. Tarcheres (or Tacheres) 9. Obnus (Unus, or Onnus) The sum is 218. Eusebius reckons 31 Elepliantme kings, but > omits all their names, emd < introduces Othius and Fhiops mto this dynasty. Yrs. 28 13 20 7 20 44 9 44 33 Total 248 VI. DYNASTY Of six Memphite kings Yrs. 1 . Othoes, (Othius, or Thoes,) killed by his guards 30 2. Phius 53 3. Methusuphis 7 4. Phiops (or Aphiops,) who began to reign at the age of six years 94 5. Menthesuphis 1. 6. Nitocris. Built the third pyramid 12 The sum is 197. Total 203 VII. DYNASTY Of 70 Memphite kings, who reigned 70 days ; or, according to Etisebius five kings, who reigned 75 days or years. DYNASTIES OF EGYPTIAN MONARCHS. 303 VIII. DYNASTY Of 27 Memphite kings, who reigned 15Q years. Eusebius gives Jive kings, and 106 years. IX. DYNASTY Of 19 HeracleopoVte kings, who reigned 409 years ; or, according to Eusebius, four, who ruled 100 years. The first was Achthces, (Acthros, Ochthovis or Ochitois.) He was more cruel than his predecessors ; and having perpetrated many crimes, he was seized with madness, and afterwards killed by a crocodile X. DYNASTY Of 19 Heracleopolite kings, who reigned 185 years. XI. DYNASTY Of 16 Diospolite kings, who reigned 43 years. Of these Amraenemes reigned 16 years. The whole of the above-mentioned kings is 192, and they reigned, according to these statements, during the space of 2,300 years and 70 days. This terminates Manetho's first book. SECOND BOOK OF MANETHO. XII. DYNASTY Of seven Diospolite kings. Yrs. 1. Sesonchosis, (Geson-Goses, or Sesonchoris,) son of Amme- nemes 46 2. Ammenemes, (or Ammanemes ;) he was slain by his eunuchs... 38 3. Sesostris 48 4. Lachares, (Labaris, Lamaris, or Lambares.) He built, it is said, the labyrinth in the Arsinoite nome as a tomb for himself. 8 5. Ammeres (or Ameres) T Eusebius omits the names of T 8 6. Ammenemes J these three, and says the sue- ( 8 7. IScemiophris (Skemio- 1 cessors of Lambaris reigned 42 [ pliris his sister J years. L 4 According to Eusebius, 245 years. Total 160 304 DYNASTIES OF EGYPTIAN MONARCHS. XIII. DYNASTY Of 60 Diospolite kings, who reigned 453 years XIV. DYNASTY Of 76 Xoite kings, who reigned 134 years. Eusebiua says 484, and another reading gives 184. XV. DYNASTY Of the Shepherds. According to Eusebius, of Diospolitans, who reigned 250 years. These were six foreign Phenician kings, who took Memphis : — Yrs. 1. The first was Saites, from whom the Saite nome is said to have borrowed its name 19 2. Beon, (Bion, Anon, or Byon) 44 3. Pachnan, (or Apachnas) 61 4. Staan 50 5. Archies, (or Auchles) 49 6. Apophis, (or Aphobis) 61 Eiieebius gives 250 years. Total 284 XVI. DYNASTY Of 32 Hellenic Shepherd kings, who reigned 518 years. Eusebius gives five Theban kings, who reigned 190 years. XVII. DYNASTY Of 43 Shepherd kings, and 43 Theban Diospolites. Eusebius intro- duces the Fifteenth Dynasty of Africanus, whom he calls Phenician Shepherds. AFRICANUS. EUSEBIUS. - Yrs Yrs. The contemporary reigns 1. Saites 12 of the Shepherds and The- 2. Bnon (or Anon) 40 bans lasted 150 3. Archies (Aphophis) 30 4. Apophis (Archies) 13 Total 1 7o Home's Introduction. 2 vols, royal 8vo. half cloth 3 50 Do. do. 1 vol. sheep 4 00 Do do. 2 vols, cloth 4 00 — — Do. do. 2 vols library style 5 00 ■ Bishop, Ci mmeiitary ou the Book of Psalms 1 50 Howell's Lii'ti— Perfect Peace. 18mo. 30 CARTERS PUBLICATIOK8. 7 Howe's Redeemer's Tears and other Essays. 18mo. 50 Huss (Juo.) Life. Translated from the German 25 Jacobus on Matthew. With a Harmony. Illustrated. 75 Questions on do. 18mo. 15 On Mai k, Luke, aud John (preparing.) James' Auxious Inquirer. 18mo. 30 — — True Christiau. " 30 Widow Directed. ISmo. 30 Jaueway's Heaven upon Earth. 12ino. 60 Token for Children. 18mo. 30 Jay's Morning Exercises. 12mo. 75 Evening " " 75 Christian Contemplated. ISmo. 40 — Juhilee Memorial. " 30 Jerraui's Tribute to a beloved and only Daughter. 30 Key to the Shorter Catechism. 18rao. 20 Kennedy's (Grace) Profession is uot Principle. 18mo. 30 Jessy Allan, the Lame Girl. 18mo. 25 Krunimacher's Martyr Lamb. 18mo. 40 Llijah the Tishbite, « 40 Last Days of Elisha. 12mo. 75 Life in New York. 18mo. 40 Lowrie's Letters to Sabbath School Children. 18mo. 25 Lockwood's Memoir. By his Father. 18mo. 40 Luther's Commentary on Galatians. 8vo. 1 50 Mackay — The Wyckliffites; or, England in the 15th Century. 75 Martin's (Sarah) Life. 18mo. 30 Martyu's (Henry) Life 12mo. 60 Mason's Essays on the Church. 12mo. * 60 — — " on Episcopacy. " 60. Martyrs and Covenanters of Scotland, 18mo. 40 Malcum on the Atouemeut. l&uo. 30 8 CARTERS PUBLICATIONS. McCrindell — The Convent, a Narrative. 18mo. 50 McGilvray's Peace in Believing. 18ino. 25 McLeod's Life and Power of True Godliness. 12mo. 60 McCheyne's (Rev. Robert Murray) Works. 2 vols. 8vo. 3 GO Life, Lectures, and Letters. Separate. 1 50 Sermons. Separate. 2 00 Familiar Letters from the Holy Land. 18mo. 50 •McFarlane — The Mountains of the Bible, their Scenes and their Lessons, with four illustrations on steel. 12mo 75 Do. Do. extra gilt 1 25 Meikle's Solitude Sweetened. 12mo. 60 Miller's (Rev. Dr. Samuel) Memoir of Rev. Dr. Nisbet. 75 (Rev. John) Design of the Church. 12mo. 60 Michael Kemp, the Farmer's Lad. ISmo. 40 Moffat's Southern Africa. 12mo. 75 Monod's Lucilla; or, the Reading of the Bible. 18mo. 40 •More (Hannah) — The Book of Private Devotion. Large type, elegant edition, l8mo. 50 -./- Do. do do extra gilt 75 — ■-- Do. do. small edition, 32mo. 20 Do. do. •' gilt 30 Missions, the Origin and History of. By Choules and Smith. With 25 steel plates. 4to. 3 50 Morell's Historical and Critical View of the Specula- tive Philosophy of Europe in the 19th Century 3 00 My School Boy Days. 18mo. 30 My Youthful Companions. 18mo. 30 The above two bound in 1 vol. 60 Newton's (Rev. John) Works, 2 vols. 8vo. 3 00 . Life. Separate. 18mo. 80 Noel's Infant Piety. 18mo. 25 North American Indians. Illustrated. 18mo. SO « Olmsted's Thoughts and Counsels for the Impeniteot 50 Old White Meeting-House. 18mo. 40 •Opie On Lying. New edition, 18izu>. CARTERS PUBLICATIONS. 9 Owen on Spiritual Mindednees. 12mo. 60 Old Humphrey 'a. Observatious; Addresses; Thoughts for the Thoughtful; Homely Hiuts; Walks in Lou- don ; Country Strolls; Old Sea Captain; Grandpa- rents; Isle of Wight; Pithy Papers ; and Pleasant Tales, 11 vols. Each 40 Paley's Horae Paulinae. 12mo. 75 Patprsou on the Assembly's Shorter Catechism. 18mo. 50 Pike's True Happiness. I8mo. 30 Religion and Eternal Life. 18mo. 30 Divine Origin of Christianity. 18mo. 30 Philip's Devotional Guides. 2 vols. 12mo. 1 50 — — Marys. ~ 40 Marthas. 40 - — Lydias. 40 Hannahs. 40 Love of the Spirit. 40 Young Man's Closet Library. Pollok's Course of Time, the most elegant edition ever published ; printed on superfine paper. 16mo. with portrait. Cloth. 1 00 — — gilt, cloth, extra, 1 50 Turkey morocco, gilt 2 00 small copy, close type. 18mo. 40 — — Life, Letters, and Remains. By the Rev. James Scot:;, D.D. With portrait. 16mo. 1 00 Do. gilt cloth, extra , 1 50 — ^ Tales of the Scottish Covenanters, printed on large paper, uniform with the above. With portrait 75 Do. do. small copy. ISmo. 50 Helen of the Glen. 18mo. 25 •^■^ Persecuted Family. ISmo. 25 Ralpl) Gemmell. ISmo. 25 Porteus' Lectures on Matthew. 12mo. 60 10 CARTERS PUBLICATIONS, Reti'ospect (The) by Aliqais. ]8mo. 40 *fiichinon(]'8 Domestic Poi"traiture, edited by Bicker- steth. New and elegant edition. 12mo. 75 Annals of the Poor. 18uio. 40 Rogers' Jacob's Well. 18mo. 40 Romaine on Faith. 12mo. 60 Letters. 12mo. 60 Rutherford's Letters, new edition, — preparing. Scott's Force of Truth. 18mo. 25 Scougal's Works. 18mo. 40 Select Works of James, Venn, Wilson, Philip, and Jay. Eight complete works in 1 volume. Royal 8vo. 1 50 Select Christian Authors ; comprising Doddridge, Wil- berforce, Adams, Haiyburton, a Kempis, &c. With Introductoiy Essays by Dr. Chalmers, Bishop Wil- son, and others. 2 vols. 8vo. 2 00- Serle's Christian Remembrancer. ISmo. 50 Sinner's Friend. 18mo. 25 ♦Sigourney (Mrs. L. H.) Water Drops. 18mo. 2d edit. 50 • The Girl's Book. 18mc With illustrations. The Boy's Book, " 'Sinclair's Modern Accomplishments 75 * Modern Society 7& Charlie Seymour. 18mo. 30 Simeon's Life, by Carus ; with Introductory Essay by Bishop Mcllvaine. With poi-trait. 8vo. 2 09 Sir Roland Ashton. By Lady Catharine Long 75 Sketches of Sermons on the Parables and Miracles of Christ by the Author of the Pulpit Cyclopasdia. 12mo. 75 Smyth's Bereaved Parents Consoled. 12mo. 75 Sorrowing Yet Rejoicing. 18mo. 30 Do. 32 mo. gilt 80 •Spring (Rev. Gardiner, D.D.) — A Pastor's Tribute to one of his Flock, or Memoirs of the late Hannah L. Murray. With portrait. 8vo. Stevenson's Christ on the Cross. 12nio. ft OARTKES PCBLICATIOSiS. 11 Stevenson's Lord our Shepherd. 12mo. oD Sumner's Exposition of Matthew and Mark. 12mo. 75 Suddard's British Pulpit. 2 vols. 8vo. 3 00 Symington on the Atonement. 12mo. 75 — — on the Dominion. 12mo. 75 Tacitus' Works translated. Edited by Murphy. 8vo. 2 00 Tennent's Life. 18mo. 25 Tholuck's Circle of Human Life. 18mo. 30 Taylor's (Jane) Life and Correspondence. ISmo. 40 Contributions of Q. Q. 2 vols. 80 Original Poems. ISmo. 30 Display, a Tale. ISmo. 30 '^- — Mother and Daughter 30 - Essays in Rhyme. 18mo. 30 ' Original Poems and Poetical Remains. With 12 fine illustrations by Howland. 18mo. ■ (Isaac) Loyola; or, Jesuitism in its Rudiments. 1 00 - Natural History of Enthusiasm. 12mo. 75 (Jeremy) Sermons, complete in one vol. 8vo. 1 50 Turretine's Complete Works, in the original Latin The Theological Sketch Book, or Skeletons of Sermons, so arranged as to constitute a complete body of Divi- nity. From Simeon, Hannam, Benson, &c. 2 vols. 3 00 Tyng's Lectures on the Law and Gospel. New edition, large type, with a fine portrait. 8vo. 1 50 • Christ is All. 8vo. With portrait. 1 50 • Israel of God. 8vo. enlarged edition. 1 50 Recollections of England. 12mo. 1 00 Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans- lated by William Smith. 8vo. 1 25 TurnbuU's Genius of Scotland, or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature, and Religion. 12mo. 1 00 ' Pulpit Orators of France and Switzerland, with Sketches of their Character and Specimens of their Eloquence, With portrait of Fenelon. 1 50 12 OAKTKRS PTTB Lie ATI0N8. Waterbury's Book for the Sabbath. 18mo. 40 Vhately's Kingdom of Christ and Errors of Romanism. 75 Whitecross' Anecdotes on the Assembly's Catechism 30 White's (Hugh) Meditation on Prayer. 18mo. 40 — — Believer; a Series of Discourses. 18mo. 40 — — Practical Reflectious on the Second Advent. 18mo. 40 (Heury Kirke) Complete Works. With Life by Southey. 8vo. Do. extra gilt Wilson's Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life. ISmo. 50 • — : — Do. on large paper, 16mo , vkfith eight illustra- tions, from original drawings, by Croome, Billings, &c. engraved by Uowlaud. 75 — — Do. do. extra gilt 1 25 Winslow on Personal Declension and Revival 60 Wylie's Journey over the Region of Fullilled Prophecy. 30 Xenopbon's Whole Works. Translated. 2 00 •Young's Night Thoughts. Elegant edition, 16mo. with portrait 1 00 ^— Do; do. extra gilt 1 50 CT 22 I'^Ci Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: May 2003 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township. PA 16066 (724)779-2111 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 010 586 807 8 it.