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THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS; 
 
 OR 
 
 SKETCHES OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE OF 
 THE OLD EGYPTIANS. 
 
 BY 
 
 .v" 
 
 DR. MAX ( -TTHLEMANN, 
 
 Instructor in Egyptian Antiquities in the University of Gottingen; 
 
 Decorated with the Gold Medal for Science, of the King 
 
 of Prussia; Member of the German Asiatic, and of 
 
 the Historico-Theological Society at Leipsic. 
 
 *7 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 
 22 and 24 North Fourth Street. 
 1858. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 
 
 E. GOODRICH SMITH, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 
 Columbia. 
 
 
 <* 
 
TRANSLATOR'S NOTICE. 
 
 Egypt has been truly called the land of wonders. The 
 interest felt in it and its early history is seen in the great 
 variety of forms in which the discoveries of modern times 
 have been spread before the public, the discussions excited 
 among the learned respecting its chronology, and many ques- 
 tions connected wtth its relations to sacred and profane his- 
 tory. Ever since the discovery by Champ ollion and Dr. 
 Young of the Key to the Hieroglyphics, there have been in 
 training, especially in Europe and Great Britain, a class of 
 investigators called Egyptologists. While equally acknow- 
 ledging the importance of the results of the research, they 
 differ very considerably as to the truth of the positions as- 
 sumed on many of the points in question maintained by one 
 another. The two great schools in Germany probably are 
 those of Lepsius and Brugsch on the one side, and Seyf- 
 farth, with the author of the present work, Max Uhlemann, 
 on the other, — Uhlemann being somewhat in the middle- 
 ground, leaning toward Seyffarth. At least they may be 
 regarded as the most prominent representatives of these 
 . classes. Little, comparatively, has been known on this side 
 of the Atlantic except of the former, that of Lepsius. His 
 authority has been appealed to as decisive, especially by some 
 who appear to aim with not a little earnestness in destroying 
 or impairing the credibility of the early Scripture History. 
 It seems desirable therefore that the reading public in this 
 
IV TRANSLATORS NOTICE. 
 
 country should be introduced to some of the authors of the 
 other school. Uhlemann has written a number of treatises 
 and reviews on the various subjects relating to Ancient 
 Egypt. The volume which is now presented in an English 
 dress has recently made its appearance in Germany, and is 
 well adapted in a few pages to convey to the reader a sketch 
 of the manners and customs, religious belief and history of 
 Egypt as it appeared long before the Christian Era. The 
 Author's design is carried out by a three days' sojourn in a 
 sort of vision in Old Memphis, during which a variety of 
 scenes and incidents pass before him. His sketches of what 
 he saw are enlivened by occasional short tales or descriptive 
 occurrences as related to him, having for their object to illus- 
 trate the former or then condition of different classes of the 
 people. It is thus instructive and amusing. The sketches 
 are lively, and interspersed with information derived from his 
 studies, evidently bearing the marks of truthfulness. It was 
 this feature of its reliableness, and at the same time its adapta- 
 tion to popular readers, which led the Translator to feel that 
 it might be usefully given to the public in the form in which 
 it now appears. The Author by foot-notes furnishes refer- 
 ences to his authorities, and but for the additional expense 
 the volume would have been improved by the insertion of 
 wood-cuts and quotations from the writers mentioned. His 
 more learned discussions are thrown into Notes at the end of 
 the book, where too is embodied a variety of information 
 which may interest the general as well as the more learned 
 reader. 
 
 As the Author has not fixed definitely the period of his 
 sojourn in the Old Capital, and as it preserves its character . 
 of a transportation from the present day to an ancient period, 
 there is a sort of blending of the two states of consciousness 
 or periods perceptible in the conversations that occasions a 
 little ambiguity thus easily accounted for, a deficiency which 
 might have been remedied by more care in the management 
 
TRANSLATOR S NOTICE. V 
 
 of the story. Still it is hoped that it may be found useful, 
 and a pleasing addition to the means of information relating 
 to antiquity. 
 
 As a translation it is believed to be a faithful transcript of 
 the original. The Translator has bestowed not a little care 
 in the effort to reproduce it so that the English reader may 
 have the full benefit of Dr. Uhlemann's learning and skill in 
 his work. He hopes that his opinion of its worth may be 
 justified by the reception it may meet with, and should it be 
 thus successful, may perhaps further present to the public the 
 Author's more systematic and learned work "Thoth, &e." 
 often referred to in these pages. All the merit he claims is 
 to have done a service to some, by introducing to them in a 
 mainly faithful translation a book deserving notice whose 
 pages of interest might not otherwise be within their reach. 
 
 E. Goodrich Smith. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 1857. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When the Author the past year submitted to the judg- 
 ment of his readers a small treatise on the Egyptian Sciences, 
 — Thoth, oder die Wissenschaften der Alten J^gypter, Got- 
 tingen, 1835, 8, — and was rewarded by acknowledgments 
 from many quarters, he formed the determination to sketch 
 also, in a more agreeable as well as instructive method, the 
 private life of this original people, claiming for itself at the 
 present day a general interest on account of the researches 
 of numerous learned men. The romantic method and form 
 chosen for this work needs no apology or justification ; since 
 similar portraitures of Grecian and Roman Antiquity — as 
 for example Barthelemy's " Voyage de Jeune Anarcharsis en 
 Greece;" Becker's "Gallus" and "Charicles," bright models, 
 though not equalled in the following work — have found ap- 
 proval and in the highest degree excited the interest of their 
 readers. The work which now makes its appearance, craving- 
 indulgence, must not be regarded as the picture of fancy of 
 an idle hour, nor as invented and baseless fable ; the quota- 
 tions continually given prove that everything related and 
 sketched rests on the testimonies of classic authors, and Old 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 Egyptian representations and wall-paintings, which the Au- 
 thor has sought to combine and blend into a true and life-like 
 picture. 
 
 The Old Egyptian wall-paintings in accordance with whic 
 most of the scenes are truly delineated may be found copied 
 in the " Description de PEgypt," in the works of Rosellini, 
 and in Wilkinson's " Manners and Customs of the Ancient 
 Egyptians," &c. Some points which are only incidentally 
 touched upon or alluded to in the text — as for example those 
 relating particularly to the Book of the Dead, (Todtenbuch,) 
 its Contents and Editions ; the primitive history of Egypt ; 
 style of building ; Sesostris ; Apis ; the Sacred Cats ; the 
 Phoenix ; the origin of the City of Memphis and its Temple 
 of Ptah ; hieroglyphic writing, &c. — are treated more at 
 large in the Xotes or Appendix at the end of the book, to 
 which the numerals in the text refer. This has been done 
 for the benefit of any who from a greater interest in Egyp- 
 tian Antiquity desire such additional information. 
 
 Almost every one who in former as well as at later periods 
 has visited this land of wonders, has felt it necessary to pub- 
 lish his observations and experience in travels. Why should 
 not the same privilege be allowed to him whose dreams of a 
 brief period have carried him back thousands of years, while 
 they exhibit to him in his earnest research of the old monu- 
 ments a picture of the Ancient Capital of the land of the 
 Pharaohs long since buried beneath its ruins. Large books 
 have indeed been written during the last few years respecting 
 one and another branch of Egyptian public and private life ; 
 but they are intelligible and accessible to but few, on account of 
 their learned character as well as their great extent and cost ; 
 
 „ 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 and hence the Author hopes, by means of the following work, 
 which he commends to the indulgence of the reader, to have 
 furnished at least a small contribution for the illustration of 
 the culture-history of that people who continually more and 
 more stand forth as the cradle of civil life of the Heathen 
 religion and the important sciences, arts and inventions ; 
 and without the correct appreciation of whom Antiquity in 
 general cannot be fully comprehended and valued in all its 
 relations. 
 
 Gottingen, August, 1856. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Page 
 
 A STORY TO BEGIN WITH 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIRST MORNING IN MEMPHIS 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE VINEYARD — THE PROPHECIES — AN EGYPTIAN RATIONALIST . 49 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SECOND MORNING — THE BURIAL — FISHING IN LAKE MOERIS — 
 
 THE LABYRINTH — A HUNT 73 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE VILLA THE BRICKYARD THE STABLES RETURN TO MEM- 
 PHIS THE SHOEMAKER THE TEMPLE OF PTAH APIS THE 
 
 SERPENT-CHARMER THE LIBRARY ...... 96 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TALE 129 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. Page 
 
 THE EVENING WITH THE ROYAL BODY-GUARD SOME PARTICU- 
 LARS RESPECTING EGYPTIAN TRADE A SOLDIER-QUARREL 
 
 THE CAT .166 
 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 
 A DREAM OSIRIS THE LAND OF THE BLESSED SESOSTRIS 
 
 THE FEAST OF OSIRIS . . . . . . . .182 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 the pyramids the farewell. ...... 209 
 
 Notes 219 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A STORY TO BEGIN WITH. 
 
 It was some days since I had left my home and 
 found myself ready to enter on the duties of my pro- 
 fessorship in the University City of G . The 
 
 autumn had already begun its work of destruction ; in 
 the charming promenades which surround the pleasant 
 city the tall old trees were already half robbed of their 
 ornaments, and a furious tempest exerting its power 
 ever since the day I arrived had entirely stripped them 
 and driven the withering leaves across the wide plain to 
 the mountains near by. 
 
 Still, I felt constrained to go abroad into the open 
 air. I wished to get acquainted with the place where I 
 must fix my future abode, to let my eye rove, from the 
 nearest hill, over the valley, and then take a look 
 on the little city and on my new country. Whoever 
 has seen himself (as was the case with me) suddenly 
 
 2 13 
 
14 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 torn away from his dearest kindred, from the arms of 
 love and friendship, sundered from his most beloved 
 country, and, like a tender plant, transferred to a 
 strange, unknown soil, — he can, perhaps, feel what I 
 then felt on the top of the mountain. I had cast a 
 hasty glance on the region around, even still charming 
 in the late autumn season, but my spirit bore no part 
 in it. It swept away far into the distance, glowed once 
 more in the parting look of my father, gave the fare- 
 well pressure of hand anew, threw a last glance into 
 the little chamber where I had so long strove, wrestled, 
 and fought for science. But pleasanter scenes besides 
 passed before my mind. A bright, merry face of child- 
 hood also smilingly beckoned me. But, ah ! the boy 
 whose mind I had formed, to whose innocent plays I 
 gave their meaning, who had accompanied me on my 
 walks and had enlivened me and cheered me by questions 
 of curiosity, was left behind. I stood alone on the top 
 of the mountain, and solitude never appeared more sad 
 and wanting of purpose than now, when destiny had 
 brought it to me. How often like a fool I had wished 
 for it, and now when it had become a necessity it was 
 full of terror. 
 
 But these pictures, too, passed away. Science would 
 assert its claim. How often had I before investigated 
 antiquity ; how often had I cast a curious look behind 
 the walls of Egyptian temples ; how often in the palace 
 of Sesostris; how often in one or another Egyptian 
 workshop ! But was not this all mere piecemeal ? What 
 use to me were the detached scenes which I had labo- 
 riously disenchanted, if there was no powerful hand to 
 bring them into a whole life-like picture ? 
 
 "Yes, if only one had himself been there, lived at 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 15 
 
 that time, and might now bring us knowledge of what 
 we so laboriously search into !" This I thought to my- 
 self with a sigh, and pensively descended to go into the 
 valley. The sun sunk deeper and deeper, and the even- 
 ing crimson gilded the slope of the mountain, across 
 which the wind drove about the rustling leaves in wild 
 whirls. Suddenly I stopped as if struck with lameness. 
 It was not fear which chained me there, not a sudden 
 terror which made me tremble throughout ; it was a 
 sight that called forth the most pleasant feelings, but 
 at the same time with the conviction that it was 
 only a phantom, and filled me with sadness and melan- 
 choly. 
 
 A few steps before me, at the foot of an old, sturdy 
 oak, sat a lovely boy, who smiled at me in the most 
 kindly manner. The features were not unknown to 
 me : they perfectly resembled those of the dear child 
 who only a few minutes before had occupied my thoughts. 
 I felt already like springing toward him and clasping 
 the boy to my heart and inquiring after many dear 
 ones in my home, but the thought, the certainty "it 
 cannot be so," anew restrained me. And yet there was 
 something else which made me hesitate, — the position 
 of the boy. He continued motionless in a posture such 
 as I had oftentimes seen and admired in the Egyptian 
 pictures. He sat still, squatting on the ground, with one 
 knee drawn up to a right angle, his left arm hanging 
 down, his right, on the contrary, bent together, and his 
 hand, as if enjoining silence, laid on his mouth. Was 
 it a statue which by chance had here been thrown in my 
 way? No, that could not be: it was the image of a 
 fresh, vigorous life ; the eyes shone out so fiery beneath 
 the long, dark lashes. Life was in every feature. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 "But whatever it is," I thought to myself, " I will find 
 it out." So I resolved to go nearer to it. 
 
 "Who are you, my little fellow?" I asked in a 
 friendly and encouraging tone. 
 
 No answer. I repeated the question. 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 Finally the boy let fall his hand and opened his 
 mouth. 
 
 "Are you a learned man?" said he to me, with a 
 roguish smile. "And do you ask me who I am ?" 
 
 "Now, then," I replied, "Can it be that you are 
 Horus ?"(!)* 
 
 "Why not?" he continued, as he slowly raised him- 
 self up. " Do you learned men of the closet believe 
 that the times of the old kingdom are at an end, that 
 my reign has passed away ? Or do you not know that 
 my mother Isis has made me immortal by an enchanted 
 cup ? Would you not desire the power, if it could be, 
 now to bring to life again Egypt — the old Egypt?" 
 
 "It is a mere jest — a fable!" I cried out, almost 
 angry. "Your temples are in ruins, your cities are 
 lying waste, your bodies are moldered away, and no 
 powder on earth can breathe into them new life." 
 
 "And if there be not any such," asked the boy, sud- 
 denly becoming serious; "Is not my mother Isis the 
 greatest and most powerful goddess of the world ? Has 
 not mighty Rome itself built a temple to her ? Look ! 
 Your brave struggle to become acquainted with our 
 spirit, our olden life, gives me pain. Will it ever suc- 
 ceed ? The dead letter, the lifeless hieroglyphic, mocks 
 your weak intellect. Only in fresh life is there truth. 
 Come, I will show it to you." 
 
 * See notes at the end, which are thus marked by figures. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 17 
 
 " It is a dream, " I said, thoughtfully, as he caught 
 hold of my hand. 
 
 " And if it should be a dream, would it be less beau- 
 tiful ?" replied the boy. "You have seen the ruins of 
 our temple, you must see how they once looked, alive, 
 with priests, and a believing, adoring multitude; you 
 have, perhaps, shuddered as you gazed on many a 
 mummy, many a moldered hand; you must see them 
 at work and busy ; you must talk, eat, drink, and play 
 with them." 
 
 "But whither do you carry me?" I asked, when I 
 noticed that at these words he drew me along further 
 and further with himself. 
 
 "To Memphis!" 
 
 "But the evening is just coming on; the sun has 
 already sunk beneath the horizon!" 
 
 "No, you are mistaken," rejoined Horus, — for so I 
 must now call him; — "that red, which glimmers above 
 the mountains, it is the morning dawn which betokens 
 a new day, — the first day in the newly-restored land of 
 the Pharaohs. Look round you." 
 
 We stood, as I thought, on the wall which surrounds 
 the University City and affords a charming promenade. 
 I looked forward on the right, where I knew the rail- 
 road station ought to lie. But who can describe my 
 astonishment ! The first rays of the morning sun gilded 
 not the points of the telegraph tower. No, but the 
 summit of pyramids commanding all, and at my feet 
 lay the mighty, imperial city, with her temples and 
 shrines, her palaces and castles. 
 
 Who can describe the feelings which this view awa- 
 kened, the remembrances it called forth ! Here once 
 Joseph spoke out his rebukes ; here the old Pharaohs 
 
18 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 reigned ; here before me lay the famous temple of Vul- 
 can or Phtha, where the decree of the priests was de- 
 liberated upon and drawn up, which is to-day preserved 
 in the Rosetta Inscription. Every step must suggest 
 new ideas, give a new exposition. 
 
 Whether a dream or reality, I dashed forward into 
 the arms of the then present. Yes ; in the fear that it 
 might be only a dream and fly away too quickly and 
 unenjoyed, I called out to my little guide an impatient 
 and impetuous " Gro ahead !" So we descended into the 
 valley. 
 
 .. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIRST MORNING IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 "The dam from which we are descending," said my 
 little conductor, "is a work of the first king of the 
 country, whom, indeed, I do not need to name to you. 
 Here, where we are now walking, was the old bed of 
 the Nile. Menes conducted this arm of the Nile west- 
 ward, and built Memphis on the spot where before the 
 Nile glided gently along. For the maintenance and 
 improvement of this dam a still greater care must now 
 be used; for if at any time the river should break 
 through, the whole of Memphis would be overflowed 
 and rendered uninhabitable. But you do not listen to 
 me ; you are wandering off in your thoughts !" 
 
 "I was thinking," I answered, "where I must have 
 already heard something like it. Herodotus, if I am 
 not mistaken, relates the same, and in similar language ; 
 you, perhaps, dictated it for his pen." 
 
 "Oh, no !" replied Horus, smiling. "What I know I 
 taught the priests, and, as you are aware, the man you 
 speak of was a scholar of theirs. But let that pass. 
 Do not believe all the Greeks have told you about us. 
 I much doubt whether the priests always told them the 
 truth. The priests very strictly kept their own secrets, 
 and readily lied when they were closely questioned by 
 curious strangers. They told the same Herodotus that 
 no vines grew in our country ; and yet, believe me, wo 
 
 19 
 
20 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 cultured the vine, gathered grapes, pressed out the juice 
 and drank it, and it has been at all times much to our 
 taste. Now is the time of the wine-harvest, and I will 
 conduct you to-day into a vineyard." 
 
 Amid this and similar discourse we came near the 
 gates of the city, after Horus had promised, as he saw 
 my general acquaintance with it, that he would then 
 only explain to me particular things as I myself made 
 my inquiries. 
 
 Already before the gate a scene presented itself which 
 I must not pass over. Close beside the road sat, with 
 their feet bent under them, according to Egyptian cus- 
 tom, eight blind persons, — a harper and seven singers, 
 no doubt waiting for compassionate passers-by.* When 
 they heard our coming footsteps they placed themselves 
 in position, folded and raised supplicatingly their hands, 
 and while the harper, with his seven-stringed instrument 
 before him, accompanied their music with both hands, 
 they sang the following song : — 
 
 " Hail to Thee, Light of the Sun ! 
 We indeed cannot behold thee 
 Either rise or set; 
 Isis has from us taken our sight. 
 But we feel thy warm beams, 
 Which from us, poor and blind, 
 Thou dost not withdraw. 
 Hail to Thee, Light of the Sun!" 
 
 It was a matter of doubt whether with this song they 
 greeted the rising sun or my little companion, the young 
 sun-god ; but still fixed in my earlier, and indeed just 
 left relations, I was about to put my hand into my 
 pocket and hunt up a little gift for the poor unfortunates, 
 
 * Wilkinson, II. 239, No. 193. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 21 
 
 when, for the first time, I noticed that Horus, without 
 my having perceived it, had changed my clothes and 
 enchanted me into an Egyptian dress. This I must 
 describe in a few words. 
 
 I wore the simple white linen tunic so customary in 
 the East, with fringe around the lower border, this being 
 the common dress of the old Egyptians, which must 
 always be kept perfectly white and clean.* This cloak, 
 with short sleeves, which might be best compared to our 
 shirt, was sometimes longer, sometimes shorter ; but in 
 most cases it reached only to the knee, and was held to- 
 gether above the hips by a girdle. So it was, too, with 
 mine. Very different from this simple dress, of course, 
 were the elegant robes of the king, the royal princes, 
 and of the priests, which I afterward saw. The length, 
 too, of the dress seemed, as it occurred to me, to be a 
 mark of distinction of the higher ranks and official 
 position. The officers of the army were distinguished 
 from the rest of the soldiery by a longer tunic. In my 
 girdle I carried a dagger or short sword, or rather some- 
 thing between these, without a sheath, two-edged, and 
 with a sharp point. When I looked at it more closely 
 I observed on the golden hilt, beautifully wrought, a 
 hawk's head,f the symbol of Horus, my guide. As- 
 tonished, my eyes glanced thence downward to my feet. 
 In place of boots were soles with cords, or sandals, 
 which were fastened on the bare feet with straps, like 
 our skates, and like them were marked in front by a 
 long, bended point. J Finally, around my head was 
 wound the well-known Egyptian kerchief, the long ends 
 hanging down on both sides to the shoulders. 
 
 * Herod. II. 37. f Wilkinson, I. 319, No. 30. 
 
 % Wilkinson, III. 3G5, No. 7. 
 
22 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 " So," said Horus, as he laughed at my astonishment, 
 "you will be taken for a soldier, and we shall find en- 
 trance everywhere. At the court you will be looked 
 upon as one of the body-guard, and even the king him- 
 self dare not force you to remove. Perhaps he may 
 hold you for a spy of the priests, and if so, will be the 
 more gracious." 
 
 "For a spy of the priests?" I asked, wondering, for 
 I could not comprehend at once the meaning of his 
 words. 
 
 "Yes !" he replied. "Your kings, who rule with de- 
 spotic will, are fortunate in governing their people ac- 
 cording to their own conscience, promote or destroy the 
 weal of their subjects, and for both must wait and reap 
 the love or hatred of their people and the reward or 
 punishment from Osiris. It is not so with us. Here 
 the priests and their commands bear sway. The king 
 is only a name, his power a mere empty word. The 
 life of the king is regulated by the priests : prayers, 
 sacrifices, eating, drinking, sleeping, all take place with 
 him according to fixed laws and at appointed hours. 
 He must not allow himself to be served by bought or 
 born slaves ; sons of the most distinguished priests and 
 chosen soldiers surround him constantly, as he perhaps 
 flatters himself, to do him special honor, but in fact to 
 watch over him as the lowest spies, whose duty it is to 
 report every action, word, and thought of the king to 
 the all-powerful priests." 
 
 "0 poor kings!" said I, sighing. "I always re- 
 garded their enslavement, as Diodorus portrays it, only 
 for a fable."* 
 
 "Lament not for them!" said Horus, breaking in 
 
 * Diocl. I. 70. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 23 
 
 upon my words. " They do not feel their dependence. 
 You will see them in their majesty, glory, and splendor, 
 and envy them. You will see how much incense is 
 scattered upon them. The love of their subjects, the 
 reverence, the adoration paid to them as to the gods, 
 since the time of Menes, is the most glorious ornament, 
 the costliest pearl in the crown of our kings." 
 
 We entered the gate. A cold air was all around us 
 inside of this enormous mass of stone. It was formed 
 wholly of square stones, a lofty quadrangle, but with- 
 out any decoration or ornament. Only above and on 
 both sides of the entrance three royal shields, just alike, 
 chiseled in stone, with hieroglyphic characters, made 
 known the founder's name. I could easily decipher the 
 particular signs : they were the well-known pictures 
 from the tablet of Abydos, by which the name of Menes 
 was always expressed. 
 
 In the gate something new at once arrested my atten- 
 tion, — it was a sentinel. I had again forgotten that I 
 was in Memphis, and that between to-day and yesterday 
 lay three thousand years, and was afraid of a challenge 
 for the watchword and things of this sort. But the 
 soldier allowed us to pass unhindered ; he appeared to 
 think of no hostile assault. His large shield, rounded 
 at the top, angular at the bottom, which he held before 
 him, and had planted one corner firmly on the ground, 
 almost wholly covered him, and kept his figure, up to 
 his head and the projecting point of his lance, from 
 our sight. The copper-pointed lance, which he had 
 also fixed on the ground, reached far above him, and 
 might have been six to seven feet long; and his brazen 
 helmet, which appeared to be not a little burdensome to 
 his head, marked him out as one of the heavy infantry, 
 
24 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 and also one of the king's guard. Had not Horus 
 prudently changed my dress he would have hardly 
 allowed us to enter, at least he would certainly have 
 warned me to report myself to the police. This expres- 
 sion may sound modern, and needs an explanation. In 
 no State of antiquity was the administration of the 
 police so organized and strict as in Egypt. Every in- 
 habitant of the land was bound yearly to report him- 
 self to the superintendent of his nomos or district, and 
 conscientiously give in his name, rank, profession or 
 occupation, income, and other particulars. The making 
 of a false statement or wholly to neglect such a report 
 was regarded as a crime to be visited with the severest 
 punishment ; and, although the accounts of the ancients 
 are silent as to the laws of the police respecting stran- 
 gers, it may certainly be supposed that travelers and 
 foreigners were subjected to similar regulations. But 
 my dress was well-chosen, and saved me; and I was 
 now, if I may so speak, a concealed person, in a new 
 sense of the word, within the walls of Memphis. 
 
 Much as the Egyptians have been represented by the 
 old authors as a serious and morose people, yet here 
 early in the morning there met us the purest joy, 
 cheerfulness, and contentment. From certain build- 
 ings, behind which towered the colossal temple of Ptah, 
 with its famous propyls, resounded the cheerful song of 
 merry artisans ; porters passed by with heavy burdens 
 on their heads ; the traders opened their shops ; bakers 
 and butchers bore in elegant baskets on their heads 
 their articles of sale to their customers ; and, in short, 
 it was a stirring picture of the industry of a great city 
 at the first hour of the morning. Two boys, apparently 
 belonging to a higher rank, sat before the door of a 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 25 
 
 house, on the ground, in the well-known Egyptian style, 
 kneeling on the right foot so that the knee touched the 
 ground, and sitting on the heel of that foot, the left 
 foot being drawn up high to balance the knee.* They 
 were earnestly playing at morra, which the Greeks 
 afterward learned from the Egyptians, and from them 
 the Romans, and which to-day is customary in Italy, 
 though it is forbidden, for there it scarcely ever ends 
 without a dangerous stab of the knife. It is, indeed, a 
 play which only two friends who have perfect confi- 
 dence in each other can try. It consists in one per- 
 son's suddenly and with the greatest quickness stretch- 
 ing out and pressing together the fingers, and the other 
 at the same instant must guess the number of fingers 
 extended. I say " guess," for it is done so quickly that 
 there is no time for seeing and counting. Thus the two 
 Egyptian boys mentioned above were playing, and I 
 stood for some time enjoying it as I looked on and 
 heard their rapid, sometimes false and sometimes cor- 
 rect, answers. Quick as lightening the hand of one was 
 stretched out ; " three," cried the other; " wrong, it is 
 four," replied the first. So it goes on, often for an 
 hour, until one of them does not trust to the other's 
 word, accuses him of deception, and after a short inter- 
 change of words they take to blows. And here a like 
 result was threatened, when suddenly the door of the 
 house opened and a harsh voice told the boys that it 
 was time for them to take their papyri and writing- 
 instruments and go to school to the priests. With 
 cross faces they hurried away. I would gladly have 
 followed them to share in their hour for writing, and 
 
 * Wilkinson, II. 417, No. 1. 
 3 
 
26 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 make some advances in reading hieroglyphics, but I 
 could not, and must not leave Horus. 
 
 The long morning walk from the dam of the Nile 
 even to the gate of Memphis had in the mean time 
 made me hungry, and Horus, who either felt so too or 
 saw into my feelings and understood my wishes, with a 
 kind anticipation proposed to me to step into a baker's 
 shop near by; a proposal to which I agreed with the 
 greater pleasure, as I could here join the useful and 
 the agreeable and satisfy both my thirst of knowledge 
 and my appetite. Bread was one of the chief articles 
 of food among the old Egyptians, on which account 
 they were called by the Greeks, by way of derision, 
 Artophagi, or bread-eaters. But they baked it less 
 from barley or wheat than from the meal of a sort of 
 grain which the Greeks called Olyra^ or Zea, and which 
 at the present day is much used in Egypt and corre- 
 sponds to our Spelt, (triticum Spelta of Linnaeus.)* 
 
 We knocked at a door over which stood written, in 
 hieroglyphic letters, Ahmes er-aik, Le. "Ahmes the 
 Bread-maker*" "Amu (come in) sounded from with- 
 in. We entered a high room, in which the master-baker 
 was at his work with at least some twenty men. The 
 first sight which offered itself to me w^as adapted to take 
 away from a bom and bred European all desire of eat- 
 ing. If Herodotus indeed accuses the Egyptians of 
 kneading their dough with their feet and the clay on 
 the contrary with their hands, I found the first part of 
 his statement fully confirmed, f On the right of the 
 entrance stood a large bowl-shaped vessel or trough 
 * Herod. II. 36 and 77. f Herod. II. 36. Wilk. II. 385, figs. 1, 2. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 27 
 
 filled with dough, in which two lusty fellows of some 
 fifteen years old were dancing about with their bare 
 feet according to a measure which they accompanied 
 with a low humming. Further in the back-ground stood 
 a simple wooden table, on which the dough, kneaded as 
 described above, received its various forms and shapes. 
 An elderly man here not only fashioned bread-loaves of 
 different size, which, as is sometimes the case with us, 
 were adorned by indentations and lines, but also other 
 figures of fourfooted animals, fishes, &c. came forth 
 from his artistic hand. The loaves and cakes beauti- 
 fully arranged on tables and boards, and which had just 
 then been drawn out of the oven, presented an agree- 
 able sight, well adapted to excite the appetite. The 
 single bread-loaves were flat, round, or oval-shaped, and 
 were decorated with a handsome edge, a raised place in 
 the centre, and other little elevations or hollows. But 
 there were also articles baked from wheat, in elegant 
 forms, arranged on wooden benches that stood against 
 the left wall. There were oxen, cows, and sheep lying 
 down ; great and small fishes, five-pointed stars, tri- 
 angles, disks, and things such as with us are to be found 
 at the confectioner's or pastry-cook's shop.* In the mid- 
 dle of the room, lastly, stood large flat baskets and men 
 by them, to whom the master, or " chief bread-maker," 
 counted out the single articles and gave directions to 
 whose house they must be carried. These fellows raised 
 the baskets on their heads often up to three or four, one 
 above another, and hurried away. On seeing this I was 
 vividly reminded of the dream of Pharaoh's chief-baker, 
 who thought that he bore three baskets, piled on each 
 other with their various fine-baked articles, on his head.f 
 * Rosellini, II. 2, p. 4G4. f Genesis xl. 1G. 
 
28 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 His dream was produced, as to its whole outlines, from 
 the former business of his life. 
 
 We made known our wants, and immediately each of 
 us received a simple round loaf of bread about the size 
 of a hand, baked from Olyra — the usual food of the 
 poorer Egyptians. When Herodotus calls this kind of 
 loaf Kyllestis, this is a mistake, or a Greek word in dis- 
 guise ; among the names of the various sorts of bread 
 which I heard from the mouth of the baker I do not re- 
 collect to have heard that one. This bread had a strong, 
 somewhat too acid taste, and on this account, when I 
 had eaten it, I took a small fine wheat loaf, in the form 
 of a fish, and ate it with great relish. 
 
 After a friendly good-by we were about to go further 
 on our way when the hospitable baker, who, without 
 our noticing it, had gone out a few minutes before, re- 
 turned with a pitcher and invited us to a drink of beer, 
 or barley-wine as he called it, which he had shortly 
 since received as a present from a friend.* We thanked 
 him for his kind offer. Elegant porcelain cups, vase- 
 shaped, f were brought in at the beckoning of the mas- 
 ter, and the glorious foaming drink, the refreshment of 
 the Germans, was drunk to the host's health. With 
 grateful wishes that the gods might bless him, I took 
 my departure, leading Horus, as if a son, by the hand. 
 
 "Now it is time," said he, as soon as we were in the 
 open air, "to go to the court and mix with the cour- 
 tiers ; two hours ago the horoscope must have been to 
 the king and announced to him the break of day." 
 
 "And does the king really rise from his bed every 
 day at so early an hour?" I asked, surprised. 
 
 "Certainly," replied the little fellow. "As I have 
 * Herod. II. 77. t Wilk. II. 355, No. 5. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. • 29 
 
 already told you, his mode of life is strictly regu- 
 lated by the priests ; every hour has its destined busi- 
 ness ; and there never is an exception to the rule but 
 when the king must be conceived as on a warlike expe- 
 dition and out of the city. A festival only disturbs the 
 daily customs. On a festival generally the whole active 
 power of the state-machine comes to a stand till the new 
 arrangement again begins, the pilgrimages and proces- 
 sions have reached their end, and every one returns to 
 his occupation. But on days like this, with the first 
 ray of the morning sun also the horoscope appears by 
 the bedside of the king ; the king rises ; the private 
 secretary enters and lays before him letters that have 
 come in from all quarters, petitions, reports, and com- 
 plaints ; and while he is bound to read them closely and 
 examine them conscientiously, and so fill up the first hour 
 of the day with these affairs, he maintains a daily survey 
 of the state of his kingdom. After this he takes a bath, 
 in which he is served by the noblest sons of the priests, 
 who are constantly about him. This over, he puts on a 
 splendid cloak, decorates himself with the royal insignia, 
 and goes openly to sacrifice to the gods in the presence 
 of the priests, the body-guard, and his whole court- 
 state. This takes place commonly in the royal palace, 
 at the altar of the house-god, and if we make haste we 
 can yet be present at this solemnity." 
 
 We walked quickly forward, and after a few minutes 
 the royal palace, which in its broad extent almost formed 
 a city, lay before our eyes. Six steps led us directly 
 to a pillared passage the floor of which was laid with 
 the purest alabaster. The thickness of the pillars was 
 large in proportion to their height ; they had a circum- 
 ference of from ten to fifteen feet or more, but they 
 
 8* 
 
30 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 stood so near together that the spaces between them 
 were hardly four feet. They appeared as if every one 
 was wrought out of a single piece, and perfectly po- 
 lished ; instead of our square pedestals they had round 
 ones, and capitals in the form of the lotus-flower. The 
 roof was not arched, but consisted of long, massive 
 blocks of stone, which were laid across from one pillar 
 to another. On these again rested others, which crossed 
 the first at right-angles. We walked through this pas- 
 sage, then we went between two rows of sphinxes, whose 
 unexpressive faces stared at us motionless, and reached 
 a tower-like gate-way, which formed the before-men- 
 tioned gate of the city, and w T as richly adorned with hiero- 
 glyphical inscriptions. A band of about ten soldiers 
 kept watch at the entrance, every one of them armed 
 with a bow and a battle-ax, the former of which they 
 bore in the left, and the latter in the right hand; and a 
 trumpeter, too, was with them, to sound the alarm in 
 any case of necessity. Through the portal we reached 
 a large square vestibule, which was shut in round about 
 by covered colonnades. Here stood on the right a 
 gigantic statue of the god, the image of Ptah, the Vul- 
 can of the Romans, who appeared to be the protecting 
 deity of the reigning king and on this account was very 
 properly here found in his place.* It was a pillar of 
 Ptah such as is commonly found : a standing figure in 
 which only the head was formed out, while from the 
 shoulders downward it terminated in a thick column. 
 On the front side of the pillar was a hieroglyphic in- 
 scription that contained a prayer to the god, — in the 
 last words of which he was called " Creator, God, Lord 
 
 * Compare the inscription of the Rosetta Stone, rjyaTzrjfikvoQ vtto 
 rov 00a, beloved of Phthah. 
 
THKEE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 31 
 
 in Eternity." We were thinking of proceeding on our 
 way to the left when here suddenly the daily sacrificial 
 procession came forth from a portal. 
 
 A company of the royal body-guard opened the pro- 
 cession, having in front a band of music ; they marched 
 once all around the vestibule, and then placed them- 
 selves on both sides of the portal by which the king was 
 to enter. After them followed the lower classes of the 
 Egyptian priests, who carried the apparatus necessary 
 for the solemn rites. I noticed among these, particu- 
 larly, costly golden vessels filled with wine, and a re- 
 markable instrument that was designed for the exhibi- 
 tion of the incense. It consisted of an outstretched 
 human arm, almost of the size of life, wrought of the 
 • purest gold, the hand of which held the censer filled 
 with glowing coals.* Others again bore precious golden 
 and silver boxes, which were filled with incense of various 
 kinds. Next followed the king, with him the prophet 
 or chief-priest of the college ; both of them large, ma- 
 jestic figures, who strode in proudly in the consciousness 
 of their dignity and high rank. After them followed the 
 sacred scribe, recognized by the pen he bore as an orna- 
 ment for his head, and with a book-roll in his hand; and 
 then came the whole crowd of courtiers, young sons of 
 the priests, and soldiers, who pressed in hurriedly and 
 placed themselves on both sides of the image of the god, 
 while the king, prophet, and the sacred scribe stood up 
 before the god, and the servants of the temple took their 
 position behind the king. 
 
 At a sign by the prophet, who here also acted as 
 mediator between the god and the king, the assembled 
 multitude began a solemn hymn in praise of the divinity. 
 
 * Wilk. TT. Ser. Suppl. plate 82. 
 
32 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 It sounded monotonous, but still was not wanting in 
 making a solemn impression even on myself. I had 
 mixed myself among the courtiers ; I looked one and 
 another in the face, and everywhere met with so much 
 seriousness, such hearty devotion, that I recognized how 
 fixed and immovably rooted in them was faith in their 
 god. There was no one here, as, alas ! there are many 
 among us, who had come only to let himself be seen and 
 to seem not godless. Every one- here felt the nearness 
 to him of his god, while singing with upraised hands, 
 and praying most earnestly, he gazed on the motionless 
 face of the image. They sung thus i* — 
 
 " Praise to thy face, Creator, God! 
 Praise to thy visage, great Ptah ! 
 Who hast formed the great world, 
 The heaven, earth, and starry host ; 
 Praise to thy face, Father of the world ! 
 
 " Praise to thy face, Creator, God! 
 Praise to thy visage, great Ptah ! 
 Thou who dost adorn the world around 
 To-day, as ever, with thy gifts ; 
 Praise to thy face, Preserver of the world ! 
 
 " Praise to thy face, Creator, God! 
 Praise to thy visage, great Ptah ! 
 Thou who dost rule and judge the world, 
 Destroy the wicked, reward the good ; 
 Praise to thy face, Sovereign of the world I" 
 
 When the hymn was ended the whole assembly sunk 
 down on their knees — only the king and the prophet re- 
 mained standing ; and while the king received from the 
 hands of the servant of the temple a vessel" of wine, and 
 * From the Todtenbuch, (Book of the Dead,) chap, cxxxix. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 33 
 
 poured out the libation, and afterward took the golden 
 hand with the censer of incense in his right hand and 
 held it toward the image of the god, and strewed sweet- 
 smelling incense into the basin of coals, the prophet 
 uttered this prayer : — 
 
 44 Great Ptah, Lord of the heaven, Father of the 
 gods ! The king comes before thy face in the morning 
 hour to thank thee! Thou hast granted him power, 
 wisdom, long life, victory over his enemies, and domi- 
 nion over Egypt. Graciously hearken to him ! Count- 
 less are his virtues. He reveres thee and the other gods 
 daily and hourly; he has ever been obedient and loving 
 to his parents, to whom he owes his life ; he hath 
 wronged no one in anger, killed no defenceless person in 
 unrighteous fight ; he hath robbed no one of his pro- 
 perty unjustly; he knows not of lies nor deceit; his 
 words and his actions are pure and without falsehood. 
 So judge the priests, who have watched over his life ; so 
 judge his friends, who are round about him ; so judge 
 the people, whom he rules wisely and justly. But Thou 
 seest into the depths of the heart ; Thou beholdest the 
 evil that escapes our eyes ; Thou hearest the complaint 
 of the oppressed and wretched which may not reach our 
 ears. Is there one in Egypt who accuses the king in his 
 prayer to thee ? Has wrong been done to one in Egypt 
 and we know it not? So speak Thou the king, the 
 unpunishable, free from all guilt, and roll it on his ser- 
 vants and counselors who have deceived him. Great 
 God ! The day has begun ; guard the realm ; give also 
 to the king wise thoughts this day, and be Thou gra- 
 cious to all. Hail to thy face !" 
 
 When the prophet had uttered this prayer, and had 
 risen, the sacred scribe drew near with the holy book,( 2 ) 
 
34 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 in order, according to the ancient custom, to read some 
 passages from it.* He opened the roll and read the 
 following: — "Thus speaks Osiris: 'I am the Creator of 
 the other gods, shining high above in the place of the 
 divine abode, which encircles the lands. Sing praises, 
 ye men, to the splendor of my work and the beams of 
 the other leaders, (of the house of the stars,) the chil- 
 dren of the gods, who there walk in the space of the 
 girdle of Osiris, in the windings of their paths, mount- 
 ing and descending according to various rules. I am 
 the compeller of men, the Sun-god who walks about on 
 the firmament of the heaven ; the shining king ; the liv- 
 ing Osiris ; w T ho there judges the pious and the wicked 
 one day as every day; who there wakes the son of the 
 Sun, the Indian bird, (the Phoenix,) the son of Osiris. 
 The God of the universe of life, Osiris, rejoices as we 
 rejoice ourselves, in life. I am the bright, the shining 
 one in the house of the gods at On, the city of the 
 Sun/ " 
 
 When the Hierogrammatist or sacred scribe had read 
 these words from the sacred roll, the prophet took up 
 the words to explain and illustrate them in a short ad- 
 dress. He spoke of the mighty Sun-god, the Creator 
 of the universe, of the bright, shining zodiac, the girdle 
 of Osiris, which, as a dwelling of the watchful gods, 
 encircles the earth. In lively colors he portrayed the 
 fidelity and watchfulness of the Sun-god, Osiris, who 
 appears in the East in the morning, walks about the 
 heaven, at midday, rich in blessing, stands at his highest 
 point, and then descending, sinks deeper and deeper, 
 till he disappears in the West in the evening, with a 
 last glowing look of departure. "Rich in blessing is 
 * The Book of the Dead, chap. iii. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 35 
 
 his working;" thus he proceeded, enthusiastically; "from 
 morn to evening he watches over his native land, where 
 he once lived, wrought, reigned as king, bravely fought, 
 and suffered death from the hand of the wicked blas- 
 phemer. As then his appearance brought on earth for- 
 tune and safety, so it is to-day and every day, when he 
 mounts up into the heaven. The flower raises its head 
 and uncloses its cup ; the bird begins his joyous morn- 
 ing lay; man goes forth from his abode, and all are 
 quickened and warmed by the beams of his eye as soon 
 as he, the thousand-eyed, ( 3 ) quits the dwelling of Athor 
 and spreads abroad his blessing. Bless and praise him, 
 then ; him the faithful watcher in the firmament of 
 heaven ! And when he has gone down, and has dis- 
 appeared behind the western mountains, are we then 
 forsaken ? Oh no ! His spouse, Isis, his innumerable 
 children and her attendants, then mount up to protect 
 the realm. To him and to his children, the other gods, 
 we can trust ; in their protection we feel ourselves secure. 
 His power, his majesty, his grace, his compassion, are 
 infinite. Do you ask, What is infinite ? Man cannot 
 comprehend it, cannot grasp it ; he must not try to un- 
 derstand it, for the glory of the Sun-god is unfathom- 
 able. Let us search not further ! When we in Amen- 
 thes are united to him we shall look into, his greatness 
 and glory ; now it is a labyrinth to us that only the 
 consecrated prophet penetrates, where every layman 
 loses himself and wanders. Hear a parable ! An over- 
 curious boy once wanted to look at Osiris close by. He 
 stood on the eastern shore of Lake Moeris, and Osiris 
 disappeared at evening in the lake. The boy, during 
 the night, ran along the lake to see Osiris nearer ; in 
 the morning he was on the west shore, and Osiris arose 
 
36 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 
 again from the lake, in the East, and walked his eternal 
 path; the boy ran further on, and in the evening he stood 
 at the foot of the mountain that separates our country 
 from Lybia ; Osiris disappeared behind. ' There dwells 
 Osiris,' cried out the boy; and with unspeakable toil he 
 ascended the mountain, that he might look into the 
 dwelling of the god. But the darkness increased ; the 
 evening broke in, and when the boy had reached the 
 top Osiris was no more this side of the mountain. 
 Weeping, the boy spent the night on the top of the 
 mountain, and looked down east on the lake, and on the 
 west to a boundless and horrible desert. But what a 
 wonder ! The new day begins, and Osiris comes forth, 
 mounting higher in the East, from the lake. The boy 
 stayed on the top of the mountain, from which he hoped 
 to see where Osiris walked that day. At noon the Sun- 
 god stood high over the mountain's top and moved to- 
 ward the West. The boy went down from the moun- 
 tain, hastened toward Osiris in the desert. ' To the 
 West, to the West !' The sand of the desert surrounded 
 him ; before him Osiris disappeared in the desert. So 
 the boy ran on and on. Finally his strength failed : he 
 had lost himself in the desert, and perished miserably 
 there. That is the labyrinth of the divinity. Stay back, 
 spirit of man, search not further. Thou weak man, only 
 the priest knows the mysteries which thou canst not 
 comprehend. Go away, and praise Osiris, for his glory 
 is without end !" 
 
 When the prophet had thus spoken, all arranged 
 themselves for the march, in the same order as before, 
 and the procession disappeared through the same en- 
 trance, and returned to the interior chambers. 
 
 "The king goes to the business of state," said my 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 37 
 
 little conductor, with a roguish smile; "let us now 
 make a visit to the king's harem." 
 
 I agreed ; but before I relate and sketch what I fur- 
 ther saw and experienced, I must premise a few words 
 respecting the condition and social position of women in 
 Old Egypt. 
 
 The social position of the female sex in Old Egypt 
 has been estimated very differently by different authors, 
 even up to the latest times. This diversity of views has 
 been produced and favored particularly by the accounts 
 varying from one another, and sometimes also self-con- 
 tradictory, of the old classic historians, who have left us 
 the most extended information about the manners. and 
 customs of the ancient Egyptians. Before, therefore, 
 — as is the case in modern days, — the Egyptian monu- 
 ments and wall-paintings in the temples and sepulchres 
 had been drawn forth from their ruins and examined, 
 and could be brought forward to decide the question, 
 the learned expressed different views and suppositions 
 on this point of Egyptian antiquity, according as they 
 believed they ought to yield the greater credit to this or 
 that author, one or another statement. Thus, in earlier 
 modern times, it was believed* that in Egypt females 
 were not eligible to the throne ; but, on the contrary, 
 history, the best instructress, furnishes many names of 
 arbitrary queens. Who has not heard of Nitocris, of 
 Skemiophris, and others ? who does not know that Isis, 
 later adored as a goddess, in the earliest times must 
 have been queen and sovereign of the country? A 
 people who excluded the female sex wholly from the 
 throne would not certainly have represented one of its 
 
 * De Pauw: " Rcchcrches Philosophiques sur les Egyptiens," &c. 
 T. i. p. 30. 
 
 4 
 
38 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 most excellent, universally-reverenced goddesses as the 
 oldest queen of the country. Further: Herodotus re- 
 lates that the female sex in Egypt were wholly excluded 
 from the priest's office, and no woman had served in any 
 temple as a priestess ; yet the same historian contra- 
 dicts himself in another place, * and in the story of 
 the Oracle of Dodona makes express mention of the 
 Priestesses of Thebes. Again: Plutarch speaks of 
 an Egyptian law, according to which women were not 
 permitted to wear shoes. Hence it has been concluded 
 that the Egyptians, in this way, wished to force their 
 women always to remain at home, as it was regarded 
 indecorous for them to go into the streets bare-foot. 
 Herodotus, on the contrary, reportsf that among the 
 Egyptians the wives went to market and traded, while 
 the men remained at home and attended to the house- 
 hold affairs ; and so it has been maintained that this is 
 only to be understood of the lowest classes of the popu- 
 lace, and some have even gone so far as to conclude, 
 from these reasons, that Herodotus could not have been 
 in the best society in Egypt. By such and similar argu- 
 mentation, and resting on the report of Diodorus,J that 
 the Egyptians, with the exception of the priests, were 
 allowed to marry as many wives as they chose, — though 
 Herodotus says the contrary, while he maintains that 
 every Egyptian had only one wife, — they went so far, 
 pardonable enough, indeed, as to compare the Egyptian 
 life in this respect to that of the other Oriental nations, 
 and with tolerable certainty to suppose, also, that the 
 Egyptians were most oppressive despots ; held their wo- 
 men as slaves, shut up in their harems, guarded strictly 
 
 * Herod. II. 54. f Herod. II. 35. 
 
 J Diod. Sicul. I. 80. Compared with the contrary in Herod. II. 92. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 39 
 
 by eunuchs, and generally in every respect let them 
 play only a subordinate part ; and that how little they 
 regarded their wives, and made hardly any difference 
 among them, is evident from this, that there was a law 
 in Egypt, according to which every child, even one 
 born of a bought slave-woman, was looked upon as 
 equal in birth.* This view once held and established, 
 led to the necessary conclusion that we must pronounce 
 the biblical narrative we have respecting Joseph and 
 Potiphar's wife unworthy of belief, as Joseph was not 
 near the woman, and, least of all, could have reached 
 the harem. f But our view is different when we con- 
 sider the Egyptian monuments and inscriptions. If 
 the Egyptian queens had, indeed, held as subordinate a 
 position as in modern times in the East, we should know 
 as little about them as we do of the Persian and Turk- 
 ish sultanas. This, however, is not the case. His- 
 tory has preserved many names for us, and the monu- 
 ments and hieroglyphic inscriptions have made immortal 
 many more. In the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty, un- 
 der which the Israelites went out of Egypt, and which 
 reigned in Egypt about eighteen hundred years before 
 Christ,J and, therefore, at a very early period, we find 
 on the monuments the names given of royal wives, e.g. 
 Nane- Atari, wife of King Amenophtep ; Taj a, wife of 
 Amenoph the II., &c. ; and when we compare with this 
 the account of Diodorus§ that there was paid to the 
 queens of Egypt greater honor than to their husbands 
 themselves, there, too, appears to have been among 
 them only one wife, or, in case of several, the first and 
 preferred wife always took a place of dignity. From 
 
 * Diod. I. 80. f Von Bohlcn, die Genesis, &c. pp. 371, 372. 
 
 % See my " Thoth," " Ilyksos," &c. p. 237. \ Diod. II. 27. 
 
40 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 various passages of the Greek authors, likewise, it may 
 be concluded that it was an early custom in Egypt to 
 bestow with the daughters whom they wished to marry, 
 from their father's property, a marriage portion; and 
 on this account, also, the Egyptian wives must have 
 stood in far higher estimation and enjoyed a far more 
 agreeable condition than in other parts of the East, 
 where the custom had been introduced, and is yet ob- 
 served, to buy the bride of her parents and kindred for 
 a sum of money, for which reason the husband believes 
 himself justified in treating her as a bought-slave or 
 bondwoman. Women in Egypt, too, lived — and this is 
 the main proof, according to pictorial representations 
 on the monuments— by no means so restrained and im- 
 prisoned as in the East.* Besides social states, where 
 the wives and their husbands are found in the different 
 chambers, and which remind us of similar European do- 
 mestic arrangements, we find them also often in the 
 same chamber mingling together with all the social free- 
 dom of modern enjoyments. The children, too, were 
 not imprisoned in the harem, as is usual now in the 
 East ; they were much more frequently introduced into 
 society, and allowed to sit with the mother or on the 
 father's knee. When my little conductor, therefore, 
 spoke of the harem of the king, he meant by it the 
 chambers of the queen and all the luxury and elegance 
 by which they were furnished ; the female slaves, sing- 
 ers, dancers, and the court-state, which I shall have 
 occasion to describe. But perhaps an allusion may be 
 expected as to the beauty, the charming figure, and 
 loveliness of the Egyptian women. Here I must be 
 silent. All writers know of more to relate respecting 
 * Wilt. II. 889. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 41 
 
 their homeliness than of their charms, and the monu- 
 ments in all respects confirm this judgment. Thick, up- 
 turned lips, large ears standing high on the head ; but 
 no ! let whoever would learn to know them accurately, let 
 him travel to Egypt and observe their descendants, the 
 female Copts : they who at this day hold that there is 
 a charm in fatness, must be apt copiers of their fore- 
 fathers. 
 
 Horus conducted me back again the same way by 
 which we had entered the inside of the palace. We 
 passed beyond the statue of Ptah again into the collo- 
 nade, which at this time we did not cross lengthwise, but 
 turned off to the right. Some steps forward led us into 
 another lofty antechamber, and after we had gone about 
 ten paces we stood before a parti-colored, embroidered, 
 woolen curtain, which shut out the view into the sanc- 
 tuary of the women's chamber. Guards were nowhere 
 to be seen, and my idea of meeting here the watchmen 
 of the harem and eunuchs was not in the least degree 
 confirmed. Only one old slave — a black, bought at the 
 South, who appeared to have grown gray in the service 
 of the royal family as a door-keeper — cowered in one 
 corner of the chamber; but the heat of the day had 
 overcome him, and he was asleep. So we could, without 
 danger, enter ? Oh no ! I dare not do that ! But lift 
 the curtain a little, and cast a curious glance into the 
 interior. The splendor of the women's chamber dazzled 
 my eyes. The floor, composed, no doubt, as that of the 
 whole palace, with plates of alabaster, was covered with 
 carpets wrought or embroidered in the most beautiful 
 manner; the walls and the ceiling were painted blue, 
 and decorated with countless golden stars. Around the 
 walls and in the middle of the chamber stood the most 
 
 4* 
 
42 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 costly and elegant furniture. How can I describe all 
 this splendor, this luxury ! Besides the most beautiful 
 couches, overlaid with covered cloth, and that rested on 
 low footstools erected against the walls,* the royal 
 throne-chair and divan, with high-back supports, stood 
 in the middle of the chamber. This was formed of 
 cedar-wood, furnished with four golden lion-feet, and 
 adorned with every kind of golden decorations. The 
 name of the queen was also immortalized on every one 
 of the feet of the chair in a golden hieroglyphical shield. 
 I read it, Ahmes-t, i.e. daughter of the moon. The 
 cover of the chair was like the walls, — blue, with stars. 
 Divans, also, for two persons, like the one-seated kind, 
 were not wanting, f In one corner, on the floor, lay field- 
 chairs, folded together. Tables, also, of the most elegant 
 kind, stood against the walls, before the couches. I ad- 
 mired the tastefulness of their workmanship. The tops 
 of the tables were round, of fine wood ; they rested, as 
 in many tables of our time, on one foot ; but this foot 
 consisted not, as with us, of a simple thick pillar, but of 
 artistically- wrought, rich, golden, standing human figures, 
 — Africans, slaves, soldiers, and others, — who bore the 
 top on their heads. To give firmness to the table, these 
 figures also stood at the bottom again, on separate 
 wooden footstools. % Upon the table I saw the most 
 splendid vessels for display, of gold, silver, ivory, and 
 variously-colored glass vases, bowls, cups, cans, and 
 pitchers. Especially a large golden vase excited my 
 wonder, the two handles of which were formed by two 
 silver cats that stood with their hind-feet upon the swell 
 of the vase and reached up with the fore-feet to lay 
 hold of the brim. In like manner with all the other 
 * Wilk. II. 190, 199, kc. f Wilk. TT. 191. J Wilk, II, 202. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 43 
 
 vessels, whole figures of animals, or heads of goats, 
 cows, horses, and birds, were used as handles or deco- 
 rations of the covers.* Cups of porcelain, in the shape 
 of lotus-blossoms, with golden leaves, stood around a 
 costly mixing-pitcher, arranged in a circle. 
 
 In a few minutes this place of splendor and royal 
 luxury began to be full of life. Back of the curtain, 
 the same behind which we lay hid, the queen come forth 
 not yet indeed dressed in her ornaments, but only 
 covered by a long garment, full of folds flowing down 
 to the feet ; yet still in her stately, beautiful figure, and 
 in her proud, dignified, majestic gait, easily to be recog- 
 nized as the royal spouse. A throng of companions, 
 maid-servants, and slaves, crowded in after her. Two 
 children, also, of about one and two years old, no doubt 
 royal princes, were brought in by their nurses. The 
 manner in which the children were treated especially 
 fixed my attention. They were neither tied up in 
 bandages or in close garments, but stretched out naked 
 on the carpet of the floor, where nothing hindered them 
 from breathing freely and extending and moving their 
 limbs as they chose. Playthings, likewise, of all sorts, 
 were laid near them ; thus, I saw, for example, dolls, 
 whose limbs, as with us, might be set in motion by a 
 thread hanging down.f In this w T ay, in Old Egypt, all 
 children were appropriately tended and brought up; 
 they were wont to bathe them every day, and, besides, 
 they let them have perfect freedom to stretch themselves 
 out as described. Thus they by degrees, of themselves, 
 exercised their powers of going and running, and as 
 even a fall on the soft carpet did them no harm, they 
 grew rapidly under the eyes of their mothers and nurses, 
 * Wilk. TL 346-849, f Wilk. TT. 427, 
 
44 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 The queen cast a look, beaming with joy and happi- 
 ness, on her children, and seated herself on her throne- 
 chair. At a signal given, the female slaves above men- 
 tioned, who followed her, hastened to the corner, brought 
 out the field-chairs, drew them apart, and arranged them 
 in a semicircle opposite the queen. The queen's com- 
 panions, easily distinguished as Egyptians by their dress 
 and complexion, took their seats on them. They were 
 all homely, as I have sketched them in general above. 
 The toilet of the queen now began : one of the slaves, 
 with a fragrant vessel which contained a pomade, came 
 up to her, while another unbound her long, dark hair, 
 and yet a third approached with a round hand-mirror ;* 
 the queen clapped her hands, and immediately there 
 came forth from the company of female-slaves a lively 
 dancer and sprung into the middle of the chamber. 
 She could have scarcely been sixteen years old; her 
 bright complexion, beautiful, noble features, dark and 
 languishing eyes, marked her out as a daughter of Asia. 
 Her long black hair hung free and unbound down over 
 her shoulders ; she wore only a fine, short, little frock, 
 which was confined above her hips by a costly girdle, 
 and adorned at the lower border by a pointed edge. 
 Her arms and feet were bare ; around her neck she wore 
 an elegant broad neck-kerchief, fastened together with 
 blue and white pearls. In her hand she held a small 
 musical instrument like a guitar, with a little keyboard 
 but a long handle. f 
 
 A symphony on the instrument, played by herself, 
 was the introduction to her dance, and which she ac- 
 companied with a wild melody. I could not enough 
 
 * Wilk. III. 385, 386. f Wilk. II. 301. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 45 
 
 drink in the sight, so charming and multiplied were her 
 passionate movements. Sometimes rising on either of 
 her feet ; sometimes violently beating the floor with her 
 heels ; sometimes turning on this or that foot in a circle ; 
 sometimes with incredible skill springing on high and 
 hovering in the air ; she was in nothing behind the most 
 celebrated female dancers of our day. When, finally, 
 wearied out and exhausted, she ended her play and 
 dancing, the queen threw her a kind and assenting look, 
 but that was all the reward, all the applause which she 
 earned. 
 
 I now gained time once more to turn my eyes to the 
 toilet of the queen, which in the mean time had gone 
 forward. Her raven-black hair was now arranged in in- 
 numerable braids and tresses : a third part of it fell 
 down on the right side ; a third at the left, on her bosom ; 
 and another third covered her neck and shoulders. This 
 style of hair was confined by a costly, broad, golden 
 band across the forehead, taken from the jewel-box.* 
 Her hands, also, were now decorated with rings of every 
 description ; on every finger, even on the two thumbs, 
 she bore at least one, and on the fore and middle fingers 
 two or three rings apiece. f These rings were of the 
 most varied forms : some of them were seal-rings, shaped 
 like ours ; others consisted of serpents, which, after one 
 or more coils, held their tails in their mouths ; and 
 others yet were broad, round finger-rings, with the most 
 diverse ornaments and inscriptions. Whether the queen, 
 as I supposed, also wore ear-rings, I could not easily 
 see, as her ears were entirely covered up by the tresses 
 of hair hanging down on the side of her head. Around 
 
 * Wilk. III. 3G8. f Wilk. III. 372, 374. 
 
46 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the wrists she had, likewise, golden bracelets, which con- 
 sisted of several chain-like parts ; on every one of these 
 hung still other small golden ornaments, — little figures of 
 the gods, animals, plants, and instruments. Thus I saw 
 the queen decked when my eye returned from the beauti- 
 ful dancer to her chair. Another female-servant ap- 
 proached to place on her the costly neck-kerchief and 
 girdle, when the old watchman in the ante-chamber where 
 we were snored so loud that we drew back affrighted. 
 We feared lest they might have heard his snoring with- 
 in, — but they had noticed nothing ; and when we again 
 looked through the curtain the queen's toilet was over, 
 and at a new signal from her hand a table was brought 
 forward. She beckoned to one of her playfellows, who 
 immediately drew her stool nearer, and the servants, at 
 some words of their mistress, hurried out, and, after a 
 few moments, returned with a costly little ivory box. 
 What did it contain ? 
 
 The queen opened the box : it contained a number of 
 little white balls, and the same number, also, of black 
 ones, which were divided among the two players. She 
 herself took the white, her companion the black, stones ; 
 both stood them up on the table, in a row, separately. 
 First, I noticed that there was a square in the centre of 
 the top of the table, which was divided, after the manner 
 of our draught-board, into separate spaces, there being 
 twelve times twelve, i.e. one hundred and forty-four 
 spaces.* That games were played by the old Egyptians, 
 and these of very different kinds, is well known and 
 attested by history, and still further by old legends. 
 Thus, the Egyptian god, Thoth or Hermes, played 
 
 * Wilk. II. 419. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 47 
 
 draughts with the moon-goddess, Selene, and won from 
 her five days.* Rhampsinit, the well-known Egyptian 
 king, in his descent to hell, threw dice with Isis or Ceres, 
 and won of her a golden mantle, f The queen's play 
 was the signal for universal freedom and enjoyment. 
 Some also seated themselves to play draughts ; others 
 threw dice, which were formed exactly as ours, and 
 marked with numbers from one to six, in the shape of 
 as many eyes; J while others still played the game of 
 morra, already described above, or odd or even. The 
 scene became more lively, noisy, and boisterous. Be- 
 sides, the female-slaves, with their musical instruments, 
 harps, flutes, and tambourines, began to set up a 
 tumultuous din which scarcely deserved to be called 
 music. 
 
 I would gladly have seen the end of the play, and 
 learned whether the queen or her fellow-player won; 
 but suddenly the watchman, who had hitherto slumbered 
 close by us, roused himself up. The boisterous music 
 waked him from his soft dreams. With big eyes he 
 stared at us. Horus cast on him a pleasant, roguish 
 look, and handed him a gold ring which he drew off from 
 his finger. The black cunningly grinned a smile, and 
 allowed us to make our retreat unhindered ; probably he 
 considered us a pair of young fellows of the priestly- 
 class, whom a love-intrigue with one of the court-dames 
 had lured hither. It was then as now, "There is no- 
 thing new under the sun." 
 
 We left the king's palace. On our wandering from 
 the city (for we hurried out into the air as the sun was 
 
 * Diod. I. 13. Plut. Is. v. Os. 12. f Herod. II. 122. 
 
 X Wilk. II. 424. 
 
48 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 DOW at mid-day) we came to an open space where young 
 soldiers were exercising their weapons and engaged in 
 various bodily feats of skill. Combats, wrestling, and 
 throwing quoits were the chief practice ;* but, without 
 stopping, we hastened on, in order to see and be able to 
 learn more new things. In a quarter of an hour we had 
 reached a gate and entered a fertile plain. 
 
 * Wilk. II. 438, 130. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE VINEYARD — THE PROPHECIES — AX EGYPTIAN 
 RATIONALIST. 
 
 We walked toward the west, and in a short period 
 reached the famous canal of Joseph, which ran to the 
 distance of thirty German miles ("ninety English) parallel 
 with the Nile, on the west side, and served for irriga- 
 tion, and hy its overflow increased the fertility of the 
 land. The overflows of the Nile usually began then, 
 and do so now, toward the end of August ; hut they 
 were at this time anticipated, for, according to my judg- 
 ment, little Horus had transported me into Egypt in the 
 time of the fruit-harvest, and probably we were now in 
 July, in which month, as I had heretofore read, the vin- 
 tage takes place.* The whole tract of land which we 
 ed through was, in the highest degree, fruitful; fig- 
 trees (Ficus Syeamorus, Lin.) which grew on Loth sides 
 of the road overshadowed the way, as every one of them 
 spread out its thick-leaved branches so far that it covered 
 a space of thirty paces in diameter with its shade. These 
 trees had broad, oval, blunt, heart-shaped leaves on the 
 stems, and the fruit did not grow, as in other fig-trees, on 
 the branches, but was produced in bunches from the 
 trunks themselves. This fruit, as I learned from Horus, 
 the most common and acceptable food of the poor. 
 Although the tree yearly bears ripe fruit, yet we could 
 
 * Hartman's Egypt, pp. 214* 21 ^- 
 
 49 
 
50 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 not then taste of it, for one harvest appeared to be over 
 and the new fruit was yet very small and unripe. 
 
 When we had reached the canal of Joseph we turned 
 to the left, toward the south, along its bank. Here, for 
 the first time, I saw little Egyptian boats which con- 
 veyed articles of traffic, especially fruits in elegantly- 
 woven baskets, to the North. They were built of the 
 wood of the Egyptian mimosa, because this, in ancient 
 times, was considered indestructible in water ; the other 
 parts — the sails, ropes, &c. — were formed of the 'bark of 
 the papyrus-stalk.* In the smaller boats there were two 
 rowers on each side, a fifth was employed at the helm, 
 and a sixth about the mast ; in the larger ones a greater 
 number of rowers was required ; but all glided on with 
 incredible rapidity. f As we proceeded forward we 
 reached a garden fenced in, the simple square gate of 
 which consisted of three large hewn stones : two of these 
 standing upright formed the two sides ; a third was laid 
 flat across, upon them. The gate was open, and we 
 entered. On the right first met my eye a large water- 
 basin, which was planted around with trees; on the 
 left lay outstretched one of the most luxuriant vine- 
 yards I had ever seen.W The soil, indeed, was moist 
 and marshy, but the grape in Egypt, as I afterward saw, 
 throve as well in the midst of water as the marsh-plants. J 
 The portion of the garden on the left was intersected by 
 a broad path, which we struck into ; on both sides of 
 it forked sticks of about half the height of a man were 
 set in the earth in regular rows ; upon the fork rested 
 other long sticks, and on these ran along the most noble 
 grape-vines. Beautiful large white and blue grapes hung 
 
 * Pliny, XIII. 11. f wilk - IIL 205 > 211 - 
 
 X Michaud: Correspondenz aus dem Orient, t. ii. p. 12. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 51 
 
 on the vines, and two merry lads of about twelve years 
 old ran up and down with rattles, which they constantly 
 shook, to frighten away the greedy and bold niching 
 birds. Soon we came to other laborers, who broke off 
 the grapes and gathered them into a kind of tall wicker 
 baskets. The overseer, resting on his staff, stood near 
 by, carefully inspecting all. We requested permission, 
 which we readily obtained, to take a look at the various 
 operations ; at the same time we learned that the owner 
 of the vintage was commander of the royal body-guard, 
 and was expected toward evening, as he had given direc- 
 tions to put everything in order for his visit. 
 
 The chief-superintendent kindly offered to show us, 
 and also to explain to us the other arrangements. He 
 intrusted his supervision to an old workman, and begged 
 us to proceed onward. So we soon reached a building 
 resting on pillars, in which the wine was pressed out. In 
 the middle of it, something like a yard and a half high 
 and four yards long and broad, there was a beautifully 
 ornamented box of hard mimosa-wood that had at the 
 four corners four pillars, on which rested, likewise, a 
 firm wooden roof. From the middle of the roof hung 
 down five ropes, to which five workmen held fast with 
 their hands. In this box w T ere cast the grapes plucked 
 from the vines; the workmen walked about in a circuit 
 with firm step, holding constantly by the ropes, and thus 
 trod out the grapes on all sides. Soon so much juice 
 was trodden out that they stood in the must tip to their 
 ankles. A stop-cock was now opened in the side of the 
 box and the juice let off into another receptacle. 
 
 But this was not the only mode in which wine was 
 pressed out. In one corner stood a large earthen vessel ; 
 two workmen put grapes into a linen bag, and in the 
 
52 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 same way as our washerwomen are wont to wring out 
 wet clothes, they seized upon the bag at both ends, one 
 twisted to the right and the other to the left, and the 
 juice thus pressed* out ran into the vessel standing under- 
 neath till nothing but the skins and stems were left in 
 the bag, when it was emptied, cleaned, and filled with 
 new grapes. 
 
 For preserving the wine thus obtained large two- 
 handled pitchers, tapering at the bottom, were used, 
 which were then carried away by other workmen and 
 leaned in a row against the wall in a deep cellar.* 
 
 When I expressed my surprise at finding such a good 
 cultivation of the wine here, so contrary to the old 
 writers, Horus replied, " Such and similar vineyards you 
 would find in the whole valley of the Nile, even up to 
 the island of Elephantis and the Cataracts, where it is 
 said to be the southern boundary of Egypt. I could 
 name to you at least ten different kinds of Egyptian 
 grape-vines, which, as with you, were called after the 
 places where they are cultivated, and partly, too, are 
 celebrated on account of their excellence. Generally 
 here in this country much wine is consumed and drank ; 
 it is used liberally in various forms with the offerings of 
 the kings to the gods ; even to the priests the enjoyment 
 of it is not forbidden, but they receive regular daily 
 allowances during the period of their temple-service ; and 
 to every one of the two thousand soldiers who form the 
 continual body-guard of the king, daily, four measures 
 (quarts) of wine are given out by the Government Office 
 of Supplies. The beer which we drank this morning is 
 more a drink of the lower classes and poorer people ; 
 the king, priests, and soldiers, on the contrary, drink 
 * Wilk. II. 146-157. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 53 
 
 wine; and even foreign kinds of wine are every year 
 brought into Egypt in large quantities, from Greece and 
 Phenicia. Why did the Egyptians find it necessary to 
 pass a law prescribing to the king only a fixed small 
 quantity of wine for daily use, if they had not been from 
 the earliest period addicted to the drinking of it ?"* 
 
 While the chief-overseer was giving some directions at 
 the wine-presses to the workmen, and Horus and I went 
 again into the alley which intersected the vine-plantings, 
 I saw in the opposite end a young maiden coming out to 
 meet us, who bore in her appearance the most unmistak- 
 able marks of sorrow and trouble. On account of the 
 noon-day heat she was clad only in a long linen garment ; 
 her walk was slow, her look was wild and downcast to the 
 ground, her hair fell negligently and dishevelled over 
 her shoulders ; she allowed her arms sometimes to hang 
 motionless and idly ; sometimes she raised her hands in 
 order to cover her face, and probably to hide her tears 
 from the laborers whom she passed. With sympathy for 
 her I asked Horus w T ho she was. He related to me the 
 following sorrowful history :— 
 
 " That young maiden whom you see coming toward us 
 there so slowly is the daughter of the steward with whom 
 we have just spoken ; her name is Alula. It is now 
 almost three years since she became so unhappy, sad, 
 and desponding. At that time her father had an able 
 workman to whom he could commit all, who took charge 
 of his work, and under whose care all throve in the best 
 manner. On this account, also, the steward loved him 
 very greatly, and readily promised him his daughter's 
 hand, as they both cherished a mutual affection. The 
 
 *Rosellini, p. 37G. Wilk. II, 164. Herod. II. 37, 168; III. 3. 
 Diod. I. 70. 
 
 5* 
 
54 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 young laborer was named Muimas, i.e. the Lion-son, be- 
 cause his father, on account of his incredible bodily 
 strength, was called the Lion. The son, too, was stout 
 and powerfully built, in short, an ornament of the 
 country people of Egypt. Now it happened that the 
 country, and especially Lower Egypt, which we call 
 Sahet, i.e. the North, was threatened by a mighty foe. 
 The king thought that the standing-army of four hun-4 
 dred thousand men of the soldier-class was not enough, 
 and therefore determined to double it by strong and 
 powerful persons from the other classes.* A call for the 
 formation of such a levy to protect the realm went 
 through the whole land; in every district appeared 
 royal officers, who chose out the most powerful and 
 fittest and carried them off, willing or unwilling, with 
 them. So Muimas was torn away from his Alula, 
 brought to Memphis, there armed, drilled some weeks in 
 the exercise of weapons in the use of which he soon 
 distinguished himself, and about three miles from here, 
 on the other side of the Nile, was attached to a company 
 of soldiers who formed the . garrison of a fortified city. 
 Thus the months passed on and the longing of the young 
 people for each other grew stronger from day to day. 
 After half a year Muimas once came from the watch and 
 learned that not till two days more he would be called 
 again to service ; the desire of seeing her unmanned 
 him, and he stole out of the city and hastened to his 
 beloved Alula, with the firm purpose to return to his 
 place again within the two days. He spent a happy 
 day, and the next day, in the morning, broke forth in 
 good time to reach the garrison at the usual hour. But 
 fortune did not favor him ; hardly a mile from here, 
 * Diod. I. 54. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 55 
 
 walking in the open field, lie heard on one side, in the 
 bushes, some one crying out, in distress, for help. I do 
 not know whether you are acquainted with the wise law 
 which commands every one, if on his way he see murder 
 or violent outrage, to hasten to assist the sufferer and 
 prevent the deed, and which threatens every one who 
 neglects it with the punishment of death, as well as to 
 the murderer himself. Lovers are good reckoners. 
 Muimas had counted ..accurately every minute, so that he 
 could be in his place at the right time, but he must not 
 stop a moment on his way. So he wavered between the 
 fulfilment of this philanthropic law and the fear of hav- 
 ing his desertion discovered. Then two men rushed out 
 of the bushes, the one defenceless, the other, his perse- 
 cutor, armed with a short sword. The persecuted man 
 was a friend, known to Muimas, and duty to his fellow- 
 man and the law enjoined him to lend his aid. He threw 
 himself between the two, and after a quarter of an hour's 
 fight, in which Muimas bore away a slight wound, the 
 murderer fled. But by this act of philanthropy Muimas 
 was rendered forever unhappy. He was obliged, to- 
 gether with his friend, immediately to satisfy the further 
 demand of the law ; he must haste with him to the near- 
 est magistrate of the district to make out an official no- 
 tice of the case.* Thus hour after hour passed on, and 
 the poor fellow returned sick, pale, and wounded, to his 
 garrison, where he had been long missed and his escape 
 discovered. He was seized and placed before a court ; 
 he made a good defence, but with us the law only is 
 supreme, and disgrace follows desertion. He was de- 
 clared by the pitiless judges dishonorable, doomed to 
 forced labor, and sent to the quarries in Upper Egypt. 
 * Diod. I. 77. 
 
56 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 There he still pines ; there he must, day after day, labor 
 in chains without any relaxation. Foreign soldiers, who 
 are ignorant of the Egyptian language, there guard the 
 unhappy criminals, and the slightest remissness is pun- 
 ished by being beaten with cudgels.* In the mean time 
 poor Alula's heart is broken. She accuses herself of 
 having caused the misfortune ; and who knows but that 
 by her solicitations she did not lead the unfortunate fel- 
 low to his fault. A half year ago she threw herself at 
 the feet of the queen and implored her favor and inter- 
 cession ; the owner of the vineyard, also, who was kindly 
 interested in the welfare of the poor maiden, employed 
 his efforts for the unfortunate man ; but up to this day 
 no favorable change has taken place in the matter." 
 
 In the mean time the sorrow-stricken girl had ap- 
 proached us. We addressed her kindly; but, as she re- 
 garded me as a soldier, and perhaps thereby her anguish 
 and recollection were yet more excited, she covered her 
 face with her hands and tears burst forth anew from her 
 eyes. It was not till her father came up that she sought 
 to recover herself, and in a few words, often interrupted 
 by her sobs, told us the following particulars : — 
 
 She had, as Ave learned, some time since, with the 
 knowledge and consent of her father, left the district, 
 and, provided with the necessary food, in the anguish of 
 her heart hastened to the temple of Ammon, in the 
 desert, to inquire of the Oracle whether and when her 
 lover might be soon released. She had shunned no toils, 
 no privation, and finally, exhausted and half dead, 
 reached the end of her journey. The answer to her 
 question was unfavorable. " The time," so the priests 
 gave reply, " will not be soon ; till thy lover has lived 
 * Diod. I. 78; IIT. 12-14. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 57 
 
 through half his life he will remain imprisoned." " Ah ! 
 and he is only twenty-three years old," added the un- 
 happy girl, sobbing. With death in her heart, and com- 
 fortless, she returned ; and yesterday the walls and towers 
 of Memphis greeted her. She determined to ask also 
 of Apis, — "in him must dwell the soul of Osiris; from 
 him the God himself might reply." She hurried to the 
 temple ; she crossed the vestibule ; she entered the shrine, 
 and with beating heart stood before the divine black 
 bull. Breathless she called out to him the question, 
 "Will the king at last show favor and compassion ?" and 
 cast down before the animal his favorite food. Apis 
 turned, bellowing, away ; he despised the food offered 
 him, and by this unfavorable sign gave an undoubted 
 negative answer. She was ready to despair, but she 
 would yet try the last oracle, that of the children play- 
 ing in the vestibule, who are regarded as inspired, and 
 whose innocent, accidental expressions are observed in 
 going out of the temple and considered as an answer of 
 the God. She stepped out of the sanctuary into the 
 vestibule. "No ! I will not," she heard the smallest of 
 the children cry out, who would not give up from his 
 hand a ball with which the whole company were playing. 
 
 " No ! he will not ;" so she concluded her story ; " the 
 king will and will not show favor and compassion, and 
 I shall never live to see the return of my beloved 
 Muimas." 
 
 Vainly we tried to comfort her ; leaning on her father, 
 she left us, sobbing. The story had put me in a sorrow- 
 ful mood. I was also wilted down by the heat, and 
 Horus probably felt very much the same. Silent and 
 sad we stretched ourselves out beside the water-basin, 
 under a shady tree. 
 
58 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 " And can you really look with so little compassion on 
 the sorrow and sadness of that young maiden?" said I, 
 after a quarter of an hour's mutual silence. 
 
 " And what can I do ?" asked Horus. 
 
 "Undeceive her; inspire her with courage; tell her 
 the truth ; let her hope for the deliverance of her be- 
 loved," cried I, excited. 
 
 " Can I do it ?" replied Horus, quietly, and with com- 
 posure. "Do you regard me as omniscient? I know 
 only the past, not the future, with which the gods have 
 nothing to do. The future lies in the hands of the king. 
 Whether he will condemn or show favor, who else can 
 know?" 
 
 "Now, then, if you know not," I objected, "how can 
 Amnion or Apis or Osiris know? Are not thus all 
 your prophecies and oracles lies and deception? Un- 
 deceive her, then ; tell her that she must put no faith in 
 Ammon or Apis ; that hope may yet be cherished ; that 
 the priests — pardon me the expression — are deceivers." 
 
 "The people wish to be deceived," replied Horus, 
 calmly. " But if any are in a situation to know the fu- 
 ture, it is the priests. They direct the king ; they watch 
 his thoughts ; they can know whether they will advise a 
 pardon or condemnation. Do not, too, sometimes, pro- 
 phets appear with you ; are there not among you for- 
 tune-tellers by cards ? And do you believe that the 
 cards are less deceptive than our Apis ? Is it not an 
 equal chance when with you the cards lie in this way 
 or that ; and when with us Apis eats or does not eat ? 
 And yet our priests have oftentimes foretold the truth ; 
 often announced what was correct. Why? Because our 
 priests are all-powerful, and because they learn and un- 
 derstand everything; because they guide by invisible 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. b\) 
 
 threads all events ; because with prophets, gipsies, and 
 card-conjurors they have their assistants and spies, who, 
 beforehand, acquaint them with the relations of life, in- 
 clinations and wishes of those who question them ; and 
 because, in short, chance often plays a great part, and 
 if the prophet is only cunning, and makes his replies 
 obscure and mysterious, the half of them at least will 
 be correct. Prophesy much and you will be reckoned a 
 great prophet. For, on account of one accidentally cor- 
 rect answer, the people will pardon a hundred blunders. 
 Despise not, then, our wisdom. Our Apis, who announces 
 the future, is as good as your divining rods, your magic 
 keys, your dancing and speaking tables, and yet more 
 wondrous things. Apis is an animal like every other ; 
 your wooden prophets are wood, like other wood. Leave 
 to the people their playthings which are so necessary 
 that for four thousand years they have not been able to 
 give them up ; leave to them an imagined look into the 
 future !" 
 
 I neither could nor would say anything against his 
 views. He spoke like a German philosopher, and I was 
 silent. We moved further into the shade, and the sun 
 sunk continually deeper in the horizon. A refreshing 
 breeze spread abroad a coolness, and I was about to ask 
 of my little conductor to resume our walk, when a noise 
 of the neighing of horses, the baying of hounds, and 
 men's voices in joyous talk came thick upon our ears. 
 We quickly sprung up, and, all curiosity, hurried to the 
 entrance of the garden. 
 
 On the same road on which we had reached the gar- 
 den there approached a procession of ten or twelve 
 wagons, (5) dashing forward at the quickest pace. The 
 wagons were mostly two-wheeled, every one drawn by 
 
60 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 two horses. The wheels, which almost all had six spokes, 
 turned on an axle round at the end and square in the mid- 
 dle, on which the wagon-body rested. This was rounded 
 in front and open in the back part, so that the passen- 
 gers could mount into it from behind ; the bottom space 
 was wide enough to take in conveniently two persons 
 standing ; the sides so high that they covered those who 
 stood within almost up to their middle. These wagons, 
 of course, had no top ; the shaft, fastened below in the 
 middle of the axle, stretched along under the wagon *and 
 was bent up at the bulge in front, and then reached on 
 in a straight direction to the necks of the horses. All 
 the parts just described — the spokes of the wheels, the 
 wagon-bodies, the edge running along on the sides, and, 
 finally, the shaft — were overlaid in various forms with 
 metal and adorned with ornaments, and, in some of the 
 wagons, even decked and inlaid with precious stones and 
 pearls. 
 
 The horses were yoked to the wagon; the shining 
 yoke, mostly formed of metal, was of a crooked shape, 
 having a bow for the neck of each of the animals ; it was 
 fastened on the necks of the horses and to the shaft-pole 
 by broad leather straps also rich and variously orna- 
 mented in colors. The leather harness was just like that 
 of modern times, and hence needs no special description. 
 On every wagon stood two persons, the master and the 
 servant or driver, the latter holding, the reins with both 
 hands ; in his right hand, also, he held the whip, which 
 consisted of a wooden handle and one or more thongs or 
 twisted cords fastened on it. At the bottom end of the 
 whip-stock there was a short leather sling, which the 
 driver wound round his wrist, so that he could let 
 the whip, when not in use, hang down without losing 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 61 
 
 it.* Hounds, of different species and sizes, the faithful 
 attendants of their masters, sprung forward near the 
 wagons. Thus the wagon procession quickly drew near, 
 which already at the distance had attracted our notice 
 by the noise which it occasioned. In front, as we after- 
 ward learned, was the master and proprietor of the gar- 
 den, the already-mentioned commander of the royal 
 body-guard, named by his friends Atnute, i.e. the Un- 
 believer, because in confidential discourse he had often 
 allowed to gleam out unbelief as to the gods of the State. 
 He was born at Memphis, and traced his genealogy back 
 to the oldest times of the first priestly colony, and pre- 
 tended to be in the possession of important original 
 documents and writings which contained valuable infor- 
 mation respecting the origin of the Egyptian State ; but 
 no one had seen them. He was, in the highest degree, 
 scientifically educated; in his youth he, like all the 
 wealthy Egyptians, had been instructed by the priests 
 in the various kinds of writing, and in arithmetic, 
 geometry, astronomy, and even also in astrology, f As 
 a youth he already had such a special gift for the solu- 
 tion of difficult questions, and exhibited so remarkable a 
 natural understanding, that the priests felt they must 
 either draw him over to themselves, and commit him to 
 their interest, or destroy him. They tried the former 
 course; he was initiated into the first degree of the 
 temple-mysteries, but he had soon seen down into the 
 lowest depth, and quitted the temple forever, dissatisfied. 
 About this time he had also drawn on himself the eyes 
 of the reigning monarch by his peculiar boldness and 
 bravery, and was soon advanced to his present prominent 
 position. But the scornful and indignant priests labored 
 
 * Wilk. I. 339, 354. f Diod. I. 81. 
 
 6 
 
62 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 for his overthrow ; their vengeful hand waved, like the 
 sword of Damocles, over his head. 
 
 In the other wagons followed his friends, most of 
 them, likewise, members of the warrior-class, all, under 
 that glorious sky, being clad in simple tunics. Their 
 woolen mantles were to be put over them in the evening, 
 on their return, and were, therefore, rolled up and bound 
 on to the edge of the wagons. Having now reached the 
 garden, the masters sprung from the wagons and entered. 
 By Horus's advice I introduced myself to them as a 
 soldier from Pelusium ; my little conductor had rapidly 
 run his eye over them and ascertained that no one from 
 that region was in the company, and that I could not, 
 therefore, be punished for my falsehood. I was kindly 
 greeted, and hospitably invited to share in the vintage- 
 feast. At the further end of the garden a tent was 
 erected ; thither the company betook themselves, and I 
 followed as a mute spectator. The interior arrange- 
 ments of the tent were simple, just such as the steward 
 had been able to make. Simple wooden tables, and com- 
 mon fourfooted reed chairs with perforated wooden backs, 
 stood around.* The host excused himself, on this ac- 
 count, with a short, courtly address of welcome. They 
 seated themselves and spoke of the news of the day, 
 while the steward appeared with some slaves and brought 
 in food and cups. The simple meal which the steward 
 had prepared in haste consisted of various meats, dried 
 fish that were caught in Lake Moeris, and, as vegetables, 
 roasted lotus-bulbs, which in size and taste were quite 
 like our potatoes. f The black bread, such as I had 
 tasted in the baker's shop, was specially praised as 
 
 * Wilk. II. 192. f PHn y Nat - Hist - XIIL 12 - 
 

 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 63 
 
 something rare and excellent by the wealthy Egyptian 
 epicures, who usually were wont to eat wheat bread. 
 
 The short, simple meal, in which I also shared, and 
 which, by its good relish and cleanliness of preparation 
 perfectly satisfied me, was soon over ; and scarcely was 
 it ended, when the master gave orders to bring in some 
 pitchers of the must or wine-juice just prepared. The 
 cups were filled, and Atnute first emptied his own to the 
 health and welfare- of the company. The rest followed 
 his example, but I could hardly bring my mind to it, 
 while I recollected in what way some hours before it had 
 been pressed and trodden out with the feet. Reflection 
 or hesitation, however, was of no use to me ; suddenly, 
 in the middle of the tent stood, right over against me, a 
 slave with the frightful skeleton of a dead man in his 
 hand, and cried out to me the horrible words, — 
 
 "Look on this; drink and be joyful, for so wilt thou 
 look after death !"* 
 
 Thus compelled, I dashed off my cup* 
 
 The fresh, unfermented juice of the grape tasted 
 sweet and pleasant, and appeared to be not in the least 
 intoxicating ; I, therefore, willingly allowed my cup to 
 be filled anew by a slave who stood prepared to do so. 
 Soon the pitchers brought were emptied, and now, after 
 the fresh must had been praised on all sides, began the 
 proper drinking bout. Other kinds of wine also were 
 brought in from the cellar, — wines from Upper and Lower 
 Egypt, from Philse, Thebes, and Sais, and even foreign 
 wines from Greece and Phenicia were not wanting, f 
 The company drank bravely, sometimes from one, and 
 sometimes from another sort, and every moment they 
 became more and more gay, jovial, and unrestrained. 
 * Herod. II. 78. f Rossell. II. 377. Herod. III. G. 
 
64 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 Only the steward, who went back and forth to receive 
 and execute the commands of his lord, could not forget 
 the misfortune of his child, and continued sad, gloomy, 
 and melancholy. Even the master, although he was 
 busy in drinking, observed his sadness, and asked the 
 cause. 
 
 But hardly had the steward answered, and mentioned 
 the name of his daughter, Alula, and her misfortunes, 
 than the whole company broke out in commendation of 
 her, praised her virtue, beauty, and modesty, and loudly 
 called for her to come in. 
 
 Alula was called in by her father. 
 
 Bashful and timid she entered the tent, into the circle 
 of the men, but her fear was groundless ; she was re- 
 ceived kindly and respectfully by all. She must tell 
 her story, and with sorrowful countenance and resigned 
 heart she narrated her recent experience, as well as what 
 had transpired before. 
 
 "It is all a trick!" cried out Atnute, when she had 
 ended her story. "Believe not the prophecies of the 
 gods; there are no gods !" And although he was re- 
 buked by the warning looks of his more rational friends, 
 he went on thus : — 
 
 " I will reveal to thee, and to all of you, my friends, 
 the past. The first men whom the earth brought forth 
 lived simply, and unsinning ; without envy, hatred, 
 or passion, they pastured their herds, and in har- 
 mony ate the fruit of their industry ; but they did not 
 remain so long. All the passions of which man is now 
 capable reposed and slumbered in his nature, and gradu- 
 ally came into appearance and influence. Inequality and 
 injustice got the upperhand ; the stronger oppressed the 
 weaker, and at last one, by the power of his spirit, sub- 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 65 
 
 jugated all the others. Thus in Meroe there was a wise 
 man named Sabo. But could he long hold in order the 
 unbridled masses of the people, with all their lusts, in- 
 clinations, and passions ? No ! He needed a strong 
 body-guard ; stout troops which might protect the power 
 which his own spirit created. The body-guard was — 
 superstition ; the troops — the gods. He found out the 
 only means which can afford comfort for all human sor- 
 rows, troubles, and injustice— religion. He spake to 
 his fellow-countrymen of the gods ; of a supreme God, 
 Ammon. If he saw the oppressed, who were lamenting, 
 he pointed them to Ammon for help ; if he saw the un- 
 just or wicked, he threatened them with the wrath and 
 punishment of Ammon ; if he saw the sick and suffer- 
 ing, he promised them alleviation by prayer to the gods. 
 And every one had a wish, a petition ; every one needed 
 a consolation, a hope ; an invisible power must give them 
 aid and comfort where human power could not comfort 
 or help them. But still more. The wise Sabo pre- 
 tended to have intercourse with other gods ; to have seen 
 them, to have talked with them, and to have received in- 
 structions from them. So he became a mediator between 
 men and the gods ; he became the all-powerful priest of 
 the divinity, and, what no power on earth could ac- 
 complish, invented names of innumerable gods, — they 
 founded a state and civil security. But this power was 
 neither Ammon, nor Osiris, nor Isis : it was a divine 
 breath which all here on earth cannot comprehend or 
 explain. Men had already gone out from the schools of 
 our priests who had proclaimed to other nations a new 
 and only God, and called him the Eternal ; the most 
 High ; the Almighty ; the Benefactor ; the Dispenser of 
 blessings. Do we not say the same of our gods ? Do not 
 
 a* 
 
Gii THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the inscriptions of our temples proclaim the same doc- 
 trine ?* The God of the Shepherds — that Jehovah is 
 our Ammon ; and that well-known Moses, of whom you 
 have all heard, with his god will govern his new-founded 
 State firmly and surely as our forefathers governed the 
 particular States which extend from Meroe over all 
 Egypt, even up to the shores of the sea toward the 
 North. A higher, I readily allow, a diviner spirit, runs 
 through all nature — that is, Order. But this spirit is 
 neither Ammon, nor Osiris, nor Isis, nor Jehovah : it is 
 an inconceivable and inexplicable spirit ! Men pray to 
 it sometimes under the name of this, and sometimes of 
 that god. Who propounded to Ammon, Osiris, Thoth, 
 as the founders were named, the holy divine laws ? Or- 
 der, Nature, gave them, urged them on the human law- 
 giver. Dissolve them, and the universe falls into nothing. 
 Do you now conceive the wisdom of Sabo ? The wise 
 man would obey these laws without divine command, for 
 he recognizes their necessity; but the people need a com- 
 manding, forbidding, rewarding and punishing divinity. 
 And now, Alula, What is your Ammon, whose oracles 
 you trust, to which you have so fervently prayed ? What 
 is Apis, whose signs of marvel you give yourself up to 
 with such unshaken faith ? A consolation, a refuge for 
 the good ; a terrific image and scarecrow for the wicked ; 
 a playball in the hand of the wise ; the invisible scepter 
 in the hand of powerful rulers ; a chain, finally, which 
 with iron force binds kings to the will of the almighty 
 priesthood ! If you ask how I obtained this knowledge, 
 how these false gods have arisen here or emigrated into 
 Egypt, this, too, you may learn. Our State is not as 
 old as we boast. In the earliest time,( 6 ) south of Egypt, 
 
 * Plutarch de Is. et Os. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 67 
 
 between the immeasurable wastes and the Eastern Sea, 
 the dwelling-places of the Ethiopians, the priestly State, 
 Meroe, was known as the mightiest and most civilized and 
 famous. As the highest god, the creator and ruler of the 
 world, according to the doctrine of Sabo, Ammon was 
 adored ; his priests chose after their number the king, who, 
 clad only with the name of this dignity, and always de- 
 pendent on the priests, remained a play-ball in their hands. 
 From Meroe to Egypt went out several priestly colonies, 
 with similar institutions, constitutions, and laws, which 
 grew up into priestly States that were governed after the 
 names of elected kings, but, in fact, by the ambitious 
 priests. Besides the lesser ones, were particularly cele- 
 brated, among these, Memphis, Thebes, and Heliopolis. 
 The power of the priests increased to unlimited hier- 
 archies ; the kings remained only tools in the hands of the 
 almighty priesthood. Thus centuries passed on ; the 
 relation and the internal power of the wise, these pos- 
 sessors of all science and all salutary knowledge, re- 
 mained the same. Intrenched or hid behind these mys- 
 teries and their secrets, they could boldly and fearlessly 
 offer resistance to every assault of an internal foe. Only 
 a few rulers dared to raise themselves above the power 
 of the priests. Once only began the morning dawn of 
 a freer development. The illustrious Sesostris boldly 
 united all these little States under his sceptre ; the power 
 of the king extended over the whole empire, grew into 
 strength and authority ; the power of the priests was 
 threatened, and had to tremble lest it should be forced 
 into the background. That period of splendor is over ; 
 all the States are, indeed, united into one realm, but the 
 priests bear sway as before, and the king is powerless 
 in their hands.' ' 
 
68 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 He had spoken thus far ; most were silent, bewil- 
 dered by his bold language ; some laughed. Only one, a 
 gray-headed soldier, ventured to contradict him and to 
 take the power and existence of the gods under his 
 protection. But Atnute would not let him speak out. 
 "I will prove to you," he cried, more and more heated 
 by wine, — "I will prove to you that your pretended 
 gods have lied to poor Alula." He beckoned to his 
 servant and to the young maiden that they should come 
 up nearer. 
 
 The servant gave to him a papyrus-roll, elegantly 
 wrapped up, which he slowly unfolded. 
 
 " There, read that !" he cried to the maiden, while he 
 held the sheet before her eyes, " and see that men can 
 effect more than our gods ! Here is the secret of the 
 king, — Muimas is pardoned!" 
 
 " Pardoned!" cried Alula, with joyful astonishment. 
 The next moment she and her father lay at the feet of 
 the skeptic, and wet with her tears his hands, which 
 they caught hold of and kissed, full of gratitude. The 
 friends sprang up and crowded together ; they wished 
 to see for themselves the important document. But 
 Atnute waved them back to their places, caused the 
 cups to be filled anew, and with a gracious look on the 
 father and daughter, whom he quickly raised up, he 
 said, " This cup to innocence and love ! Rejoice, Alula; 
 before the ten days of this week have passed your be- 
 loved will be at your side. You know the estate which 
 I own east of the river ? I will lease it to him ; you shall 
 go with him into the house that is new-built there. Now 
 go in peace." — Happy in her new thoughts and hopes, 
 she withdrew. 
 
 As soon as the men were alone, and after they had 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 69 
 
 emptied one cup to the health of the gracious monarch 
 and another to that of their host, they returned to their 
 earlier conversation, although the minds of many were 
 so clouded by their enjoyment of the wine that they 
 scarcely had sense enough to understand. The old 
 gray-haired soldier, who had already contradicted At- 
 nute, turned to him this time with the question, — 
 
 " So you then doubt every possibility of searching 
 into the future, since you have no gods, no Ammon, no 
 Isis, no Thoth, no Serapis ; and for you no soul of Osiris 
 dwells in Apis ?" 
 
 "Not so;" replied Atnute. "I believe only in that 
 which I see, and which I have myself learned by expe- 
 rience. I have never seen a god with my eyes ; I have 
 had no correct answers from Apis. But there is an in- 
 reversible power — a fate, which no one can escape, and 
 this the stars determine. Astrology is the only true 
 and unobjectionable thing which your superstition con- 
 tains. " 
 
 " And why the stars and not the gods ?" asked several 
 voices. 
 
 "Because their effect is visible," he went on. "Does 
 not every one feel the efficient power of the sun ? Do 
 you not see that by it all nature is warmed, quickened, 
 and rendered fruitful ? What causes the regular suc- 
 cession of day and night ? The sun ! What the sea- 
 sons ? The sun ! Why do the flowers bloom ? Why do 
 the fruits ripen ? Because the sun and his beams call 
 them forth. There are flowers which blossom by day 
 and close their cups at night. Is it the gods, or the sun 
 and moon, that cause these things ? Does not the first 
 morning-ray awaken you? Does not wearisomeness 
 overcome you when it disappears in the west? And 
 
70 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 when the sun and moon create and operate so evidently, 
 why do not in a less degree and invisibly the rest of the 
 planets ! Why not also Seb, Thoth, Surot, and Mo- 
 loch?* The stars determine our fate; in the hour of 
 our birth they plant in our inmost souls the germ of good 
 or evil ; of fortune or misfortune ; of superiority or in- 
 feriority. I was born at noon ; the sun stood in its highest 
 power in the mid-heavens, and this betokens something 
 great, high, sublime. But Moloch and Sebf looked un- 
 favorably upon me when I opened my eyes to the light, 
 and on that account a violent, painful death awaits 
 me.J(7) 
 
 " But how many are born at noon ! Have they all, as 
 you, become commanders ?" objected one of the guests. 
 
 "No!" replied Atnute. "You forget our different 
 classes. Whoever is born at this hour in the priestly 
 order, he will, without doubt, become an able priest ; 
 and the farmer, the merchant, the sailor, can distin- 
 guish himself in his occupation ; every one can do 
 something remarkable in his own class, and reach to the 
 highest point, if the sun favor him. But we forget our 
 drink. Ho ! slaves ; fill up the cups !" 
 
 They drank, and drank on, one cup after another. 
 Shall I sketch the end of the carouse ? Many staggered 
 when they rose up ; many had already fallen down 
 dead-drunk on the floor. Here the servants were busy 
 in steadying, by their hands, their masters to the wa- 
 gons, on which they were to return to the city. Those 
 who were wholly drunk were carried off. Here, again, 
 I noticed an old Egyptian custom, of bearing all, even 
 the heaviest burdens, on their heads. § This custom, as 
 
 * Saturn, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. f Mars and Saturn. 
 
 X Ovid, Am. I. 8, 29. \ Herod. II. 35. Wilk. II. 151, 385. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 71 
 
 it appears, the old Egyptians had in common with the 
 negro slaves of the present day. It is related that a 
 rich planter in the West Indies, once pitying his. 
 negroes on account of the heavy burdens which they 
 bore on their heads, and to afford them relief and ac- 
 custom them to means of conveyance less injurious to 
 health, imported from Europe several hundred of the 
 well-known wheel-barrows. When the ship landed with 
 them, he sent his slaves to the wharf with the commis- 
 sion that every one of them should bring home such a 
 barrow for his future use. After half an hour they re- 
 turned together, every one with his wheelbarrow on his 
 head ! 
 
 So it was here. Every sick person was taken up 
 by three servants, laid on his back, raised up and 
 placed so that he rested, with his back downward, on 
 the heads of the bearers. The foremost one supported 
 his back with his head; with the left hand he held the 
 head, heavy with wine; with the right, the left hand 
 hanging down loose of his senseless master ; the second 
 head was under his thighs; the third stood under the 
 feet of the drunken fellow. Thus they carried him out, 
 and the burden evidently caused less headache to them 
 than his hard drinking did to the patient.* 
 
 Finally the tent was forsaken and empty. I sought 
 Horus. I would have gladly asked many questions, 
 which the discourse of the guests had raised in my 
 mind. But look ! The little fellow lay quietly in 
 a corner. He had long ago lain down to rest, and 
 now he was softly asleep ; a happy childish smile played 
 round his lips. Perhaps he had not heard the godless 
 words of the skeptic. I was also fatigued. The night 
 * Wilk. II. 168. 
 
72 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 broke in, and I stretched myself down on the floor of 
 the tent beside Horus. 
 
 Yet for a long time before my eyes floated the 
 various wonderful scenes which I had witnessed; but 
 finally I yielded myself up to refreshing slumbers. And 
 thus ended my first day in Memphis. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SECOND MORNING — THE BURIAL — FISHING IN 
 LAKE MOERIS — THE LABYRINTH — A HUNT. 
 
 At the first appearance of the morning-dawn Horus 
 awaked me. All was still and deserted ; the birds only 
 joyously carolled their morning song. I cast a look at 
 the desolation which surrounded us : chairs overturned, 
 empty pitchers and porcelain cups broken in pieces, and 
 even a pair of sandals, which one of the guests had lost 
 and forgotten to take with him, lay strewed about the 
 floor. I was driven, by this confusion, forth into the 
 open air, and I went out from the tent. A flock of 
 geese waddled along, cackling and undisturbed, in the 
 cross alleys of the garden; swans swam through the 
 dark watery mirror of the water-basin ; busy bees were 
 already flying away and back and gathering honey. 
 Only the men yet slumbered and dreamed of future 
 fortune or ill-luck. 
 
 I came up to the water, Horus following me. Quickly 
 our clothes were thrown off, and a cool bath refreshed 
 and invigorated us for our new wanderings. The water, 
 which was conducted by a canal from the Nile — as this 
 river was on the rise and the overflow at hand — was 
 turbid and of a reddish color, — a circumstance that has 
 been ascribed, in modern times, to the vast multitude of 
 insects which the heat generated therein, or to the 
 thickened particles that the stream brings down with it 
 
 7 73 
 
74 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 from Sennaar. It might have been sweet and well- 
 tasting, but I could not on that account decide on 
 tasting it ; the contrast was too great, when I remem- 
 bered our excellent pure and clear spring-water. It 
 was believed, also, of the water of the Nile, that it had 
 a tendency to fatten, and for this reason they never 
 gave it to the sacred bull, Apis ; the Egyptian priests, 
 too, on this account, wholly abstained from its use. 
 
 When, after some half an hour or so, we came out of 
 the bath, and were about to dress ourselves, all was full 
 of life in the garden. The steward, who remembered 
 us, and probably had already perceived us in the gar- 
 den, sent two slaves to us with articles necessary for the 
 arrangement of our toilet. They brought us an elegant, 
 round, highly-polished metallic mirror, and a little box 
 with the well-known JciM, a fragrant ointment which the 
 old Egyptians were wont to prepare from the fruits of a 
 plant called Sillicy'prium, growing on the banks of the 
 river and lake. Scarcely had we anointed ourselves 
 and put on our clothes than the steward himself ap- 
 peared with a kind morning-greeting. A breakfast, 
 consisting of bread and wine, was quickly brought in, 
 and Alula entered, no longer sad and desponding, as 
 yesterday, but joyous and lively, springing about and 
 singing. We bade them both farewell, and, with hearty 
 thanks, passed through the gate and struck into the 
 road leading to the Lake Moeris, which was already 
 quite astir, since, as Horus informed me, there was to 
 be a funeral of a royal scribe. Many were walking on 
 before us ; many hurried by us, partly curious specta- 
 tors, partly those who, as the judges of the dead, must 
 pronounce a judgment respecting the deceased. 
 
 At the lake a large number of people were already 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 75 
 
 assembled, — men and women of all classes, the wealthy 
 and the poor, who had poured in partly in wagons and 
 partly on foot. On the lake, close to the shore, stood 
 the splendid boat, variegated and richly adorned with 
 gold, which was to bear the sarcophagus and the 
 mourners across the lake to the place of burial. 
 
 The funeral-procession was not long in coming. It 
 was opened by six servants of the temple, who carried 
 articles and vessels necessary for the sacrifice of the 
 dead. They, as well as almost all taking part in the 
 procession, were clothed only about their loins with a 
 white linen apron. The first bore a low wooden frame 
 filled with fruits and flowers of all kinds ; another the 
 most beautiful white dove ; a third led by a rope a 
 young calf destined for the sacrifice ; the rest joined in 
 with different kinds of pitchers and vessels. After these 
 followed the well-known so-called Pastophori, also six 
 in number, with various-colored painted little wooden 
 shrines or temples, which, to my regret, were closed 
 upon all sides, so that the contents could not be seen ; 
 but they contained, as similar receptacles, statues of the 
 gods, of the sacred animals, or of the forefathers of the 
 dead man. His slaves next bore the articles of furni- 
 ture which he had particularly made use of during his 
 life, — a field-chair, a one-seated and a double-seated 
 cushion-chair, and finally, also, a two-wheeled wagon, 
 such as I have before described, with all its appurte- 
 nances. To this was joined the state-chariot of the de- 
 ceased, yoked to two spirited brown horses. It was 
 empty: the driver, holding the reins, walked along sor- 
 rowfully beside it. Next to this chariot again followed 
 other servants, the first with costly vessels and the 
 golden censer for incense, already described in the 
 
76 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 king's sacrifice ; the others with boxes, pictures, orna- 
 mental articles, golden neck-chains and amulets, wea- 
 pons and insignia, which partly belonged to the dead, 
 partly to the king, whose faithful scribe and servant 
 he had been. Little costly statues of the gods, likewise 
 of precious metals, beautiful stones, or parti-colored 
 glass — among which, especially the well-known Horus- 
 hawk, with a man's head, pleased me — were borne by 
 in the procession on particular repositories, and also a 
 small blue boat on a sledge. 
 
 After these followed seven more men, every one with 
 two little wooden boxes filled with palm-branches; then 
 the well-known mourning women, clad in long white 
 robes, their hair dishevelled, beating their breasts with 
 their hands, and singing a wild, mournful lay, in which 
 they sometimes lamented the death of the deceased, 
 sometimes praised and lauded his virtues. Finally, ap- 
 peared the high-priest, marching forward seriously and 
 gravely, with a gold vessel and the incense-censer in his 
 hands. He was clad in a white apron, and had over it 
 a leopard's skin, the fore-paws of which he had so 
 bound on his left shoulder that his right arm remained 
 free, and the tail of the animal hanging down, almost 
 touched the ground. Immediately behind the priest 
 followed the sarcophagus, standing on a boat, which 
 again was fastened on a sledge, and was drawn by four 
 beautiful white bullocks and seven men. The sarco- 
 phagus itself was of cedar-wood, richly decorated with 
 carved image-work and inscriptions, and covered with 
 fragrant flowers. Behind the bier followed the whole 
 company of the afflicted friends.* In this order of 
 march the procession gradually drew nigh.( 8 ) The 
 * Wilk. Plate 83, Suppl. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 77 
 
 judges of the dead, forty-two in number, had, in the 
 mean time, all assembled, and arranged themselves at 
 the lake in a semi-circle ; the sarcophagus was borne 
 into the midst, while all who had taken part in the pro- 
 cession placed themselves around it. The curious popu- 
 lace, Horus and I numbered with them, crowded up 
 impetuously, and inclosed in a circle the whole cere- 
 mony which was now to take place. At a sign from 
 the high-priest, the mourning-women became silent, and 
 a death-like stillness reigned throughout. Now one of 
 the friends entered into the middle of the circle, placed 
 himself at the head of the sarcophagus, turned his face 
 to the sun, rising in the east, and, with his hands up- 
 raised, uttered a prayer in the name of the dead to the 
 eternal Sun-god. It would be tiresome to the reader 
 were I to give this prayer, as he has already read 
 several like it in the preceding sketches. The friend 
 spoke for the deceased; he began with the words, — 
 "Thus says Osiris-Hopra." — Hopra, i.e. favorite of the 
 sun, was the name of the person to be buried, and it is 
 well-known that the dead were wont to be regarded as 
 united in one person with Osiris in the world below, be- 
 cause he, after his earthly death, passed into the lower 
 world, and there entered on his office as ruler and 
 judge.* After this introduction, by which, therefore, 
 the dead is brought in as speaking, followed then a 
 prayer to the Sun-god and the other gods ; he suppli- 
 cated for his reception into the sacred abodes, and, in 
 forty-two strophes, sought to purify and justify himself 
 before the forty-two judges of the dead in the world 
 below, whose earthly representatives surrounded the 
 
 * Compare my Todtengericht bei der Alten iEgypter, (Court of 
 Death among the old Egyptians,) Berlin, 1854, p. 12. 
 
 7* 
 
78 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 coffin in a semi-circle, from as many transgressions. 
 He finally concluded in these words : — 
 
 "But have I sinned in life? So the guilt was not 
 mine, but of that other ; therefore forgive and purify 
 me, ye gods in the world below !" Then he pointed to 
 a particular urn which contained the stomach and 
 bowels taken out from the mummy, and which after- 
 ward, as I saw, being regarded in a certain measure as 
 a sin-offering, was sunk in the lake ; for the old Egyp- 
 tians considered the stomach as the cause of every 
 spiritual and bodily evil.* 
 
 Now began the judgment proper of the dead. When 
 the friend had ended his prayer and had retired among 
 the others, the president of the court — who was distin- 
 guished from the rest of the judges of the dead by a 
 particular tablet with the image of the goddess of jus- 
 tice formed of a precious stone, worn on a gold chain 
 about the neck, and hanging in front on the breast — 
 raised his voice, and spoke aloud seriously and solemnly 
 to the assembled multitude : — 
 
 "Hopra, the son of Petamon, born of his mother, 
 Bert-Reri, (rose-blossom,) the royal scribe, is he whose 
 mummy lies in this sarcophagus, and who implores for 
 an honorable burial. He was born on the seventh day 
 of the month Thoth, in thfe year of the dog-star period, 
 1212, in the sixth year of the reign of the ever-living 
 God, the father of our king ; he died seventy days ago, 
 in the month Payni. Whoever knew him and points 
 him out guilty of a sin, to whom he owed money ^ with- 
 out having paid it, whom he has injured in body or 
 estate without atoning for his evil conduct, let him come 
 forward and accuse him openly to his judges before us. 
 * Porphry. de Abstin, IV. 10. Diod. I. 82. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 79 
 
 We will judge strictly ; we will condemn or acquit. But 
 let every one beware of false, malicious, vengeful accu- 
 sations ! The punishment will fall back from the accused 
 upon the accuser."* 
 
 A heavy, unearthly stillness succeeded, — only some 
 curious persons raised their heads to see whether any 
 one would come forward with an accusation, and the de- 
 ceased be pronounced unworthy of burial. The brother 
 especially looked anxiously around, though he had paid 
 all the debts of the departed known to him before the 
 day of the burial. But might there not be some evil- 
 minded or dissatisfied creditor left, and now enforce his 
 debt and his right ? All waited anxiously. No one 
 ventured to whisper a single word. But no accuser ap- 
 peared, and the judges entered into a circle in order, 
 apparently, to consult together. Thus passed a pain- 
 ful quarter of an hour. Finally the judges returned to 
 their former places, and the president advanced to the 
 sarcophagus, raised his hands, and spoke these solemn 
 words, which penetrated every heart : — 
 
 "We have adjudged respecting thee, Hopra, son of 
 Petamon, son of Bert-Reri. We have found thee justi- 
 fied ; and so, by virtue of mine office as president of 
 the judges, I speak thee free from all sins and guilt. 
 Descend, justified, to Amenthes. May also there the 
 scales of justice be favorable to thee ; may Thoth in- 
 scribe thy name in the roll of the guiltless ; may Osiris 
 find thee also unpunishable, as we thy earthly judges of 
 the dead have found thee ! The court permits thy burial ; 
 it grants thee a place of repose the other side of the 
 lake, in the bosom of the mountain !" 
 
 Scarcely had the judge ended, than joy succeeded, 
 * Diod. I. 92, 97. 
 
80 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 and rejoicing in place of the former mourning. The 
 high-priest sacrificed to the gods ; he himself and some 
 of the relatives of the blessed deceased uttered eulogies 
 on his upright and virtuous conduct ; and finally, amid 
 the offerings, prayers were put forth to the gods below 
 the earth, and they were implored to receive the de- 
 ceased among the pious in the kingdom of Osiris. After 
 all these solemnities were finished, in which the people 
 collectively bore a part, the priests gave the signal for 
 the passage across the lake. 
 
 The beautiful boats already mentioned received the 
 particular persons who had formed the procession. All 
 the parts of the boats were adorned with variegated 
 colors, specially painted in gold, green, red, and blue, 
 and with religious decorations. Some of them had tall 
 and spacious cabins, others little open shrines or tem- 
 ples resting on pillars, like those borne by the Pasto- 
 phori. In the first boat was placed the sarcophagus 
 and a sacrificial table ; the high-priest mounted into the 
 same, with the most wealthy relatives, and during the 
 whole passage incense was diffused. The helmsman of 
 this ship was named Charon, and to him the Charon 
 of the Grecian infernal world, who ferried the shades 
 across the Styx, must have owed his origin and name. 
 A second boat bore the mourning women ; a third, in- 
 struments for performing sacrifice, (as on the other side 
 of the lake the same sacrificial ceremonies were to be 
 repeated;) and others, finally, the rest of the objects 
 and persons of the procession. Thus they pushed off 
 from the shore, moved according to their size by from 
 six to twenty rowers ; and the gold and red-painted oars, 
 the gilded keels and helms, glittering in the beams of the 
 sun now mounted higher, held my eyes enchained for a 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 81 
 
 long time. All the rest of the people collected, also 
 gazed at the procession of the vessels until they grew 
 continually further and further off; but for a long while 
 they shone like springing trout and lively gold-fishes on 
 the horizon.* 
 
 We now walked along the lake on the right, and 
 Horus, whom the beautiful glorious morning had ren- 
 dered talkative, informed me that he would show me an 
 Egyptian fishery. He told me many things that I 
 already knew, and which had long been familiar to me 
 from old writers, but I allowed the little fellow the plea- 
 sure of playing the teacher. He described to me the 
 richness of the Nile and Lake Moeris in fish, and gave 
 me a statement of the daily produce from the fisheries 
 of the latter in thousands of dollars, which I believe 
 he as well as Diodorusf somewhat exaggerated, and 
 added that King Moeris formerly assigned this revenue 
 to his wife as pin-money. All these were things well 
 known to me, and I hastened to ask him questions and 
 lead him to other communications. 
 
 " Fishing, I presume, is here carried on, as a business, 
 by a particular class of people?" I asked, during a 
 short pause, in which he took breath. 
 
 " Yes, in a great measure ;" he replied. " But I will 
 not deny that with the higher classes also fishing is 
 among the noblest of their favorite occupations ; and 
 among our great people there may be probably as many 
 passionately devoted to it as with you and among Eng- 
 lish gentlemen. They make it, indeed, as convenient 
 for themselves as possible. Slaves attend them on the 
 bank of the river ; if the ground is moist, a mat is 
 spread out, a chair taken with them from home is placed 
 * Wilk. Suppl. plates 83, 84. f Diod. I. 52. 
 
82 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 on it, on which the master then sits down comfortably. 
 If the day is hot, and the sun burns, there are other 
 slaves with a shade and conveniences at hand.* To-day 
 you will not see the noble, but only simple fishermen by 
 profession; a jovial, lively little people, who are so over- 
 loaded with work that they can scarcely find time to 
 dress and salt all the fish they take." 
 
 "And what fish, particularly, do they take and con- 
 sume with you," I further inquired. 
 
 " Carp, sturgeon, perch, trout, and many other large 
 kinds, with the names of which I will not tire you." 
 
 "And are all these kinds of fish dressed and eaten?" 
 
 "All," replied Horus, "with the exception of the 
 unhealthy ones, consecrated to Typhon, the ' Lepidotus, 
 Phagrus, and Oxyrrhynchus,' of which you well know 
 how they conducted toward the dismembered Osiris. 
 For this reason also the priests eat no fish, or at least 
 none taken by a hook, for they fear that sometimes one 
 of these three different kinds might have bitten at the 
 same bait."f 
 
 "And what kinds of fish were these three? Are 
 they easily to be distinguished from the rest ?" 
 
 " I do not exactly know with what fish I must com- 
 pare them," said Horus, after a short reflection. " The 
 Oxyrrhynchus, which was not eaten by the Oxyrrhyn- 
 chites, living not far from the Kunopolites, is a sort of 
 sturgeon which, as its Greek name indicates, is distin- 
 guished from the other fishes of the Nile by its pointed 
 nose ; the Phagrus is the eel, only longer and thicker 
 than it is usually found with you; and the Lepidotus, 
 finally, which has caused so much perplexity to your 
 * Wilk. III. 52. f Plutarch de Is. et Os. 7. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 83 
 
 learned men, is a great scaly fish of the Nile, like the 
 salmon. " 
 
 Amid such kind of conversation, during which I had 
 cast a look at the lake, the view of it being, for the 
 most part, broken and hidden from us by plants of all 
 kinds on the banks, we had walked a considerable dis- 
 tance ; and suddenly drawn off from the interesting dis- 
 course by a tumult of singing, talking, and commanding 
 voices, I directed my eyes to a large place which we had 
 just reached, and where the lively spectacle of an Egyp- 
 tian fishery presented itself with all its peculiar and 
 parti-colored scenes. There were from one to two hun- 
 dred persons, who, partly on land and partly from larger 
 or smaller boats, had thrown out their nets and hooks 
 into the lake. I saw two sorts of hooks, partly simple 
 or slender wires on which the bait was fastened, and 
 partly rod-hooks, which consisted of pretty thick staffs, 
 and lines or cords hanging down from them ; but the 
 most, as well from the shore as from the boats, fished 
 with large drag-nets, which they drew back and forth 
 through the water, and which, like ours, were formed 
 with meshes, out of twine.* The fishes caught by the 
 hooks or nets were cut open and dressed on the shore or 
 the boats, then salted and hung up in the air to dry. 
 Some of them were so large that a man could carry only 
 one of them at a time, as he placed one hand under 
 the head, and grasped with the other the tail ; others 
 were just cut into halves, and three or four were strung 
 by the gills on twine, and hung on a pole, which two 
 men took up on their shoulders. The knives, which the 
 men sitting on the shore and engaged in dressing the 
 fish made use of, were long ones, with short handles, 
 * Wilk. III. 37, 53, 55, 57, &c. 
 
84 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the blade in the form of a half-segment of a circle of 
 from sixty to seventy degrees, with rounded cutting- 
 edge and sharp point. But all these various occupa- 
 tions, which I looked upon with much interest, were ac- 
 companied with songs by the merry, jovial people. 
 Royal stewards also stood round about to watch the fish- 
 ing and urge up the lazy, as the income of the fisheries 
 makes a part of the state-revenues. Herodotus, it is 
 well known, gives the income from Lake Moeris at 263 
 talents, and so more than $200,000, [computing the 
 talent at £163 15s. English.] 
 
 Near by stood a pretty large square building, made of 
 rough brick.* It was a store-house of salted and dried 
 fish, which were kept here until transported to Memphis. 
 To this house Horus now conducted me; and the in- 
 tendant of the house, who occupied not an unimportant 
 position and had many scribes as his subordinate offi- 
 cers, met us kindly. In the building into which he in- 
 troduced us were fish of all shapes and sizes hung upon 
 long poles; the scribes sat busily occupied with their 
 work at the door, counted the fishes brought in and 
 entered the number in the register. That we should 
 taste of them followed of course ; and even the German 
 salmon, I must confess, is far behind their delicate flesh 
 and pleasant relish. But the sun was getting higher 
 continually, and, although I would gladly have asked 
 many questions of the intendant, I was obliged to yield 
 to my conductor's wishes, who pulled me by the strings 
 of my tunic to go forward. 
 
 So we began our return to Memphis. On the way 
 the Labyrinth occurred to my mind, which I knew was 
 * Ottfried Miiller : Archaeology, \ 226. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 85 
 
 situated on Lake Moeris, and I asked Horus if it would 
 not be possible to get to it and visit it. 
 
 "It is impossible/' replied he, briefly; "it lies too far 
 off from our way ; and on foot, as we are, we could not 
 think of it, to walk thither and back again to Memphis 
 to-day. But to satisfy your curiosity I will describe it 
 fully, and give you all the necessary information re- 
 specting it." 
 
 I was content, and Horus began. 
 
 " The external impression and appearance of the 
 Labyrinth is this : Think of three vast masses of build- 
 ings which in their breadth of three hundred feet 
 inclose a quadrangular space of about six hundred feet 
 long by five hundred broad. The fourth side, one of 
 the lesser extent, is bounded by a pyramid situated be- 
 hind it, which Herodotus also mentions,* and which is 
 three hundred feet square, and so does not reach en- 
 tirely up to the side wing of that mass of buildings. f 
 The Grecian Herodotus was correct when he said that 
 even the most admirable buildings of his countrymen — 
 for instance, the famous temples of Samos and Ephesus : 
 yea, the largest Egyptian pyramids — must yield to this 
 huge structure. And yet from the outside we see only 
 the half of the immense building, that which stands 
 above the ground ; the second half, corresponding to 
 the first one, is built below the ground. If you suc- 
 ceed in entering into it, and, without losing yourself, 
 should wander through the whole Labyrinth, you would 
 find twelve palace-like temples, six above ground and 
 six below, with innumerable adjoining chambers, galle- 
 ries, and winding passages. The twelve great palaces 
 or halls rest round about on pillars, which for the most 
 
 * Herod. II. 148. f Lepsius' Letters, p. 75. 
 
 8 
 
86 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 part are of white marble ; all, the roof, walls and 
 floors of the whole building throughout, are of stone, 
 and the pillars as well as the walls are adorned with 
 hieroglyphic inscriptions. In every one of the twelve 
 halls stands a statue of one of the twelve well-known 
 superior gods, from Ammon to Thoth, and the figures 
 of the animals sacred to the particular divinities there 
 occupy a place in the representations. These various 
 large halls, as I have said, are connected together by 
 side chambers, galleries, and stairways, the whole num- 
 ber taken together of the single chambers, large and 
 small, amounting to three thousand, of which one half are 
 above the ground and the other half below. If any 
 one wishes to ascend to the highest chamber of the 
 building, ninety steps lead up to it, and as many to get 
 down to the ground again ; so, if you wish to go down 
 to the lowest chamber under ground, you find ninety 
 steps necessary, and, on the other hand, the same num- 
 ber to come back to daylight.* After every ten steps 
 there is a special landing-place. "( 9 ) 
 
 "And who was the builder of this astonishing work?" 
 I asked, with new curiosity. 
 
 "I know," added Horus, "the old historians give 
 different accounts about it, but not one of them appear 
 to me to have fallen upon the right one. When Hero- 
 dotus relates that the twelve princes, whom he calls 
 Dodecarchs, built it as a common monument and tomb,f 
 he is in a great error, for it had its origin at a far 
 earlier period; and to-day, when I conduct you about 
 here in Egypt, long before the Dodecarchy, it is already 
 finished in all its parts. The occasion of this false 
 supposition may be the accidental agreement of the 
 * Pliny, XXXVI. 6. f Herod. II. 148. Diod. I. 86. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 87 
 
 number of palaces and of the kings. So, too, Diodorus 
 makes the Labyrinth to be the place of burial of 
 Pharaoh-Mendes ; and Pliny, a work of Petosychis, 
 who lived 3600 years before his time. To Manetho, 
 also, who attributes its building to the 12th Dynasty, 
 shortly after the great Sesostris, you need give no 
 credit. Or do you in general suppose that this gigantic 
 building in all its parts could have been the work of a 
 single king ? Not of a single one — no ; ten kings and 
 more lavished all their resources and all their revenues 
 upon it." 
 
 "If I am not mistaken," I broke in, "one of my 
 most learned countrymen,* who has himself visited the 
 ruins, states that he found inscriptions in the same 
 which clearly mentioned the name of King Amenemha 
 the Third, and that this king was buried in the pyramid 
 standing near." 
 
 "And what follows from that?" proceeded Horus. 
 "Nothing else than that this king, whose name, besides, 
 ought not to be written Amenemha, but Amenemes, be- 
 cause the last hieroglyphic symbol, the forepart of a 
 lion, denotes the letter S, and not Ha ; that this king, 
 I say, had a share in the building of the structure, that 
 he was one of the many under w^hose reigns the par- 
 ticular portions were made, and perhaps built one of the 
 palaces." 
 
 "But what, finally," I asked further, "was then the 
 object of the building ? It must indeed have been a 
 greater and more sublime one! I have often sought 
 and strove to ascertain it ; but, alas ! always in vain." 
 
 "Must I yet tell you?" asked Horus, astonished. 
 "After what I have told you, and I have described 
 Lepsiua' Letters, p. 76. 
 
88 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 it to you, I should have supposed that you would be in 
 no doubt about it. Pliny has already put you on the 
 right track, who says that most persons held the Laby- 
 rinth to be a building consecrated to the sun, and that 
 this is the view most worthy of credit. Consider the 
 name itself. The Greeks made out of it Labyrinthos ; 
 we Egyptians pronounce it Lapurontho, and this signi- 
 fies c Sun, king of the world.'* You will object that the 
 sun is not called La, but Ka ; remember, however, that 
 we make no great difference between R and L, that one 
 and the same hieroglyph denotes both sounds ;f that, 
 for example, Wine, in different dialects among us is 
 sometimes expressed by Erp and sometimes by Elp. If, 
 now, the Labyrinth, this glorious astronomical struc- 
 ture, was consecrated to the sun, then the twelve halls 
 or palaces at once lead us to the well-known twelve 
 signs of the zodiac, through w^hich the sun moves, and 
 which also are named thus by other nations ; for in- 
 stance, by the Greeks the twelve abodes, and by the 
 Arabians toivers or palaces, because they believed them 
 to be inhabited by deities. On this account, here in the 
 Labyrinth, the statues of the twelve great gods were 
 set up in particular palaces as in their heavenly dwell- 
 ings. Six of these palaces are above and six below the 
 ground, just as six signs of the zodiac or divine abodes 
 are above and six below the horizon. I might speak 
 further of four times ninety steps partly above the 
 ground and partly below, and which conduct around in- 
 side the building. What can you understand by that ex- 
 cept the four quarters, with their 360 degrees of the 
 zodiac, which the sun must go through?" 
 
 * La-puro-n-tho . 
 
 f Compare Thoth, pp. 163, 164, and Ling. Copt. Gram. p. 4. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 89 
 
 "But in all there were three thousand chambers, 
 as you have informed me ; what does that number 
 signify ?" 
 
 " Here I must confess the imperfection of our astro- 
 nomical observations," said Horus, with a sigh. " The 
 gradually-receding motion of the equinoxes, which, ac- 
 cording to your more accurate reckoning, amount in a 
 hundred years to 1° 23' 10 7/ , was well known to us in 
 general; but we took inaccurately, for every one hun- 
 dred years, only a single degree, consequently, accord- 
 ing to our view, the recession, after three thousand years, 
 amounted to only 30 degrees, or one whole sign of the 
 zodiac. Do you not now perceive the meaning of those 
 three thousand chambers ? They mean the number of 
 years which, as we believe, were requisite for the point 
 of the equinox to pass through the whole zodiac ; in 
 a word, they represent symbolically the walk of the 
 god from one palace to the other, and every chamber 
 means the advance of one year. To this corresponds, 
 likewise, the doctrine of the migration of the soul, 
 which Herodotus has mentioned to you. He relates, 
 that when men die and their bodies pass into corrup- 
 tion, every one of the souls wander into another living 
 being ; after they have wandered in this way through 
 all kinds of land, water, and flying animals, they come 
 again into the new-born men. This wandering goes on 
 for the period of three thousand years.* For with 
 their three thousand years began with the Egyptians a 
 new cycle of the world, and the same cycle of the world 
 of equal duration is to be found in the religious books 
 of the ancient Parsees, resting on the same astronomical 
 foundation. f Thus, then, the Labyrinth offers a terres- 
 
 * Herod. II. 123, f Ilistorische Theologische Zeitslicrift, V. 1. 
 
 . 8* 
 
90 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 trial image of our astronomy and astrology; and be- 
 cause in every heavenly house, and, indeed, in every 
 degree, a deity rules, so at the same time it is in all re- 
 spects an Egyptian Pantheon ; and finally, also, it has 
 a political reference, because the whole of Egypt, ac- 
 cording to the type of the heavenly zodiac, with its 
 triads, its twelve signs of the zodiac, and thirty-six 
 decades, ever since the time of Sesostris has been di- 
 vided into three great portions, twelve provinces, and 
 thirty-six nomes. Officers from every one of these pro- 
 vinces could assemble here, and in the corresponding 
 palaces offer sacrifices to their respective divinities, and 
 thus they were often used in political unions and for 
 great days of all kinds. Our religion, our division of the 
 country and its administration, our astronomical and as- 
 trological calculations, all rest upon one foundation, — 
 the division of the sun's orbit ; and as this division was 
 represented by the later astrologers on the rolls of 
 papyrus and walls of the temples, even so here it was 
 placed before the eyes of the people in h, vast, splendid 
 building, exciting the astonishment of all travelers, — in 
 a Labyrinth." 
 
 I must admit that Horus's explanation surprised me, 
 although it did not perfectly satisfy me. Would an 
 astronomical and astrological object be a sufficient one 
 for the erection of such a structure ? But I would not 
 communicate to him my doubt and misgiving, in order 
 not to make him angry. I will confess here, however, 
 that I was convinced he had told me only half of the 
 truth, and that there was still a mystery untold. Be 
 that as it may, we see that the Labyrinth must forever 
 remain a Labyrinth to the learned, and for their explana- 
 tions and hypotheses. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 91 
 
 We had walked on toward the east, and again reached 
 the canal of Joseph. "Can you swim?" Horus asked 
 of me. 
 
 "Alas, no !" I replied, and looked on the water which 
 separated us from the bank on the other side. 
 
 "Then we must walk along on the canal till we meet 
 a compassionate boatman who will set us over," an- 
 swered my little conductor. 
 
 I looked to the right and left and soon saw a little 
 boat standing at the bank. The boatman had tied it 
 there and stretched himself out in the luxuriant green 
 of the Nile-grass. The heat of the day had worn him 
 down, and it was a long time before we could awake 
 him. Finally he rubbed his eyes, and gradually raised 
 himself up ; but as soon as he understood our request 
 he hurried to the boat to unloose it. The Egyptians 
 were in general of a sober, morose disposition, but, as I 
 have already had occasion to observe, kind, and un- 
 wearied whenever they could do a service to a fellow- 
 man. To practice the greatest hospitality toward every 
 one, to help every one to the best of their ability, to 
 give comfort to the suffering, and to bring immediate aid 
 to any one in danger, were virtues which were enjoined 
 by their religion ; and the thousand years' priestly rule 
 had so imbued them that such had become almost the 
 reigning custom and manners. 
 
 We quickly sprang into the boat ; the boatman seized 
 one of the oars and I another, and, although the current 
 was quite strong, we soon reached the opposite bank. 
 
 "En-urot-nak," — i.e. we thank you, — cried Horus to 
 the man, and sprang on the land. 
 
 We hurried forward without stopping, though the sun 
 stood high, and the sweat dripped from me, while Horus 
 
92 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 did not seem to suffer at all from the sun. No wonder ; 
 the son of Osiris must be accustomed to being near to 
 his father. 
 
 Suddenly there rose a tumultuous noise ; men's voices 
 calling aloud, and the barking of hounds came thick 
 upon our ears. A hare and two gazelles passed near us 
 on our path, in wild flight ; hunting-dogs, distinguished 
 by their collars, dashed by after them ; an arrow whizzed 
 through the air, and the hare lay weltering in its blood. 
 In a few minutes the hunters sprang forward ; young 
 persons, partly armed with bows and arrows, partly with 
 a noose, the well-known lasso.* 
 
 While one of them lifted up the hare we saluted the 
 others, and soon recognized among them a person be- 
 longing to the social circle at whose drinking-bout we 
 had been present yesterday. I asked him about the 
 best animals which they were wont to hunt and trap in 
 Egypt, and whether he had been successful in getting 
 many. 
 
 "With the love of boasting belonging to all hunters he 
 told me about the different kinds : gazelles, rock-goats, 
 wild goats, and oxen, hares, antelopes, wolves, foxes, 
 hyenas, leopards, and lions, were among them. With 
 special delight and enthusiasm he spoke of a hunt at 
 which he was present in a desert, while on a journey 
 made with his father to Thebes, and in which, as he pre- 
 tended, he himself had killed two hares, a gazelle, and 
 a hyena. He particularly commended the maternal love 
 of the hyena, who had turned against the whole com- 
 pany of hunters, consisting of forty persons, in order to 
 defend her young, but which was struck down by an 
 arrow from his bow.f 
 
 * Wilk. III. 16, 16, 18. f Wilk. III. 22. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 93 
 
 "See here!" he added, and pointed to an elegant 
 hound which stood by him, and responded to his mas- 
 ter's caresses ; "see, here is my constant attendant. My 
 friends call him the unwounded, for often as he has 
 been attacked by furious beasts and wild oxen, he has 
 always escaped, as if by a miracle, unharmed." 
 
 I collected more detailed information respecting the 
 mode and manner of the chase. Wild, raging beasts, of 
 course, were for the most part attacked at a distance and 
 shot w^ith arrows, while, on the contrary, the wild 'oxen, 
 gazelles, and others, were often caught alive by the 
 lasso, which the hunters endeavored to throw over their 
 necks and horns.* The hounds were leashed, as with us, 
 led by particular servants, and set free at the beginning 
 of the chase. When they formed larger hunting-parties 
 for the desert, they assembled in numbers, with a great 
 collection of servants and slaves, who carried with them 
 the necessary food — bread, meats, water, and wine. 
 They mostly engaged in such excursions in wagons, as 
 they were of essential use in the pursuit. Our hunting- 
 company with whom we spoke had also come in wagons, 
 but had sat down under a shady tree for breakfast when 
 they noticed the animals, one of which had but just now 
 been struck down before my eyes. Finally, I learned 
 also that fox-traps w T ere known to the Egyptians, in 
 which sometimes, too, larger animals, and even hyenas, 
 were caught, f 
 
 " Come ; let us go back to breakfast ;" said the young 
 man with whom I was conversing and had struck up a 
 quick friendship. "You will have to be contented with 
 cold food and a cup of wine ; immediately after break- 
 fast we will hasten our return to Memphis, whither your 
 * Wilk. III. 15. f Wilk. ITT. 2. 
 
94 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 road leads. It will be a great pleasure to me to take 
 you in my wagon ; the driver can look out another place, 
 and I will myself undertake the guidance of the horses. 
 I will take you to a country-estate of my father's, close 
 to Memphis, and, if you are fond of farming, the ar- 
 rangements there may be interesting to you." 
 
 I took the hand so kindly offered. Scarcely a hundred 
 paces off from the place where the hare had fallen stood 
 the tree under which the company had already seated 
 themselves and begun their breakfast, which was going 
 forward. It was a simple, genuine hunter's breakfast : 
 bread, little meat-pies,* and wine, were the principal 
 articles. As soon as the last cup was emptied we burst 
 forth. The wagons, which stood near by, were called 
 for. I sprang into my new friend's; he followed me, 
 and received the reins and whip from the hands of his 
 servant; Horus was lifted up and taken in between 
 us. With a full trot the horses hurried off to the city. 
 
 From the account of hunts with which the young man 
 sought to entertain me on the way, I learned many items 
 of information. Among other things, he said to me : — 
 " The killing of the Nile-horse, or hippopotamus, affords 
 a special pleasure. This animal is seldom to be found 
 in our region, but in great numbers in Upper Egypt, and 
 when at Thebes, I accompanied my father on such a 
 chase. They commonly go into a little boat and attack 
 the beast with a broad, flat blade armed with barbs, 
 attached to a rope, and thrown, like a spear, at the head 
 or back, to wound and entangle him. When the Nile- 
 horse feels himself thus assaulted he sinks down to the 
 bottom, but he is wounded anew with spears every time 
 he comes up, until he is wholly exhausted, and then 
 
 * Rosellini, II. 2, p. 4G4. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 95 
 
 they throw a noose over his head and drag him to the 
 land. If he is not ' yet dead they kill him at last by 
 beating him on the head with iron bars.* The hunting 
 of this animal is also otherwise of the greatest use, and 
 very profitable, because his thick hide is prepared and 
 applied in so many different ways. They cover with it 
 shields and helmets, make whips and scourges of it, and 
 when it is dry and hardened can even make spear-shafts 
 of it.f Commonly they join this hunting with that of 
 fowls, which make their nests in vast numbers among the 
 water-plants, and are killed from the boats by means of 
 the throwing-stick. This weapon is a simple bent wooden 
 staff, with which they seek to strike the bird on the 
 neck, and whereby it is killed, or at least stunned. But 
 as the use of this weapon requires great force for the 
 throw, and the thrower might thus lose his balance and 
 tumble overboard, so there are usually others, too, in 
 the boats, who hold him by the body or feet to prevent 
 his falling. ,, t 
 
 These and similar things the young man told me, un- 
 til suddenly we reached a cross-way, and the other wa- 
 gons turned off to the right toward Memphis, but we to 
 the left to the country-estate. In a few minutes it lay, 
 with all its farm-buildings, before us. 
 
 * Wilk. III. 71. Diod. I. 35. 
 
 f Diod. I. 35. Pliny, VIII. 25. Herod. II. 71. 
 
 J Wilk. III. 39, 41. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE VILLA — THE BRICKYARD — THE STABLES — RETURN 
 TO MEMPHIS — THE SHOEMAKER — THE TEMPLE OF 
 PTAH, APIS — THE SERPENT-CHARMER — THE LI- 
 BRARY. 
 
 The country-estate, which belonged to the father of 
 the young man, and in which he sometimes spent several 
 weeks, and occasionally, also, the whole summer months, 
 was, as respected the farming operations, leased to a 
 very able farmer, who paid for it to the owner a yearly 
 rent of a thousand golden rings — a pretty large sum at 
 that period. For, while stamped coin (in our sense of the 
 word) were unknown to the old Egyptians, ( 10 ) in their 
 intercourse they made use of gold and silver rings, ac- 
 curately weighed and marked with a sign of their 
 weight.* The whole estate was inclosed by a canal con- 
 ducted from the Nile, and which we crossed on a simple 
 unartistic bridge before we reached the gate. The gate 
 was shut, but as soon as the rumbling of our wagon was 
 heard on the bridge it was thrown open, and several ser- 
 vants appeared, who saluted the son of the owner in the 
 well-known style. They bent the whole of the upper 
 part of the body forward, and while they let their hands 
 hang loosely down, they almost touched the ground with 
 the ends of their fingers. As soon as we had passed 
 through the gate we came to a green lawn ; three slaves 
 
 * Wilk II. 10, 11. 
 96 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 97 
 
 sprang forward ; the first held the horse in front by the 
 bit, the second took from the young man's hands the 
 reins and whip, and the third helped us to get out. Be- 
 fore us, and on the right and left, there were outstretched 
 broad, shady alleys of trees ; behind them rose the tall 
 farm-buildings and the dwelling-house, with their flat roofs. 
 We turned directly to the right, and passed a reservoir 
 entirely walled in by stones and provided with steps for 
 the drawing of water, and so reached the portico of the 
 dwelling-house, which I wished to look at immediately 
 in all its parts.* This portico, the columns of which 
 were adorned above on the capital with banners and rib- 
 bons, led us to the main gate, which in form resembled 
 the city gates of Memphis, already described, though 
 very much smaller; above, and on both sides of the 
 door, were long hieroglyphic inscriptions, which were in 
 praise of the original proprietor and builder of the 
 house ; told of the events of his life, and described his 
 wealth. His name was Pakemis ; he was governor of 
 the nomos Memfi, under King Sesostris, and at that 
 time built this villa in the vicinity of the capital. In 
 his thirtieth year — so the inscription stated — the bird 
 Phoenix had come from the East and burned itself in 
 the city of the sun.f He had so greatly distinguished 
 himself by the wise government of the district intrusted 
 to him, that Sesostris, when after nine years he returned 
 with vast booty from his wars, made him a present of 
 fifty choice slaves, taken in war, and many gold and 
 silver vessels. A later portion of the inscription, added 
 after his death, stated that he died at an advanced age, 
 leaving behind him many children and grand-children. 
 The doors of the gate were of sycamore-wood, and 
 
 * Wilk. II. 94, PI. V. f Tacit. Annal. VI. 28. 
 
 9 
 
98 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 were ornamented with tasteful carved work. When we 
 entered we came to an open court ; on the right hand 
 stood a sitting statue of Pakemis. Opposite to the gate, 
 somewhat raised and furnished around with steps, I saw 
 a square hall resting on twelve high pillars, filled with 
 the most costly furniture, it being the reception-room 
 proper. Here on elegant tables were arranged original 
 relics : foreign vases which Pakemis had formerly re- 
 ceived from Sesostris out of his spoils, little statues of 
 gods of old and more recent times, weapons of all kinds, 
 gold chains, and other articles of ornament. After we 
 had proceeded through this hall and descended the steps 
 on the other side, a pretty high wall, with three gates — 
 a large one in the middle and two smaller ones on either 
 side — separated us from a second court. We entered 
 through the middle gate, and found ourselves now in a 
 second court, having on the right and left lofty blocks of 
 houses, and inclosed by a high wall, with a back door. 
 This court was more like a garden, and planted with 
 tall shady trees. Into the two side buildings, on the 
 right and left, other doors again led, through one of 
 which we went into a new pillared passage, and from 
 this reached to single rooms level with the ground. 
 All these rooms in the basement — which with much curi- 
 osity I walked through — were store-rooms, filled with all 
 imaginable articles of food. In one chamber were taper- 
 ing wine-pitchers, ranged about against the walls ; in 
 another olive-jars ; in another large smoked fishes, hung 
 up in rows ; others still contained furniture of all kinds, 
 bowls, plates, pitchers, and cups. In the outermost 
 corner was the kitchen, with the hearth, water-troughs, 
 pots, cooking-spoons, and other utensils. All these 
 rooms we ran through hastily in order to reach the 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 99 
 
 upper story, in which were the sitting-rooms, the sleep- 
 ing-chambers, and those for guests. We came to this 
 story by a hall and stairway, in which beautiful, broad, 
 massive steps led above. When we had mounted them 
 we next came to a large eating-room, and then into a 
 most elegantly-furnished parlor. (H) Fatigued by our 
 much walking about in the wide building, we seated our- 
 selves on a soft divan ; Horus curled himself upon the 
 carpet at my feet. 
 
 " Which of your ancestors bought of Pakemis's family 
 this estate ?" I asked the young man. 
 
 "My grandfather,' ' he replied. "If you wish I can 
 show you the deed of it, which is carefully preserved in 
 this house." 
 
 He stepped up to a wooden case standing on the op- 
 posite side of the chamber where we were, and which, 
 like our bureaus, rested on four feet, and perfectly re- 
 sembling in its shape our German houses. It was a 
 square chest, with pointed triangular roof. In the upper 
 edge of the roof there were on both sides a round knob, 
 so that the slanting sides of the roof could be raised, 
 while it turned on the lower edge with hinges.* In this 
 way the chest was opened ; and I rose from my seat in 
 order to look more closely and examine its contents. 
 The polished cover was painted with hieroglyphics ; the 
 sides, on the contrary, were inlaid in the highest artistic 
 style of Mosaic, with variously-colored wooden blocks, 
 which appeared to be glued into the wood of the chest 
 itself. In the chest lay a great number of rolls of papy- 
 rus mixed together, every one elegantly wound round 
 with a neat band. It was some time before the young 
 man could find the deed mentioned. Many rolls were 
 * Wilk. III. 170. 
 
100 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 untied, unrolled, and rolled up again as soon as any 
 was seen not to be the right one. Finally he hit 
 upon that which he wanted, and kindly handed it to me. 
 It was executed in hieroglyphic writing, inclining to the 
 hieratic characters, and by the aid of little Horus, who 
 had stepped up close to me and taught me respecting 
 this and that word unknown to me, I read the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 " In the third year of the reign of his majesty, N.N., 
 son of the sun and King of Upper and Lower Egypt, on 
 the 19th Mechir, it is, that Pakemis, the son of Horus, 
 has sold this country-estate, inherited from his grand- 
 father Pakemis, with all its appurtenances, to the royal 
 governor." Then followed an accurate description of 
 the whole plot of ground, with account of the length, 
 breadth, and height of every building belonging to it, 
 of every particular portion of the land, &c. &c. Then 
 it further said: " He has received of Athothis, the son 
 of Petosiris, a thousand well-weighed weights of gold, in 
 rings, chains, and large pieces of gold, in the presence 
 of the following witnesses." Now followed twenty 
 subscriptions, partly written beautifully, and partly 
 hurriedly; beginning, of course, with the name of the 
 lawyer who had drawn up and executed the contract of 
 sale, namely, Petecarpocrates, the son of Amonorythius, 
 the scribe.* 
 
 I asked respecting the contents of the rest of the rolls. 
 They were, as he told me, partly other contracts of his 
 father; partly judicial documents of the family, and legal 
 papers ; partly papers of an economic description, — to 
 wit : accurate accounts of the yearly income of the 
 estate, and careful measurements of the particular lots. 
 * Wilk. II. 57. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 101 
 
 He showed me, among other articles, an accurate map of 
 the whole estate, of which no surveyor in our day need 
 to have been ashamed. Every particular measurement 
 was noted in the most careful manner, and the length 
 of every boundary-line written down in hieroglyphics. 
 They were all given in ells and palms, and as I knew 
 that the old Egyptian ell was about twenty-two and a 
 half Leipzig inches,* [nearly the same, likewise, Eng- 
 lish,] so I had a complete representation of the size and 
 extent of the whole estate and all of its parts. 
 
 " Such accurate plans are necessary," added the 
 young man, " since the Nile yearly overflows the whole 
 region, removes the boundary-marks, and, without this 
 precaution, litigation as to their respective properties 
 might easily arise between neighbors. The magistracy 
 also possess such plans and maps, in order to be able to 
 decide cases of this sort; and every variation, even the 
 minutest, must be immediately reported to them. For 
 the calculation of the estate-tax, too, which is not small, 
 the superintendent of the district must know precisely 
 the size of every piece of ground." 
 
 While we were still talking, we heard a loud outcry 
 below, in the court, and, out of curiosity, I hurried dow^n 
 with Horus to see what caused it. The son of the 
 owner of the estate followed us. When w T e had come 
 into the fore-court we saw a sorrowful execution going 
 on. A slave, who had probably been guilty of a slight 
 fault in his work, was undergoing punishment. They 
 had wholly stripped him and laid him down with his 
 face to the ground ; two of his fellow-slaves had to hold 
 
 * Seyffarth, Beitriige zu Kenntniss der Literatur, Kunst, Mytlio- 
 logic imd Geschichte der Alton. Egypter Heft VII. p. 151. 
 
 9* 
 
102 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 him down in front , by his hands, and a third behind, by 
 the feet. The slave-overseer, or task-master, of whom 
 there were several in every large domestic establish- 
 ment, pitilessly smote with his long stick upon the poor 
 wretch.* I hoped that the young master would put a 
 stop to the cruel punishment, or at least inquire into its 
 cause ; but he looked smilingly on the whipping until the 
 task-master had tired his arm and the punished man 
 was let go. All of them then disappeared through a 
 side-door in the house. 
 
 " Poor fellow !" I whispered to Horus. " What great 
 fault has he committed ?" 
 
 "It is perfectly right," replied my little conductor. 
 " Our slaves are the dirtiest, most unfaithful and thank- 
 less people in the world. They are partly captives in 
 war, partly criminals, and partly purchased slaves ; a 
 miserable set of fellows, who deserve no better treat- 
 ment ; and the lawgiver did right in allowing the mas- 
 ters to beat and imprison them at their pleasure, for 
 otherwise the slaves would get the upper-hand of us if 
 they were not ill-treated by us; and had they not to 
 stand in fear of us daily and hourly they would abuse 
 their masters and put them into anxiety and terror." 
 
 " In confirmation of this I can relate to you a pretty 
 story of a slave of my father's," said the young man, 
 who had heard Horus's last words. "My father once 
 had a young and fine-looking slave who came from Asia, 
 brought here by an Arab caravan, and who was bought 
 on the boundary. But he was lazy and disobedient, so 
 that he had often to be punished and chastised by the 
 overseer in the vineyard where he was put among the 
 other laborers. On this account he conceived such a 
 * Wilk. II. 41. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 103 
 
 hatred to the overseer that he swore a bloody revenge, 
 and sought in every way to destroy him. He succeeded, 
 alas ! only too well. After various other attempts had 
 failed, which always brought on him new punishments, he 
 stole from the overseer his long staff, which had a gold 
 knob at the head, and on which was engraved the over- 
 seer's name. Armed with this staff, the slave by night 
 went out upon the road, murdered and robbed a rich 
 merchant who was traveling past, and threw the bloody 
 staff by the corpse. The next morning the dead body 
 was found, and the staff lying near bore too strong wit- 
 ness against the unfortunate overseer ; and though he 
 had nothing in his possession from the robbery, and 
 although, too, he asserted up to his death his innocence, 
 yet he was condemned by the high and wise court of the 
 one and thirty to be strangled." 
 
 "Horrible !" I replied. "And how was the wicked- 
 ness of the slave discovered ?" 
 
 "When, after the execution of the overseer, he be- 
 lieved himself safe, he boasted in secret of his act to 
 some of his fellow-slaves, who, as well as himself, had 
 hated the overseer. A thoughtless word here and there 
 thrown out finally came to the new overseer ; he told of 
 it to my father, who gave information to the officers, and 
 when they searched the box of the slave they found in 
 it the treasures robbed from the merchant. Thus Osiris 
 finally brings all to light ! The slave confessed his crime, 
 and was first scourged almost to death, and then exe- 
 cuted. But as they could not recall to life the overseer 
 put to death while innocent, they could only publicly 
 establish his innocence, as brought to light, by bestow- 
 ing on him an honorable transportation of his corpse ; 
 and the priests commended him in their prayers to the 
 
104 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 special favor and mercy of Osiris and the other judges 
 of the dead below." 
 
 During this narrative we had walked through the 
 court, and had entered through the back-door before- 
 mentioned into a large open place, on which, as the 
 young man told us, a large new store-house was about to 
 be erected. The preparations for it had so far already 
 gone forward that a great number of slaves were busied 
 in forming the bricks required. ( 12 ) On the right side I 
 saw large heaps of clay, which was worked over by some 
 people with hoes ; the necessary w T ater was brought by 
 two others, in pitchers, from a reservoir close by. Small 
 chopped straw was mixed with the mass of clay, to give 
 it greater tenacity and firmness. And now I understood 
 how the passage in the second book of Moses (Exodus 
 v. 3) is to be interpreted, where it is said, " Ye shall no 
 longer give the people straw for making their bricks." 
 We must not here think of straw as fuel, as Luther 
 says, since in Egypt the bricks were not burned; but 
 rather regard this straw as always in Egyptian brick, 
 mixed in with the clay.* Further to the left the slaves 
 were occupied in forming the bricks, while they pressed 
 square wooden forms into the clay, drew the bricks so 
 shaped out of the forms and laid them near each other 
 on the ground, where they quickly became dry in the 
 burning heat of the sun. Still further on at the left 
 lay the already dried bricks, which some men with a 
 wooden yoke on the back, having ropes on both sides, 
 bore away and arranged in piles for further use. In the 
 whole business there were two task-masters present, 
 one of them sitting near those who were working over 
 the clay, the other walking about, with his stick raised, 
 * Rosellini, II. 2, p. 259. 
 
 1 
 
THKEE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 105 
 
 to overlook the whole. The slaves might be easily re- 
 cognized as foreigners : their complexion and formation 
 of face and beard, clearly marked them out from the 
 Egyptians ; they bore about their hips the usual Egyp- 
 tian apron, but so hung that it rather formed a kind of 
 short hose, like the Oriental Miknasim. On the other 
 hand we could see in the complexion, clothing, and 
 physiognomy of the task-masters, decisive marks of 
 their Egyptian origin.* 
 
 We passed through the workmen, and in my heart I 
 pitied the poor slaves, who here in the greatest heat of 
 mid-day, the sun upon their heads, must perform such 
 hard and heavy work. The sweat ran down over their 
 faces, and many were minded from fatigue to rest a 
 little, but the stern look of the overseer drove them im- 
 mediately to work again. Behind the place lay the 
 stables, to which my young friend led me, to show 
 me his father's wealth in cattle. They were low build- 
 ings, having only small windows, and constructed of 
 coarse bricks, and thus they formed a striking contrast 
 to the elegant dwelling-house which we had just left. 
 
 We entered by a low door into the first stall which 
 lay before us. This was by means of a broad passage 
 that led from the entrance to the opposite side, and 
 divided, by a narrow way crossing right and left, into 
 four parts, in which the cattle stood close to each other ; 
 every one of them tied by a rope to a ring fastened to 
 the floor, f What reminded me of my own country and 
 modern times was, that every one of them was marked, 
 as with us, on the flanks. These marks, as Horus told 
 me, were made by a branding-tool, and burned in after 
 the cattle had been fastened by the fore and hind feet 
 
 * Wilk. II. 90. Rosellini, II. 254. f Wilk. II. 184. 
 
106 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 tied together, and thus rendered incapable of resistance. 
 I could imagine to myself their unfortunate condition 
 in this cruel moment, and from my heart I pitied them.* 
 But I was soon drawn away from these thoughts, and into 
 wonder at their powerful forms and stately horns ; and I 
 likewise learned that it was a custom to adorn them with 
 neckbands and little bells when they were led out to pas- 
 ture. The sheep-stall adjoined this stable, and was con- 
 nected with it by a door, for sheep were had in special re- 
 gard in Egypt, and particularly in the vicinity of Mem- 
 phis ; since they could shear them twice a year, and, be- 
 sides, they were used as sacrifices by some people, as, for 
 example, the inhabitants of the Mendesian Nomos, and 
 were eaten by the inhabitants of Lycopolis.f Still fur- 
 ther on, and adjoining, were other stalls with asses, which 
 were mostly used for riding, and horses ; the latter 
 especially, of which there were at least twenty together 
 in one stable, reminded me of the elegant wagon pro- 
 cession I had admired the day before. They were the 
 most beautiful, choice animals ; large and slender like 
 the English race-horses, particularly distinguished by 
 their long tails, that almost reached to the ground. The 
 harness, too, yokes, and all which belongs to wagon- 
 furniture, hung on the walls. The horse was used by 
 the old Egyptians for drawing only, never for riding ; 
 therefore I looked around here in vain for a saddle or a 
 saddle-cloth, as I had noticed among the asses. 
 
 After we had rapidly gone through the stalls, and had 
 expressed our wonder at the wealth of the owner, we 
 passed through a side-door to a hen-yard, where we were 
 greeted by the cackling of the hens and the hissing of 
 
 * Wilk. III. 10. 
 
 f Diod. I. 36, 37. Herod. II. 42. Wilk. II. 368. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 107 
 
 the geese. A flock of doves also flew up, scared, as we 
 approached. Opposite, lay the corn-crib, a high build- 
 ing in which were large wedge-shaped bins, like our 
 hay-ricks, with a window above, to which a ladder con- 
 ducted in order to pour in the corn, and a door below to 
 take it out again when needed.* The grain, as is well 
 known, was trodden out on the threshing-floor by cattle, 
 — which I mention here, by the way, because neither 
 to-day or on the following one had I any opportunity to 
 see a threshing scene of this kind with my own eyes. 
 As Horus told me, it was then always a merry and jovial 
 time ; the ox-drivers usually sung a joyous song, while 
 they continually drove on the beasts with the whip.f 
 Near the corn-crib was a low shed, in which the farming- 
 tools were kept. I cast an inquiring look into it to 
 learn accurately about them. The plough was a most 
 simple thing, but made perfectly corresponding to the 
 object. It consisted of two parts : first of all, of a 
 crooked piece of wood, on the fore-end of which was 
 the iron ploughshare, and was divided on the opposite 
 side, that bent upward, into two ends, connected by a 
 cross-piece of wood, which cross-piece the ploughman 
 was accustomed to take hold of with the hand to guide 
 the plough. The second part was the shaft-pole, to 
 w^hich the oxen were yoked ; it was fastened to the place 
 where the plough-beam was divided into the two parts. 
 Two persons commonly were occupied with the plough, 
 one who guided it, the other who drove the cattle with 
 a whip or a club. J Another instrument with which they 
 used to loosen the soil was the mattock, or hoe ; it was 
 of wood, and in the shape of a Roman capital A, consist- 
 
 * Wilk. II. 136. f wilk - IL Series I. 87, 88. 
 
 t Wilk. II. 40, 42. 
 
108 THEEE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 ing of a hand-stock, and a second piece of wood, some- 
 what crooked, narrow or broad, and sharp at the bottom, 
 fixed into it, these two parts being joined together in 
 the middle by a rope wound round. They used with 
 this mattock to follow the plough and break in pieces 
 the clods. Little tubs, likewise, stood round about, in 
 which the seed-grain was kept and was wont to be carried 
 out on the field. There the sower made use of a little 
 woven basket which had a handle, and was filled with 
 the grain; he held it in his left hand and scattered 
 abroad the seed with his right, as he every time took a 
 handful from the basket.* A great number of sickles, 
 likewise used in harvesting, were hung up in the shed, on 
 nails. They were small crooked knives with a wooden 
 stock, which could be managed with one hand. Finally, 
 I saw a considerable number of fans, with which they 
 used to separate the grain from the chaff on the thresh- 
 ing-floor, f I will mention, in conclusion, an instrument 
 that I had not before known. It consisted of a broad 
 piece of wood set with pins of metal close to each other. 
 It was rested in a slant direction on one foot, so that the 
 end furnished with the metal pins was about one foot 
 and a half above the ground, the other end resting on 
 the earth. When I asked Horus the object of this in- 
 strument, I learned that it was used to separate the 
 grain from the straw; for as they caught hold of a 
 handful of the mowed sheaf below and drew it through 
 the pins, the straw remained in the hand, and the grain 
 so stripped off fell to the floor.J After I had looked at 
 all these instruments we went back to the garden, which 
 lay in the middle of the farm-buildings. A low pavilion, 
 
 * Wilk. II. 48. f wilk - n - 86 > 90 - 
 
 X Wilk. II. 99.— [It quite resembled our flax-hatchel.— Tr.] 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 109 
 
 to which broad marble steps conducted, and that rested 
 on pillars of the purest alabaster, invited us to repose ; 
 but we had already lost too much time, and were obliged 
 to hurry aw r ay. I must go back from the stillness of the 
 country again to the noisy Memphis. On this account 
 I bade our host farewell as soon as, in our walking on 
 further, I noticed a passage out from the garden and a 
 bridge over the canal. 
 
 "You cannot now possibly go in the heat of the day 
 to Memphis," said he, kindly. "I will take care that 
 you shall reach the city gate without fatigue. Lachares !" 
 he cried aloud, turning toward the pyramidal tower at 
 the entrance of the garden, in which was a porter's 
 lodge.* 
 
 The porter made his appearance. The young man 
 whispered to him some words in his ear; he hurried 
 quickly to the stables and wagon-house which w T e had 
 just left. I hoped to see immediately again the beauti- 
 ful team which had brought us to the villa, but I was 
 mistaken. 
 
 After a few minutes, four men hastened in with a 
 sedan, which they respectfully set down before their 
 master. The sedan, formed of the finest wood, in which 
 flowers were most artistically carved, was so long that a 
 large man could sit in it perfectly well with his feet 
 outstretched. It was open above, but richly cushioned, 
 and promised a most agreeable mid-day repose. We 
 mounted into it, and I found the interior space so wide 
 that, without being crowded, I could take Horus along- 
 side of me. As soon as we had sat down a cover was 
 brought on over the back supports, which protected us 
 from the sun's rays. Once again I rendered my thanks 
 
 * Wilk. II. PL 8. 
 10 
 
110 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 to my young host. Four slaves raised the four poles of 
 the sedan on their shoulders, and in a moment appeared 
 an overseer, who, with his upraised staff driving on the 
 bearers like beasts, accompanied us on foot.* 
 
 Thus we left the hospitable villa, and, gently balanced, 
 both of us sank into a refreshing mid-day slumber. We 
 did not wake till the sedan was let down, and we found 
 ourselves at the gate. Quickly we sprang out, and 
 thanked the overseer for the easy and rapid convey- 
 ance. That we charged him also with many thanks 
 to the young master was a matter of course, and hardly 
 needs mention. 
 
 As I leaped out of the sedan I met with an unlucky 
 mishap. One of the straps of my sandal burst off from 
 the sole, the knots loosed, and the sandal fell from my 
 foot. I sorrowfully pointed out to my little conductor 
 the misfortune. He laughed heartily. * 
 
 " What is now to be done?" I asked, much troubled. 
 " I cannot go into the great capital with a shoe on one 
 foot only and the other in my hand!" 
 
 " Two stitches will remedy it," answered he, still 
 laughing, and enjoying my perplexity. 
 
 "Yes, two stitches •*' I said, pitifully; "but where is 
 our thread and needle?" 
 
 " Do you think there is no shoemaker in Memphis ? 
 Close here by the gate I will take you to a shop where, 
 for a pleasant word, the strap will be fastened again. 
 Come, follow me!" 
 
 In fact, inside of the city, close to the gate through which 
 
 we entered, there were many low^ houses, which appeared 
 
 to belong to mechanics, whence the sound of hammers, 
 
 saws and other tools broke forth. Over the door stood, 
 
 * Wilk. II. 208. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. Ill 
 
 as upon our signs, the name and business of the occu- 
 pant. There were cabinetmakers, turners, potters, shoe- 
 makers, tailors, weavers and many others. We entered 
 into a shoemaker's shop, and, I must confess, it was with 
 a great effort I could help laughing outright. On a low 
 three-legged stool sat the master, holding a sandal w r ith 
 both hands, and drawing a thin strap, which he had 
 thrust through a hole on its side, with his teeth. His 
 face presented such a strange expression that the desire 
 to laugh, which was ready to overcome me, might well be 
 excused. A second shoemaker, who sat on a similar 
 stool close to the first, was busied with an awl in boring 
 the necessary holes on the tw^o sides of the sole. Other 
 tools, as, for example, large needles, long and short, 
 straight and crooked awls, knives, wooden and iron 
 hammers and things of this sort, as well as pieces of 
 leather not used, lay about on the floor. Finished san- 
 dals, awaiting customers, hung around on the walls.* We 
 approached, and Horus told one of them of my mishap. 
 He was ready in a moment, took his needle, threaded it 
 in the large eye without the least difficulty, and in two 
 minutes the work was done. Horus helped me ; the sole 
 was again strapped to my foot, and we left the shop to 
 walk on further. 
 
 " Where now?" asked Horus. 
 
 " Would it be possible now to pay a visit to Apis ?" 
 
 " Certainly; and at the same time you will have an 
 opportunity to get acquainted with the famous temple of 
 Ptah. So let us go forward !" 
 
 We walked through several narrow streets, lined with 
 rows of low houses built of brick, behind which rose loftily 
 the proud temple, and, in a quarter of an hour — during 
 * Wilk. TIT. 100. 
 
112 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 which I noticed nothing besides here and there business 
 people passing by, and a troop of soldiers who marched in 
 front of the gate with a drummer and fifer — we reached 
 an open square that w T as about ten or twelve stadia, or a 
 quarter of a German mile [three quarters of an English 
 mile] in circuit. In the midst of this place the vast, old 
 and venerable temple upreared itself with its countless 
 pillared passages and adjoining buildings. The whole 
 might have been called a priestly city, for here dwelt, 
 lived, and carried on its operations, one of the most 
 famous colleges of priests, from which every year ten 
 judges were chosen for the highest courts ; and its pro- 
 phets, hierogrammats, horoscopes and other classes of 
 priests were celebrated in all times for their learning. 
 Here abode the successors of those priests and magicians 
 who had formerly contended in miracles with Moses, 
 and to their shame had been overcome by the power of 
 the one true God. 
 
 The temple proper, which lay in the midst of many 
 other buildings, was surrounded on every one of the four 
 points of the heavens by lofty colonnades, or fore-courts, 
 resting on pillars, called propylse, to which there was 
 an ascent by stone steps. Four kings have been par- 
 ticularly named by the old historians as those who 
 erected these great structures and enlarged the temple 
 and beautified it. Outside of the temple proper were 
 other large buildings, partly containing the dwellings of 
 the dhTerent classes of the priests, partly the library, 
 the court of Apis and the astronomical observatory, 
 &c. We hastened on directly, without stopping, through 
 these immense masses of stone, to reach the temple 
 proper. We mounted the steps leading to the propyls 
 on the east side ; close to these pillared halls there ad- 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 113 
 
 joined a long gallery, or alley, which was formed of 
 sphinxes, at least forty in a row. The sphinxes stand- 
 ing here were not composed, as those well-known ones, 
 of lion's bodies and human faces, but, instead of these 
 latter, had the heads of rams, and symbolically desig- 
 nated the power and majesty of the god here throned 
 and dwelling. At the end of this gallery I looked at 
 the one of the four principal gates which led to the 
 temple : it was very high and broad, in the form of a 
 pyramid, cut off nearly in the middle, built of red, 
 polished granite, and all over on its face adorned with 
 hieroglyphic inscriptions and on the sides with colossal 
 bas-reliefs, wdiich represented the worship of the god, 
 the offering of sacrifices and festal processions. When 
 we had entered through this gate we came to the proper 
 court of the temple, which was copied in the porch of 
 the later Jewish temple. Here stood the six famous, 
 lofty stone statues of Sesostris, his wife and his four 
 children, which this king caused to be erected after his 
 return from his victorious warlike expeditions.* Two 
 obelisks, also, hewn w r holly out of granite, at least sixty 
 feet high, covered with hieroglyphics, here raised their 
 tapering points toward the heavens, and seemed as if 
 touching the clouds. Opposite the gate through which 
 we entered was the passage into the inside of the tem- 
 ple proper, the holy place, where the worshiping people 
 were wont to assemble, and, under the guidance of the 
 priests, pray, bring their gifts and offer sacrifices. This 
 entrance had hung before it a richly-wrought curtain, 
 in various colors. We raised it and found the door be- 
 hind it, consisting of two folding leaves, closed ; Horus 
 knocked hard on it, and three heavy strokes resounded 
 
 * Herod. II. 110. Diod. I. 57. 
 10* 
 
114 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 in the inside of the temple, and a sacred shudder ran 
 through my frame. 
 
 "Who is there ?" a voice sounded from within. 
 
 " Two pious persons who want to offer prayer to the 
 Almighty God Ptah, the great architect of the world/' 
 replied Horus, instead of myself, who was overcome by 
 a solemn dread. 
 
 Some moments after the folding-doors opened as of 
 themselves, and a priest appeared in his long white dress 
 rolling down on the marble threshold. We entered ; the 
 door closed again, and the priest disappeared into a side- 
 chamber, leaving us to our thoughts and meditations. 
 This interior square space of the holy place of the 
 temple rested on a hundred pillars, and in the midst of 
 the great square there was a colossal sitting-image of the 
 god Ptah, on a high pedestal, which was covered around 
 with hieroglyphics. Here we stood for a long time and 
 contemplated the rigid, motionless face of the Deity. 
 "Is it possible," I thought to myself, " that a people so 
 full of genius, knowledge and invention, as the Egyp- 
 tians, can adore such a dead idol and expect help from 
 him?" Then my eye fell upon an inscription which 
 required of the worshiper faith in the Deity, faith in 
 virtue, faith in immortality ; and the simple words with 
 which this doctrine was preached in a few lines of hiero- 
 glyphics reconciled me again to the stark, cold look of 
 the image of the god. I recognized the power and 
 nearness of a Deity. Where such holy doctrines were 
 given, and surely lived in every heart and bore good 
 fruits, there the divine spirit could not be far off. 
 
 A new, costly, celestial-blue curtain, set with stars, 
 separated the temple from the most holy place, the 
 shrine., or adytum, in which stood, as I had conjectured, 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 115 
 
 from the inscription of Rosetta, the golden images and 
 little chapels of the divinity, and in which they were 
 dressed by the Hieroskolists before the processions,* 
 and in which, at a later period, also, Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes dedicated a little chapel and was honored as a 
 god. A curiosity seized me to cast, also, behind this 
 curtain a searching look ; but little Horus held me back. 
 " Entrance there," said he, "is only allowed to those 
 consecrated to the god. Do you wish to be admitted 
 into the Priest-caste ? Recollect what you have read 
 of Pythagoras ; to what examinations, what privations, 
 and what cruel tortures he had to subject himself. And 
 what else but curiosity impels you to it ; and the vulgar 
 curious can never see the light !" 
 
 I wavered between thirst of knowing and fear. I 
 wished and longed for the re-appearance of the priest, 
 in order to read in his eyes whether I could trust myself 
 to him. But Horus hastened to add, "And what would 
 you learn of our priests ? Their wisdom has long ago 
 gone out into the world, and has shaken into ruins 
 cities, states and kingdoms. What our priests teach, 
 hundreds of philosophers have since taught and copied. 
 Yes ; there yet are, in the time in which you live, priests 
 of Ptah in the world ; go and seek them. I shall not 
 betray their secrets." 
 
 As there was nothing more to see, and yet fur- 
 ther the stillness which reigned around us began to 
 be awful to me, I begged Horus to return with me and 
 conduct me to more lively scenes. But since the door of 
 the Holy place, as I stated, had closed behind us, I was 
 beginning to fear we should have to await the return of 
 the priest, and must request him to open the passage 
 * Plutarch de Tside, 866. 
 
116 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 
 out. Horus, however, appeared to know the custom 
 here ; he stepped to the door and pressed with his foot 
 on a knob that, hardly perceptible, was on the threshold ; 
 immediately the door sprang open, and we returned 
 through it into the fore-court. By the same way through 
 the gallery and the propyls we left the lofty building, 
 and then turned around to the right, to the court of Apis, 
 which was built on the south side of the temple. It was 
 surrounded with pillared halls, inclosed by thick stone 
 walls, and the floor was laid with marble plates. 
 
 Here reigned the greatest, an almost regal luxury, 
 and a fairy-like splendor in all respects. The keeper 
 of Apis, who stood at the door and looked curiously at 
 the new-comers, allowed us readily to enter, after Horus 
 had declared that we wished to consult Apis,( 13 ) and had 
 given a yet stronger emphasis to our request by a rich 
 present of gold for the divine bullock, which, of course, 
 w r ent into the keeper's pocket. I gazed around within as- 
 tonished and wandering. Was this a chamber for Apis, 
 or for a most luxurious Egyptian queen ? The court was 
 divided into two rooms, both of which were destined for 
 the bullock. In the first into which we entered, on the 
 left was a couch furnished with swelling cushions and 
 costly carpets and covers ; on a table at the right side 
 stood fragrant ointments ; near by was a basin, of ala- 
 baster, richly ornamented with gold, where, as Horus told 
 me, Apis was every day bathed and anointed by the 
 priests. In the corner stood a vessel of coals into which 
 incense was cast at short intervals by them, and from 
 which arose the sweetest odors, almost stupefying me. 
 On a second table stood, in golden vessels, the most 
 costly food with which he was accustomed to be fed.* 
 * Diod. I. 8-1. 
 
THREE DAYS IK MEMPHIS. 117 
 
 As I was about to enter the second adjoining cham- 
 ber, Apis appeared at the gate, which led from one to 
 the other. In fact, he was a royal divine animal ; more 
 'majestic than I had yet seen. Some of the signs known 
 to me from the old writers immediately caught my eye : 
 he was black, had a square white spot on his forehead, 
 and a picture of the moon on the increase on the right 
 side.* But when iElian gives twenty-nine such marks, 
 a great part of them must have existed in the imagin- 
 ative power of the priests ; and a bullock could never, 
 but with the greatest difficulty, be found which at the same 
 time possessed them all. The number of twenty-nine 
 signs appears to refer to the twenty-nine days of the 
 synodic month, since Apis is to be regarded as a symbol 
 of the Nile and the month, and, according to Plutarch, 
 must likewise have been begotten by a moon-beam. f 
 As Horus told me, near to the two courts lay a third, 
 in which the mother of Apis is fed during her life ; and 
 a fourth, with a whole harem of cows for his choice.J 
 
 "Does Apis always remain shut up here?" I softly 
 inquired of Horus. 
 
 "Almost always," he replied. " Only on special fes- 
 tive and extraordinary occasions he is carried out, as all 
 the images of the gods are, through the city, and then 
 surrounded by soldiers, who are appointed to keep off 
 the curious people from crowding on him. Then chil- 
 dren go before him who sing hymns to his praise." 
 
 The keeper of Apis constantly stood before the door, 
 eagerly listening to what we wished to ask of Apis. A 
 new present and the assurance that we wished to com- 
 
 * Pliny, Nat. Hist. VIII 46. 
 
 f Plutarch Symp. VIII. 1, de Is. c. 53. Herod. III. 28. 
 
 J iElian de Natura Animal, XI. 10. 
 
118 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 municate alone with the oracle induced him to walk out 
 into the fore-court. Apis came a step nearer, bellowing 
 aloud, and then remained standing, looking bold and 
 threatening with his unintellectual eyes. I overcame 
 my fear, and asked aloud : — 
 
 " Sacred Apis, earthly body of Osiris, reveal to me 
 the truth. When, sometime hereafter, your temple is 
 fallen into ruins ; when your people have died off, and 
 have taken away their knowledge of the language and 
 writing with them into the tomb, will there, then, in 
 after times, be a man who can inspire a new life into 
 your ruins, penetrate your spirit and decipher your 
 written monuments ?" 
 
 Hardly had I spoken these words than I caught some 
 dainties from the golden vessel and offered them to Apis. 
 He turned off one side, displeased. 
 
 "You lie," I added. "Think of Champollion, and 
 many other men, whom the after-world will name and 
 praise ; will no one of them tread in the footsteps of the 
 Egyptian priests?" 
 
 Apis still had no appetite, and evidently shook his 
 head as if offended. 
 
 "And yet, once more," I added, "will I ask. Look 
 at me ! Shall I find no favor in your eyes ? Shall I 
 strive for my hitherto pursued object? Shall I here- 
 after find that which is correct? Answer, Apis !" and I 
 held out anew to him his food. 
 
 He appeared to reflect for a long, time ; but he turned 
 not away from me, and his notice being arrested by my 
 loud and raised voice, he looked steadily at me. Finally 
 he stretched his head forward, took the food from my 
 hand, then slowly turned about and with a solemn and 
 serious step went back into the second room. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 119 
 
 " You see," said Horus, — "only do not lose courage, 
 — the bold may hope ; he who seeks will find." 
 
 Smiling and incredulous, I turned back to the en- 
 trance. Many others yet stood before the gate who 
 also wished to inquire of Apis, but who were let in only 
 one at a time by the keeper. There were soldiers who 
 had before them a dangerous undertaking ; merchants 
 who were about to ascend the Nile into the interior of 
 the country with their wares ; sick persons who had 
 long suffered with painful diseases ; men and women 
 whom one and another misfortune crushed to the earth, 
 — all would obtain from Apis consolation and hope, or 
 misery and despair. Oh, the foolish multitude ! Many 
 to-day will surely return home comfortless ; for Apis 
 appears to me wholly satiated for hours to come. 
 
 When we went out we were immediately surrounded 
 on all sides. "Is Apis in a favorable mood? Has he 
 eaten ?" These questions resounded from at least twenty 
 tongues. I gave no answer ; the superstition of the 
 multitude had in it something frightful for me, — hum- 
 bling to the dignity of man. I pressed through the 
 crowds so quickly that Horus could hardly follow me, 
 and did not rest till I again stood at the eastern portal 
 of the main temple. 
 
 Here a wondrous spectacle presented itself. On the 
 lowest step leading up to the propyls, surrounded by a 
 multitude of people, stood one of those enthusiasts be- 
 longing to the priest-class, which Egypt, ever from the 
 earliest down to modern times, has hidden in her bo- 
 som.* He was a serpent-charmer — almost naked, ex- 
 cept a little apron about his hips — who gestured convul- 
 
 * JElian Hist. Animal, XVII. 5. Quatremere Memoires sur l'Egypte, 
 T. I. p. 202, ff. 
 
120 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 sively like a maniac, so that the foam and slaver came 
 out of his mouth. He held in his hands three serpents 
 universally dreaded by the people as venomous, and 
 which coiled themselves around his body and to whose 
 bite he appeared to expose himself without harm. He 
 imitated most deceptively the hiss of the serpent, and 
 thus, as well as by his wonderful and magical practices, 
 excited so powerful an influence on the animals that in 
 a moment they became obedient to his will and com- 
 mand. While the other two wound themselves round 
 his whole body, he opened the mouth of the third one, 
 spit in his throat, laid his hand imperatively on his 
 head, and immediately it became stiff and motionless as 
 a stick, letting itself be taken hold of and handled as if 
 it were so. Every eye hung on this wonder, till the 
 multitude passed from mute astonishment to loud ad- 
 miration and wild shouts of applause. After some 
 minutes the charmer caught the serpent' by the tail, 
 then rolled it between his hands, and it was as lively 
 again and capable of motion as before.* 
 
 " These are the wise men," said Horus, "who first 
 were set up to oppose Moses. But they were entirely 
 conquered by a miracle which is, even to this day, in- 
 conceivable to me. Moses' rod swallowed up the rods 
 into which they had changed the serpents ; and even in 
 the very art of which Egyptian wise men especially 
 boast, by which, as you see, they enchain the people 
 and carry them away to blind wonder and enthusiasm, 
 Moses was superior to them, and armed with a higher, 
 unsearchable power." 
 
 I drew Horus along with me. The sight of the brown, 
 savage-looking man, covered with foam and blood; the 
 * Description de Egypt, T. xxiv. p. 82, ff. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 121 
 
 glittering, hissing serpents ; the wild shouts of the 
 people, — all these filled me with fear and horror. We 
 went along to the eastern propylae until we bent round 
 to the left and found ourselves on the north side of the 
 temple. Here were many side-buildings, constructed, 
 like the temple, entirely of stone, dwellings of the 
 priests, astronomical observatories, and, finally, the 
 library belonging to the priests. The last especially 
 arrested my notice and excited my curiosity, and so I 
 begged Horus to let me have a look into it. Imme- 
 diately he declared his readiness, and after we had 
 passed the houses where, in single cells, the priests were 
 busied with the wisdom, and restlessly at work for the 
 fame of their country and their protector Thoth, we* en- 
 tered a high gate, and found ourselves in a large square 
 building that embraced a main saloon and some small 
 adjoining rooms. 
 
 When we entered the great library-hall my first look 
 fell upon a large statue of the god Thoth, the inventor 
 and guardian of all the sciences and arts, and especially 
 the art of writing, which statue was set up on the right 
 of the door, and bore the inscription — " Thoth, the 
 scribe, the Lord of Hermopolis, (Egyptian Schmun.)"* 
 He was represented with the head of an Ibis, and with 
 writing materials in his hand, by which marks he may 
 easily be distinguished in almost all the pictures. Next 
 I turned my attention to the opposite wall, which was 
 occupied by a large painting. On drawing near I per- 
 ceived the astronomical zodiac with its twelve houses, 
 six and thirty decans and three hundred and sixty 
 degrees ; with every decan in every degree stood the 
 figure and name of the deity which, according to astro- 
 
 * Wilk. Suppl. plate 45, and Diod. I. 49. 
 11 
 
122 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 logical determinations, was regarded as ruling in it. 
 The seven planetary divinities, also, had received their 
 place where they stood at a certain hour, probably at 
 the hour of birth, of the founder of the building. One 
 look at this picture was sufficient to establish and con- 
 firm the idea I had already formed of the astronomical 
 knowledge and astrological reveries of the old Egyp- 
 tians. The three other walls, also, were filled all over 
 with hieroglyphical incriptions that referred partly to 
 the god Thoth himself and partly to the sciences, and 
 celebrated their use ; as also in the same manner was 
 the famous library in the temple of Thebes most fitly 
 called "a house for the cure of the soul." As to the 
 book-rolls themselves, they lay partly in open reposi- 
 tories standing against the walls, partly in chests or 
 boxes, which were very similar to those heretofore de- 
 scribed. Six or seven scribes sat around in the hall 
 and were busily copying different valuable manuscripts. 
 The librarian, who in Egyptian is called "the governor 
 of books," walked back and forth, looking at the rolls; 
 he was an old priest, who already had long held this 
 office, and appeared to have grown gray in it. At our 
 request he willingly drew out sometimes one roll and 
 sometimes another, in order to unroll it to our aston- 
 ished eyes, and added short observations respecting its 
 contents. The books were almost all written in hierogly- 
 phic characters, only a few in the hieratic current style, 
 not one in the demotic mode ; as this method first came 
 into use at a later day, and the middle kind formed the 
 transition from the sacred to the demotic method of 
 writing. Though now, as every one knows, the whole 
 Egyptian literature was a work of the priests, and at 
 that time, at least, bore a more or less religious charac- 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 123 
 
 ter, yet there was already in the library, as to its pre- 
 vailing contents, it might be said, an arrangement in 
 accordance with the departments of science, just as 
 every particular branch of the wisdom of the priests 
 was assigned to a special priestly-class. In one reposi- 
 tory lay the theological, in another the more juridical, 
 in a third the medical, and in yet another, finally, the 
 astronomical, historical and other book-rolls. 
 
 The first which the librarian drew out and showed us 
 were ten in number ; the so-called sacred books of the 
 prophets, which treated of the laws relating to the wor- 
 ship of the gods and the doctrines of the divinities. 
 Every one of them was at least thirty feet long, divided 
 into large sections and subdivisions, and with respect to 
 every one of these subdivisions the laity could easily 
 conjecture the contents by vignette-titles. There were 
 represented in these vignette-titles sacrificial solemni- 
 ties, processions, various figures of the gods, with all 
 their attributes, and the pictures of the sacred animals. 
 Ten other books, likewise shown us, were on liturgical 
 subjects, and contained prescriptions for worship ; two 
 others, hymns and prayers, which the Hieroskolists and 
 singers had particularly imprinted for themselves. The 
 first glance convinced me that these latter, if they were 
 not rhythmical and measured in our sense, yet had a 
 poetic cast, and were destined to be sung off according 
 to certain regular melodies. The songs were all divided 
 into a number of strophes, some into twenty and more, 
 of equal length, which always begun and ended with 
 the same words. There were the twenty-two religious 
 books, in a closer sense of the term ; to them were 
 added fourteen others, which, too, were regarded as 
 sacred, because they treated of the sacred writing in all 
 
124 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the relations of hieroglyphics, art of drawing, of geo- 
 metrical representation, cosmography, geography, topo- 
 graphy, &e. I would gladly have more accurately 
 studied these books, but the time was too short 
 and the books too long; and the sacred scribes only 
 could perfectly expound them, who on their part in- 
 structed the wealthy young Egyptians in the outlines of 
 the art of sacred writing. I saw merely, by a hasty 
 glance at the titles, that they were thrice inscribed 
 to the great Thoth, the Hermes Trismegistus of the 
 Greeks.* 
 
 The juridical literature was of the least extent. Its 
 basis served eight book-rolls, in which the collective 
 laws of the land were distinguished. f They contained 
 the criminal laws, the laws as to marriage, those as to 
 war, and the laws of trade, &c. These were all short 
 and compact, mentioning only the crime and the pun- 
 ishment attached to it from the earliest times. An 
 innumerable multitude of other rolls contained the 
 papers of the different trials brought down even to the 
 then present day, such as in modern times would hardly 
 find place in a library ; the documents of accusation or 
 of defence, and the judgments of the courts. The six 
 medical books, too, which, as is well known, were borne 
 in the processions by the so-called Pastophori, I had laid 
 before me. The first of them treated of the organism 
 of the body ; all its single parts were delineated in rough 
 sketches, and described as accurately as possible ; and, 
 so far as I could judge, there was more attention be- 
 stowed on the outer than the inner parts. The second 
 
 * Clem. V. Alex. Strom. V. p. 260, and Bunsen iEgyptens Stelle, etc. 
 Bd. I. p. 34. 
 f Diod. I. 75. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 125 
 
 treated of diseases, a third of cures, the others of sur- 
 gical instruments, &c. But particularly interesting to 
 "me was a little book which the " governor of the books" 
 brought out only after many requests by my little con- 
 ductor. It was the so-called " Holy Ambres."* It con- 
 tained a short account of all the symptoms of disease 
 and the judgment every time made, whether or not the 
 cure was possible, so that the prophets could decide re- 
 specting the life or death of patients seeking counsel of 
 them. The principal Egyptian diseases, such as plagues, 
 leprosy, inflammations of the eye, and others, were here 
 so accurately described in their particular appearance 
 that I was convinced Moses drew from it his medical 
 wisdom which we find laid down in his books. 
 
 The number of astronomical and astrological books 
 was large ; and especially important appeared to me an 
 astrological work, which I took into my hand, and of 
 which the name of Petosiris was given in the superscrip- 
 tion as its author. f It contained the secret science of the 
 effects of the planets, and the influences which they ex- 
 ert on the destiny of a new-born child in the hour of his 
 birth, according as they stand in this or that house or 
 decan. Innumerable examples were annexed as an ap- 
 pendix ; from Menes even to the time of the Eighteenth 
 Dynasty, the destinies of the most important kings and 
 state-officers were collected together with the constella- 
 tions of their natal hours. The astronomy was also ex- 
 pressed in other books with a surprising accuracy for 
 that period. The place of the fixed stars and the con- 
 stellations, the planets, the division of the sun's path, 
 the conjunctions and phases of the sun and moon, as 
 well as the rise and setting of stars, the reckoning of 
 
 * Horap. Hieroglyph. I. 38. f Jul. Firinicus, L. IV. c. 10. 
 
 11* 
 
126 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 time, the whole calendar, and some astronomical periods 
 — the Apis periods, the Phoenix periods, and the Sothis 
 periods, or cycles — were given in them most definitely. 
 
 On papyrus-rolls of larger size were prepared maps 
 of the whole country and its particular portions, as well 
 as accurate plans of surveys of the landed property be- 
 longing to the State and temple. Such a map which I un- 
 rolled contained a ground-plot of a catacomb at Thebes ; 
 the particular sepulchral chambers were clearly marked 
 out, and in every such chamber the existing tablets were 
 noticed, how long, how broad and high, even to the 
 inch, by whom and at what time they were erected, &c. 
 Another map represented the whole of Egypt, with its 
 twelve provinces and thirty-six nomes, from the coast of 
 the Mediterranean Sea to Suan, or Syene ; and I saw 
 that the north coast of Egypt must formerly have had 
 a different appearance from the present one. In the 
 former marshy regions which were inhabited by tribes 
 carrying on the raising of cattle, if compared with re- 
 cent maps, entire lakes have arisen, while former lakes, 
 on the contrary, have been wholly filled up by sand. 
 So, too, the old Lake of Sirbonis, which, in the delinea- 
 tion lying before me was situated on the east side of 
 Egypt, has now wholly disappeared; while, on the con- 
 trary, the old Lake of Tanis, which the Arabians now 
 call Birk-Menzaleh, and in which the Pelusian, Tanitic, 
 and Mendesian arms of the Nile emptied themselves, 
 have become so enlarged in the course of centuries that 
 it now almost embraces a third of the whole north coast ; 
 and cities which once lay on the main-land, as, for ex- 
 ample, Pelusium, now are entirely covered by water. 
 
 The librarian was tired of unrolling and rolling up so 
 many books, as well as we with looking at so many inte- 
 
THREE DATS IN MEMPHIS. 127 
 
 resting objects ; the time was already far advanced, and 
 the priests appeared to wish to withdraw into their abodes. 
 
 "I could show you yet many other books on import- 
 ant subjects," said the old man, as he concluded his ex- 
 planations, "but they present the same outward appear- 
 ance. The historical rolls and lists of kings, preserved 
 in the different unopened chests, are of weighty im- 
 portance. "* 
 
 "Let us go," whispered Horus to me. "The his- 
 torical works are already known to you. The lists of 
 Dynasties, the descriptions of the warlike deeds of Sesos- 
 tris, Amasis, the different Ramses and others are there, 
 which Manetho, Herodotus and Diodorus have used, or 
 from which they at least have caused the most essential 
 parts to be communicated to them by the priests. Be- 
 sides, the sun is sinking lower down to the horizon, and 
 before we wander into new scenes I need a moment's 
 repose." 
 
 We left the library, which was immediately closed be- 
 hind us. The librarian and the scribes went to their 
 cells after having completed their work, to take their 
 meal. 
 
 "What industry! what learning!" cried I, astonished, 
 as soon as we again stood before the temple, in the open 
 air. " Your priests do, in truth, deserve the fame and 
 veneration which all antiquity has paid them. They 
 must be the noblest of men ; they who labor restlessly in 
 the cultivation of the sciences without laying claim to 
 the least reward ; for I have never yet heard that the 
 name of a priest has been celebrated by history, though 
 they are those who deserve the highest fame and thanks 
 of posterity. Unselfish, they toil on only for one aim, 
 * Diod. I. 90. 
 
128 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the glorifying of the protecting god Thoth, for the en- 
 nobling of mankind/' 
 
 "You think so?" said Horns, with a bitter smile. 
 "As to individuals, you may be right; but most of 
 the priests are like all men ; behind the temple walls 
 many a crime is hidden. The prophet of this temple 
 himself, many years ago, committed a crime which has 
 never come to light, but so much the more does his con- 
 science pain and torture him. Look up now to that 
 window in the dark, mysterious building ; there he lives, 
 his crime unpunished, for the arm of earthly justice 
 penetrates not into the sacred inclosure where the priests 
 dwell." 
 
 " Oh tell me about it !" cried I, full of curiosity. 
 
 We seated ourselves on the steps of the propyls, and 
 Horus began : — 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TALE. 
 
 "About fifty years ago Egypt was the theatre of great 
 conflicts and movements. At that period the country 
 had not the good fortune to be united under one scepter ; 
 here and there existed in particular provinces different 
 dynasties, who governed not by powerful kings, but by 
 weak rulers, and, indeed, were swayed by some import- 
 ant colleges of priests. Thus ruled over Memphis and 
 its weak king a priest who bore the name of Sesom, i.e. 
 Son of Hercules. He it is of whom I am about to tell 
 you ; he who now, almost a hundred years old, is hasten- 
 ing to meet his death ; but who at that time was in the 
 most vigorous years of manhood, which the astrologers 
 had placed under the protection of the powerful and 
 mighty Planet-god Mars.( 14 ) And, in fact, conflicts, 
 cunning murder and misdeeds of all kinds marked the 
 years of his life. 
 
 "As has often been the case in the history of Egypt, 
 so about this time broke forth the morning-dawn of a 
 freer development. A bold king united all their little 
 kingdoms into one whole ; his strong arm ruled the 
 whole land from Memphis even to Syene, and the power 
 of the priests, which had so joyously forged fetters for 
 the country and its kings, was destroyed by one mighty 
 and powerful arm, and driven back into the walls of the 
 
 129 
 
130 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 temple. Could the priestly order allow this to take 
 place quietly? Could they let their authority and 
 power, which they had possessed for years, slip from 
 their hands without a blow of the sword ? Could they see 
 their crafty web torn asunder without an attempt to join 
 again the broken threads to each other ? No ! A strug- 
 gle; a fearful contest of the Priesthood against the 
 Sovereignty must be ventured on : not an open, honor- 
 able fight, in which the priests, without doubt, Avould be 
 worsted under such a king, but a secret, crafty con- 
 spiracy, of which no one knew, that no one dreamed of, 
 whose horrible threads should be lost in the most holy 
 sanctuary of- the temple and never come to public view. 
 The high-priest and prophet Sesom was, as you will see, 
 the soul of the whole. The king had a daughter, a lovely, 
 tender child, hardly seventeen years old, named Athyr- 
 tis, — not that well-known daughter of Sesostris, but like 
 her in wisdom, eager desire of knowledge, and prophetic 
 gifts. The child had already gladly stayed within the 
 temple walls, listened to the prayers of the priests, and 
 admired the splendor of the sacrifices and the priest- 
 hood ; and, indeed, it might be said, she lived no earthly, 
 but only a heavenly life, in the silent converse with 
 Ammon, Osiris, Isis and other deities, who she believed 
 hovered over and protected her. Thus she stood, six- 
 teen years old, when her father mounted the throne, in 
 the calling of a holy, consecrated prophetess. 
 
 " Her way led her often to the temple of Ptah. At- 
 tended by only two trusty handmaids, she walked 
 silently through the streets of Memphis, deep-veiled, 
 mixed herself among the worshiping people, and fre- 
 quently lingered a longer time than other worshipers 
 of the Deity, in the vestibule, praying and thirsting for 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 131 
 
 higher wisdom. Often believing herself alone she 
 clasped with beautiful arms the image of the God, 
 lifted her protecting veil, and gazed with her black, 
 ardent eyes up into the face of the Exalted one. She 
 also frequently gazed with a silent sigh on the curtain 
 which separated her from the most Holy place, and 
 which was opened only for the initiated. Thus Sesom 
 saw her ; frequently hid behind a pillar, he listened to 
 the inmost thoughts of the princess, which she uttered 
 aloud in her prayers ; he saw her developing herself 
 every month more majestic and beautiful, and soon only 
 two emotions swayed his unholy bosom : Love and Re- 
 venge ; love to the most beautiful woman that he had 
 ever seen, and revenge against the king, whom he hoped 
 to reach through the daughter. She should be an in- 
 strument to break the power of the king. 
 
 " I must not make my story too long. A year passed, 
 during which the prophet came to meet the wishes of 
 the maiden. Hypocritically he had draw T n her to him- 
 self, and instructed her in many secrets of the divinity. 
 She was initiated into the first degree of the mysteries, 
 and, unconscious and dreaming of nothing evil, had 
 fallen more and more into the power of the priest. 
 Soon she gazed behind the veil, and was admitted into 
 the most Holy place. It was the twelfth day of the 
 month Mesori ; the sun had sent a burning glow over 
 the day, and as he declined toward his setting hour the 
 sultry air yet retained all the inhabitants in their houses. 
 The streets of Memphis were desolated and empty. 
 Then a maiden, alone, without any attendant, covered 
 with an impenetrable veil, stole out of the women's 
 chambers of the royal palace ; silent as a shadow she 
 glided through the portal, passed the tired watchmen, 
 
132 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 and, ever looking anxiously about her, struck into a path 
 toward the temple. Upon the great steps on which we 
 are here sitting she made a halt to catch her breath ; 
 trembling and excited she uttered fervent prayers; the 
 veil fell from her shoulders, and as she stood there in 
 her beauty and majesty one might have thought her to 
 be Isis incarnate. But there was no one saw her ; only 
 a fresh, evening breeze played with her locks ; only the 
 departing sun once looked into her eye and disappeared 
 behind the chain of western mountains which there 
 bounds the horizon. 
 
 " When she had so stood for about a quarter of an hour 
 and prayed, she suddenly came out of her deep thoughts, 
 threw her thick veil anew over her beautiful face, mounted 
 w T ith firm foot the steps through the vestibule and to the 
 gate of the inner temple. Once she seemed to delay at 
 the door, but it was a few moments only; then, with 
 strong hand, laid hold of the knocker; three heavy 
 strokes resounded in the inside of the temple and sent 
 a holy shuddering through the otherwise courageous and 
 composed, yet at this moment timid, maiden. But in a 
 few minutes the door opened, and Athyrtis, for it was 
 she, entered; the prophet, in his long, white, flowing 
 robe, received her upon the marble threshold. 
 
 " With seriousness and dignity he caught hold of the 
 trembling hand of the king's virgin daughter ; slowly 
 and solemnly she walked through the temple, and in a 
 few moments stood before the curtain. The priest lifted 
 it up, and she entered into the most Holy place. A glare 
 of light, which streamed forth for a moment from behind 
 the curtain and illuminated the temple, vanished as 
 quickly again. In the temple all was desolate and 
 empty. What they two uttered there, what the priest 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 133 
 
 taught her, what the princess learned, no one knows. 
 You who already, before you found me, have cast a look 
 into the essence of our religion and the mysteries of our 
 priests, can conjecture it. 
 
 " Sesom let her cast one glance into the mysteries of 
 the temple and into his heart glowing with love. The 
 gods to whom she had looked and prayed so sincerely, 
 in whom she had trusted with such unshaken faith, were 
 now before her eyes, stripped of their decorations ; they 
 were changed from living persons, beaming with dignity, 
 into simple stars, which, according to eternal laws, wan- 
 der through the heavens ; the myths, which attracted 
 and inspired the laity, were pointed out to her in their 
 astrological sense, and sunk down to legends invented 
 by the priests ; the wonders of the temple, which she 
 had hitherto admired and that had astonished her, were 
 explained to her, and became for her tricks and decep- 
 tions of the ambitious priestood deserving contempt; it 
 was with her as with a child who had gazed with amaze- 
 ment and awe of belief on the arts of a juggler, and 
 who is suddenly pitilessly dragged upon the scene to 
 look through the instruments of the enchanter's craft. 
 She had lost the most beautiful ornament and mightiest 
 stay of the woman : devoted faith in the divinity and 
 its miracles. She was morally annihilated. 
 
 " Soon all was alive in the temple. The Neokori, or 
 ministers of the temple appeared, to purify the holy room 
 and decorate it for the next day, which was a festival- 
 day. The necessary sacrificial furniture was brought in, 
 also the various little statues of the gods, clad in costly 
 robes and placed in a circle. 
 
 " Suddenly resounded behind the curtain a long and 
 piercing cry. Then all was again still. 
 
 12 
 
134 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 " A servant, moved with curiosity, stepped to one side 
 of the curtain and threw a glance into the most Holy 
 place. Athyrtis lay in a swoon, and without motion, 
 in the arms of the priest. 
 
 "When she awaked she lay gently reposing on a soft 
 couch in an adjoining hall of the temple, whither the 
 priest had caused her to be home. A sweet strain of 
 music recalled her to life ; perfumes breathed all around 
 her, and a table set with excellent, delicious food and 
 costly wines invited her to taste. Sesom stood on one 
 side watching every motion of hers, and when the first 
 signs of life returned, when she opened her eyes and 
 mechanically laid her hand on her burning brow, then a 
 new unholy fire burned in his eyes ; it was a lightning 
 flash, a sign of wild triumph. The fright, confusion 
 and horror which had a short time before possessed the 
 young maiden, all which she had experienced, was so 
 mighty in its effect that she could only with difficulty, 
 and gradually, recall to her mind what had transpired. 
 First came clearly before her soul the fervent prayers 
 which she had sent up to the throne of the divinity; 
 but, while slowly and by degrees her powers and recol- 
 lections returned, she suddenly heard in her ears the 
 unholy words of the priest which had robbed her of her 
 senses. Affrighted anew she wished to raise herself, 
 but her feeble limbs refused their office, and she sunk 
 back exhausted upon her pillow, when suddenly a minis- 
 ter of the temple, quickly changed into a cup-bearer, 
 stood beside her with the frightful skeleton upon his 
 arm, and the horrible words upon his lips : i Look on 
 this, eat and drink, for to-morrow thou mayest be dead 
 and like to it !' 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 135 
 
 " Athyrtis, who felt pressed down by an unaccountable 
 weakness and exhaustion, and saw the necessity of 
 gathering all her energy and power, cast a look upon 
 the richly-laden table, and almost involuntarily stretched 
 forth her hand for the cup of sparkling wine, which the 
 priest coming forward held out to her. But she stopped 
 before she touched it to her lips. Was she afraid of be- 
 trayal, of a cunningly-prepared enchantment ? Sesom 
 anticipated her, again took the cup which she already 
 held, half emptied it, and gave it back to her again, 
 with the words, " Fear not, beautiful daughter of the 
 most powerful king, neither poison nor enchanting 
 draught will be offered to you by me ; drink, the body 
 needs strength and invigoration for the new doctrines 
 which you must receive." 
 
 " She drank ; and while the fiery wine ran through her 
 veins her life-spirits were once more aroused, and new 
 courage and firm self-confidence returned to her. She 
 proudly raised herself up. 
 
 " ' Let me,' said she boldly and firmly, ' return to the 
 world, where true love and piety dwell. I scorn you and 
 your whole treacherous system of doctrine. You shall 
 not rob me of my god who dwells in my bosom, who 
 rewards, punishes and judges me, who promises me 
 blessedness and immortality.' 
 
 "'Athyrtis,' said the priest, breaking in upon her 
 words with a Avondrously deep emotion, ' you have re- 
 ceived the holy doctrines of the priests, and your con- 
 science binds you to an eternal silence. Now examine 
 yourself and see whether you have courage to go out 
 and betray our secrets ; two enemies stand opposed to 
 you, both alike mighty, alike to be dreaded : the people, 
 who will not believe you, and will condemn you as a 
 
130 TIIKEE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 blasphemer of the gods, and the priests, who, with in- 
 visible hand, will reach and punish you as a betrayer ; 
 therefore be silent, and listen to that wisdom whic 
 I have further to make known to you/ 
 
 " Athyrtis had gradually sunk into a deep stupor, sup 
 ported her head in her hand, and still and silently 
 hearkened to the words of the priest. Now she raised 
 herself up. 
 
 "'And if there are no gods,' said she, seriously and 
 slowly, 'what are ye the priests of those divinities that 
 do not exist ? Let me go out, reflect on your wicked 
 words, condemn them, by prayer atone for every evil 
 thought, and never return again. Yes; I swear it; 
 never shall my foot touch this unholy threshold again !' 
 
 "'You are free; and yet you will involuntarily re- 
 turn here,' said the priest, quietly and pleasantly. 
 ' But once more I leave you the choice ; will you re- 
 main and hear further ?' 
 
 "'No!' cried Athyrtis, aloud, with all the power of 
 her determination. ' No ; give me freedom !' 
 
 "'Farewell, for a speedy meeting with each other 
 again !' whispered the priest. 
 
 "Athyrtis went out. 
 
 " The priest could have held back the young daughter 
 of the king, robbed her of her freedom, and indeed 
 put her to death without the black deed becoming known 
 to the public. But he gave her freedom ; he calculated 
 with certainty and prudence on the future ; he needed the 
 young maiden for his dark purposes, and he possessed, 
 as you will see, invisible means enough to bring her 
 back at any time within the walls of the temple. 
 
 "On the same evening the priest summoned together 
 all the associates of his order. They held long and 
 
 ? 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 137 
 
 solemn councils. And when, also, the assembly was 
 separated, the high-priest again sat busied in long and 
 deep thought. But the first morning-beam found him 
 zealously deciphering the old written character. 
 
 "Weeks had passed; Athyrtis had not again allowed 
 herself to be seen in the temple. Strictly true to her 
 determination, she had avoided all meetings with the 
 priest, and although in the first days after the events 
 already related deep melancholy and sorrowfulness had 
 weighed her down, yet by the unbounded love with 
 which her life was adorned in her father's house gradu- 
 ally her joyous feeling partly came back to her, and all 
 that she had heard, seen or experienced on that even- 
 ing, moved sometimes before her soul only as a bitter, 
 distressing dream. Then dawned the birth-day of her 
 royal father — the highest festival for all his subjects 
 who felt contented and happy under his strict but just 
 government. Already early in the morning the collec- 
 tive priesthood of Memphis were assembled in the palace 
 to greet the king at his awaking, in order in his pre- 
 sence to pray and offer sacrifices for his prosperity. But 
 the subject for whom these solemnities were prepared 
 had not come in, and priests and prophets, horoscopes 
 and hierogrammatists, stood mixed up with fierce soldiers, 
 waiting in the ante-room. Sesom stepped aside with one 
 of the ministers of the temple and whispered with him 
 in a low tone words that could not be understood, while 
 his black burning eyes, now and then with a searching 
 glance, shot over the multitude, to make himself certain 
 that they were unnoticed and unmarked. Then, sud- 
 denly, he caught hold of the fold of his long-flowing 
 
 12* 
 
138 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 priestly linen robe and drew forth a little glass phial, 
 which was so small that he could easily hide it in his 
 hand. From his own hand he slid it softly into the 
 hand of his attendant ; the contents were limpid and 
 colorless as the purest spring-water. Two undistinguish- 
 able words only he whispered further to the other. A 
 look of agreement on both sides, and the crime was con- 
 certed. The day beginning joyously was to end in 
 sorrow. The king appeared, and the priests fell in hypo- 
 critically among the ranks of the well-wishers. 
 
 " The mid-day saw the whole company of courtiers and 
 state officers seated at a splendid repast ; even the wo- 
 men had come with their husbands and shared in the 
 universal pleasure and joy. In Egypt the drinking hour 
 begins at the end of the banquet ; the women then drink 
 one or two cups in the society of their husbands, and 
 withdraw afterward into the harem. Thus it was also 
 to-day. In the large hall where the feast took place 
 stood on one side a table filled, with cups and pitchers 
 awaiting their destination. Two cups among these were 
 specially distinguished as pledge-cups, particularly de- 
 signed for the king and his lovely daughter : they glit- 
 tered with the purest gold, and showed on the outside 
 (formed of costly precious stones) the name-shields and 
 letters of the king and Athyrtis. The cup-bearer stood 
 awaiting the royal nod, and with constant eye directed to 
 the king, close beside the wine-table. Many persons, filled 
 with curiosity, who belonged to a lower rank, and had 
 not been at the king's table, but had their place in a 
 side-hall, here and there showed themselves in the great 
 hall, admiring the costly articles of the regal table — its 
 dishes, vases and elegant furniture. Thus also a minis- 
 ter of the temple, unnoticed, ventured through the mov- 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 189 
 
 ing multitude, and pressed forward even up to the table 
 with the wine waiting to be tasted, wiiere he remained 
 standing as if astonished and full of delight. 
 
 " ' What costly furniture !' he whispered to the chief 
 cup-bearer ; ' a kingdom could be bought for it, and 
 might be weighed against it. But where are the royal 
 cups which are so famed V 
 
 " The cup-bearer readily showed them to him. i This 
 larger one/ said he, 'is for the king, the smaller one 
 for the princess;' and quickly turned again toward the 
 king, in order not to let any nod escape him. This mo- 
 ment the villain made use of, and while all eyes were 
 directed to a beautiful and agreeable female slave, who 
 enlivened the banquet by song and dance, unmarked he 
 bent himself over the small cup in the form of a lotus- 
 flower terminating below in a point, as if he was ad- 
 miring its pure metal and costly gems, and quickly let 
 fall the contents of the phial which he had received from 
 the priest into the cup. Then he disappeared among 
 the multitude. 
 
 "When the banquet was ended and the well-known 
 call for drinking to the guests was made, the king beck- 
 oned. His own and Athyrtis's cups w^ere first filled with 
 sparkling wine ; then followed the others. Every one 
 held his cup, and the drinking began, with song and 
 dance spiced with play and conversation. 
 
 " Athyrtis, who sat beside her father, not far from the 
 hated priest, wished to show the latter that instead of 
 terror the joyousness and love of life had come back to 
 her this evening, with scornful looks gazed on him, and 
 then turned herself with ecstatic laugh to her father : — 
 
 " ' May the gods grant thee long life, health and 
 strength ; may they bestow on thee and thy posterity 
 
140 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 victory, fame, and constant dominion over the Land of 
 Ptah, that the sovereignty may continue to thee and thy 
 children forever !' 
 
 "So she spoke enthusiastically, and emptied her cup. 
 The king was enraptured vrith the enchanting smile, 
 sparkling eyes and charming appearance of his lovely 
 child. Ah, ruin undreamed of was near ! Athyrtis had 
 to-day laughed for the last time. 
 
 " The king, after a few moments, turned toward her 
 graciously with his cup to drink in turn to her. But 
 he, and all who had followed his eyes and looked in the 
 face of the king's daughter, drew back affrighted. 
 Athyrtis had become deadly pale ; an unearthly fire 
 shone from her otherwise so soft and peaceful eyes. 
 With her right arm uplifted, she began as one inspired 
 by a god : — 
 
 "'What do you stand astonished at? Do you not 
 know me who have come among you to announce the 
 disasters of after-times ? Do you not know your Isis, 
 your goddess, the queen of this land, the pupil of 
 Hermes, the wife and sister of the King Osiris ? Have 
 I not proved myself your benefactress ? have I not 
 for you invented prosperity, agriculture ? have I not 
 brought forth little Horus, the son of light ?* Hear 
 my words ! Thousands of years pass before my view. I 
 see enemies in the South, in the East, and in the North; 
 I see how they, one after another, break in, overflow my 
 land, and drive me myself from my dominion. I see yet 
 more ! I see the temples desolate, the palaces fallen 
 into ruins ; I see men walking about with hoe and 
 shovel, who in vain seek for the proud regal city in the 
 * Diod. I. 27. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 141 
 
 ruins of Memphis ; I see others who bear off our monu- 
 ments of stone, obelisks, tablets and sarcophagi, to the 
 cold North. The land of Ptah disappears from the hori- 
 zon ; its gods are no more, its temples are destroyed, 
 its corpses are moldered ! Yes, you are right, wise 
 priest, there is no immortality !' 
 
 "That was the first outbreak of the feyer or madness. 
 Sinking back exhausted, the unfortunate girl was caught 
 by her father, and, her handmaidens hastening forward, 
 she was borne by them into a side-chamber and laid 
 upon a couch. The joyous company was thrown into 
 confusion ; and as the king, in his terror and anguish, 
 had not thought to give any definite command, so the 
 courtiers, after they had sprung up in horror from their 
 seats, silently looked to his place with anxious expecta- 
 tion for the development of the tragedy. 
 
 " Finally, the king called for the physicians. Our 
 medical science was at all times in a sad state ; I do 
 not say that our priests had not essayed to acquaint 
 themselves with the effects of the medicinal plants which 
 Egypt produces so abundantly : they also had, as far as 
 it was possible for them, studied the principal and spe- 
 cific diseases ; but the extension of this knowledge was 
 limited and hindered by laws the most wonderful, yet 
 sacred on account of their age. "What anatomical know- 
 ledge and facilities could they gain, when the dissection 
 of a corpse was regarded as a punishable sacrilege ? How 
 could they by new researches extend this science, while 
 every novelty was looked upon as a departure from the 
 old consecrated laws of medicine ? How, in short, could 
 they effect a fortunate cure in difficult diseases, since 
 for every symptom there were specific physicians, with 
 
142 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 particular law-books, as those for the eyes, head, teeth, 
 belly, feet, &c. ?* 
 
 "So it was here. From every side of the hall poured 
 in physicians : those who were not present at the feast 
 were summoned, by quick messengers, from their tem- 
 ples. Every one of these latter bore on his head an 
 apothecary's small box, which in particular divisions 
 contained surgical instruments and the necessary reme- 
 dies in little phials and boxes. f In these were extracts 
 of the roots of thistle, chicory-juice, pills rolled out of 
 pounded roots of wall-lettuce, juice of chervil, oil from 
 the seed of saffron-flowers, asparagus-root steeped in 
 vinegar, the red berries of the so-called scorpion-weed, 
 a black powder prepared from the ashes of papyrus, and 
 many others. 
 
 "Finally, to calm the maiden, and probably to throw 
 her into a salutary sleep, a portion of the last-mentioned 
 powder was scattered into wine, and in spite of her re- 
 sistance this drink was given to her. J 
 
 "In the mean while all who did not belong to the 
 ministers of Esculapius withdrew and dispersed them- 
 selves about the ante-room. Only the physicians 
 watched and with anxious solicitude observed the pro- 
 gress of the disease. Sesom, who as prophet possessed 
 a great amount of theoretical medical knowledge, di- 
 rected the whole and had the reputation of being able 
 to express a wise and unerring judgment, went uneasily 
 up and down in the hall, after he had at first apparently 
 regarded the poor creature with the greatest sympathy, 
 
 * Herod. II. 86. Diod. I. 82. Herod. II. 84. 
 f Such an apothecary's small box is in the Royal Museum at Ber- 
 lin, in the glass cases of the Historical Saloon. 
 % Compare my Thoth, p. 144. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 143 
 
 and felt and examined her pulse and the beating of her 
 heart. When finally the king had come to him with 
 a look full of despair, and begged of him his opinion, 
 he bowed down low and reverentially before his sove- 
 reign, raised his right hand toward heaven and said, 
 with a solemn voice — 
 
 " ' Neither Isis nor Serapis can save her ; she will never 
 again awake from her sleep !' 
 
 " As is the case among all people and at all times — 
 and is indeed yet the case with you, who give yourselves 
 out to be enlightened and educated — after this cruel ex- 
 pression, despairing of the help of the physicians, they 
 turned to their superstition : they sent to the various 
 oracles in the region around to search out a remedy. 
 But was it chance, or had Sesom the guidance? The 
 oracles, which always in such cases were ready with an- 
 swers of all kinds, remained dumb.* After some four 
 hours of apparently quiet slumber, the king's daughter 
 was no more. 
 
 " As the Greek authors correctly relate, in Egypt they 
 show almost as great honor to queens and female mem- 
 bers of the royal family as to the kings themselves; so 
 Athyrtis, first in the capital, and, after her death was 
 known, through the whole land, was universally lamented 
 with the deepest sorrow and sincerity. Next, all the 
 inmates of the harem undertook the usual mourning 
 procession through the streets of Memphis, in which 
 they besmeared and disguised their faces with earth and 
 mire, made bare the breast, cried with loud voices for 
 the dead, smote themselves and tore out their disheveled 
 hair. The men did the same; for seventy days no razor 
 * Herod. II. 133. Diod. I. 81. 
 
144 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 came upon their heads ; and while they denied them- 
 selves every convenience and agreeable and dainty food 
 and drink, and even the so indispensable bath, they 
 openly and solemnly made known their deep sorrow. 
 
 "But we return to Athyrtis's corpse. Already the 
 next day, at Sesom's command, appeared in the palace 
 twelve ministers of the temple, with a sort of funeral 
 litter close shut up and covered over, in which the dead 
 was laid. In solemn funeral procession they thus bore 
 it into an adjoining chamber of the temple of Ptah, 
 where the embalmers carried forward their work which 
 belonged to a lower class of the priests. After the king 
 had given to the high-priest present his special direc- 
 tions respecting the embalming, the inscriptions which 
 the mummy covers and the sarcophagus should bear, 
 &c.,* Sesom withdrew." 
 
 [Horus here drawing his breath made a stop. I felt 
 that he had reached to the development of his story, and 
 followed his further account with increasingly intent ex- 
 pectation.] 
 
 "You think now," he went on, "I am going to describe 
 to you the details of the process of embalming. No ! it 
 was different from what you may imagine. Under the 
 protection of the night a shoemaker, with his eyes blind- 
 folded, was conducted from his shop, up and across 
 through the streets of Memphis, and finally brought 
 into the temple already known to us, to a side-cell be- 
 fore Sesom. Here, after the most splendid promises, 
 he was instructed to manufacture, according to the exact 
 proportions which the priest gave him, a leather doll. 
 Leather, straw, needles and everything necessary for 
 his work he found already lying prepared in the cell, 
 * Herod I. 85. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 145 
 
 and stimulated by the hope of a large reward, he began 
 his work quickly by the light of two lamps as soon as 
 Sesom had bolted the door and gone away. In the 
 morning it was done, and — after being shut up till 
 the next night, and then again, with eyes blindfolded, 
 bound to silence, and loaded for his wages with more 
 silver than he had ever before earned in his whole life — 
 he was taken back to his shop ; the ministers of the tem- 
 ple took the doll that had been manufactured in order 
 to substitute it for the corpse of Athyrtis. Everything 
 else was then done according to the rules of the art and 
 as the king had commanded. The leather figure was 
 wrapped up from head to foot in cotton bandages of dif- 
 ferent widths, and especially the head, the body and each 
 of the arms and legs. Then the arms were laid crosswise 
 over the breast, and the whole body wrapped up in new 
 rolls, until no one could distinguish either the head or 
 limbs, and the whole had exactly the exterior look of a 
 mummy. Over this whole mummy (as I will now call 
 it) from the head to the foot was laid a sort of long 
 mask, which consisted of many pieces of cotton glued 
 together, to which, finally, was applied a coating of 
 gypsum. Now came the painter, who, according to the 
 direction of the hierogrammatist, painted with various 
 colors on the head-end a female face, and on the other 
 parts of the mask mythological representations — a whole 
 Egyptian pantheon. Finally, on the middle of this 
 mask, from the chin down to the knees, was fastened a 
 broad gilded strip of wood, an inch wide, on which the 
 sacred scribe had engraved the following short inscrip- 
 tion : — ' She is gone over to a reunion with Osiris, who 
 forever shines in Egypt ; she, the king's daughter, the 
 darling of Isis and the other divinities, the pupil of 
 
 13 
 
146 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 Thoth, acquainted with the art of prophecy, the wise 
 Athyrtis, born of the legal wife, the queen, who has 
 already gone before her into Anienthes, and daughter of 
 the powerful King, N.N., beloved of Ptah and Isis.'* 
 
 "After some weeks the sarcophagus ordered was brought 
 from the cabinet-maker's shop. It was formed of syca- 
 more, or the so-called mulberry fig-tree, but not as most 
 others which are found at the present day in many cata- 
 combs and subterranean tombs in the form of a Greek 
 Hermes, but in the perfect human form, representing on 
 the cover the image of a maiden reposing with her arms 
 crossed over her breast, in w T hich the carved visage ap- 
 peared to have really some resemblance to the dead Athyr- 
 tis. The cabinet-maker had given a genuine specimen of 
 his art ; the hands and feet, the folds of the dress reaching 
 down to the ancles, chains and ornaments were carved in 
 the wood in a manner most fitted to deceive any one.f 
 In this sarcophagus the mummy was laid ; objects of de- 
 light and adornment which had belonged to the deceased, 
 and that had been sent by the king to the temple — a 
 mirror, costly elegant sandals, golden ear-drops and 
 rings, and lastly rolls of papyrus which had been pre- 
 pared and written by the sacred scribes, and were wont 
 to be furnished and filled out with the names of the de- 
 ceased for w r hose sepulchres they were chosen — occupied 
 the places left empty in the sarcophagus. These rolls 
 of papyrus contained the biography of Athyrtis, prayers 
 to the gods of the lower world, to whom they believed 
 she would descend, justifications which were to be put in 
 
 * Almost all mummies, or tlieir sarcophagi, contain similar in- 
 scriptions. Compare Seyffarth, Theologische Schriften der Alien 
 JEgypter. Gotha, 1855, p. 41, ff, and 49. 
 
 f Such a sarcophagus is in the Royal Egyptian Museum at Berlin. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 147 
 
 her mouth before the subterranean judges, representa- 
 tions of her holy life in the kingdom of the gods and 
 many other things. So the wooden coffin stood in the 
 cell of the temple and waited the stone chest of granite 
 which was yet in the hands of the artist, and was to be 
 furnished with mythological representations and hiero- 
 glyphical inscriptions, and in which, after seventy days, 
 it would be placed in a solemn procession. 
 
 " But you ask where, in the mean time, was Athyrtis? 
 As soon as her corpse was brought into the temple 
 Sesom had caused it to be taken from the embalming 
 hall into a subterranean vault already darkened. Here 
 lay Athyrtis, in the glimmer of an eternal lamp, on a 
 soft carpet, as one sleeping. She was not dead. The 
 intoxicating charm which the priest had caused to be 
 dropped into her cup, and by which he had thrown her 
 into this catalepsy, was a diluted extract of strychnos 
 berries, (I 5 ) a kind of night-shade, the medicinal but also 
 dangerous effects of which were then already known to 
 our priests.* 
 
 "After a few hours Sesom appeared with an antidote. 
 'Now, thou art mine!' he whispered, with an unholy 
 and triumphant tone. 'But,' he added, speaking to 
 himself, ' should my art deceive me now ; if she really 
 should not awake ? Yet no, no ! She must awake ; she 
 must be the instrument in the hand of the all-powerful 
 priest to destroy the proud kingly house.' 
 
 "And by way of trial he siezed her hand ; he sought 
 long, silently and with anxious look for the first beat of 
 the pulse ; finally a flash of indescribable joy shot from 
 his eyes ; he had felt a weak pulse, an almost impercepti- 
 ble quiver. But there was yet life in the cold, death-like 
 * Pliny Nat. Hist. XXI. 30, and XXVI. 12. 
 
: 
 
 148 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 body of Athyrtis. Immediately the priest drew from 
 his girdle a little phial, with the contents of which he 
 rubbed the temples and brow of the swooned girl ; then 
 with great effort he forced open her convulsively-closed 
 mouth and poured into it some drops of the same liquid, 
 which had scarcely touched her tongue than she made an 
 involuntary movement with her right arm. 
 
 " Silently Sesom withdrew from the vault ; a servant of 
 the temple, called in, set a pitcher of water, a bowl of 
 wine and a loaf of wheat bread at the door, on the stony- 
 floor, and after a few minutes Athyrtis was again alon 
 behind the closed bolts. 
 
 " Finally she awoke from her catalepsy without bein. 
 able to remember what had occurred. With the last 
 joyful and child-like look on her father had departed, 
 also, her consciousness. Astonished and confused she 
 raised herself up. Opposite to her bed, on the wall, 
 stood a shrine, in which was a statue of Osiris, enthroned 
 as usually he is represented, as the judge of the dead, 
 known by his crown, scourge, crooked staff and neck- 
 lace of judgment. Her eye glanced thence to the right 
 wall, where in a tall painting was represented the well- 
 known court of the dead. Here she saw a dead person 
 enter and pray to the goddess of justice, beheld the 
 balance in which the heart was examined by the gods 
 Anubis and Horus, saw the god Thoth with the writing- 
 reed and papyrus in his hands for noting down the re- 
 sult of the trial. Above the whole representation, 
 finally, she saw the forty-two judges of the dead, well- 
 known to her, sitting, and with ostrich feathers, the 
 sign of their judicial dignity, on their heads.* Was she 
 
 * Uhlemann, Todtengericlit bei der Alten iEgypter, Berlin, 1854, 
 pp. 10-12. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 149 
 
 dead? Was this the immortality believed in by her, 
 desired and so ardently longed for ? Had she descended 
 into Amenthes, and here, too, were there no eternal and 
 living gods ? Was she here, in the lower world, shut up 
 between stone walls, with lifeless stony images of the 
 gods ? — Thus she questioned herself without being able 
 to answer her questions, and overcome by the thought 
 and exhausted sank back upon her pillow. 
 
 " But life conquered, and without in her thought com- 
 ing to any conclusions, she was warned by the wants 
 and demands of the body of the duties of life. By de- 
 grees she sought and found the earthly food, felt herself 
 more and more strengthened, and only lamented that 
 she had been so soon torn away from life and her loved 
 father's house. Was not her father the mightiest in the 
 whole land ? Could any one but almighty death have 
 robbed him of her ? No ! The thought that she was 
 dead gained increasing force in her soul, and even more 
 and more probability. 
 
 " Thus a long period passed. Forty times the sun 
 had risen in the east, and as often had it proclaimed the 
 noontide and declined to evening without being able to 
 cast a ray into the subterranean prison of the unfor- 
 tunate girl. Forty times had the door opened and an 
 invisible hand had thrust new food and drink into the 
 vault without an answer following her fervent prayers 
 and supplications, her sighs and weeping. Forty days 
 were past. 
 
 "After this period of time, during which Athyrtis had 
 undergone every degree of anguish and despair, the high- 
 priest believed he might advance to the further execu- 
 tion of his purpose. His prisoner should know that she 
 
 13* 
 
150 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 was wholly in his power ; that every possibility of re- 
 turn to life was cut off if she would not subject herself 
 to his pleasure. 
 
 " One day Athyrtis lay before the stone image of Osiris 
 and implored with the most fervent prayers that he 
 would be alive again, and that he would reveal himself 
 to her. 
 
 " Then Sesom entered in his funeral robes and orna- 
 ments, as though he would follow a dead person to his last 
 resting-place, and at the entrance of the sepulchre offer 
 the sacrifice of the dead. He wore only a slight linen 
 tunic, over which hung a leopard's skin, exactly as you 
 saw on the high-priest in the funeral procession at Lake 
 Moeris. He came up close behind, and while she yet 
 was stammering out the words of the prayer, and 
 dreamed nothing of what awaited her, he called out 
 her name with a loud and commanding tone, which re- 
 sounded through the stone walls of her subterranean 
 chamber. The young maiden sunk down affrighted, 
 without daring to look up. Was it one of the divini- 
 ties which suddenly opened his mouth and addressed 
 her ? 
 
 "'Athyrtis !' said the priest, whose voice she now re- 
 cognized with terror, ' I have kept my word ; you are 
 again in my temple. For the second time I demand 
 obedience as formerly, when I left you the freedom to 
 choose and to return back to life. To-day the bridge 
 between death and life is broken off behind you. You 
 have nothing more to do with the living, if I do not lead 
 you back to them. Follow me !' And he caught her, 
 trembling, by the hand, and led her, without her daring 
 to resist, into the adjoining vaulted chamber from which 
 he had entered. Here stood the wooden sarcophagus, 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 151 
 
 richly adorned with hieroglyphics. The cover, on which 
 Athyrtis saw carved her own likeness in wood, lay close 
 by, and in the open coffin rested the mummy. She came 
 up to it. 
 
 "'Here rests your body/ continued the merciless 
 priest. 'Read yourself the inscription, which an- 
 nounces your death. You are dead, and your spirit 
 has flown out of your body. But this spirit is, as you 
 see, in the power of the all-powerful priest who com- 
 mands over the living and the dead. Now, choose yet 
 once more ! Will you return to an eternal subterranean 
 imprisonment ; to your lifeless and silent gods ? Re- 
 flect ! To an eternal endless imprisonment, loss of fame 
 and solitude ! To-day there is yet sorrow, mourning 
 and lamentation for you in your father's palace ; in 
 thirty days the coffin will be closed ; you will be buried 
 up and forgotten. But I promise to you eternal fame 
 and immortality, with prosperity, if you choose another 
 part. You shall return to your father ; shall be his pro- 
 tecting spirit, and while you tear him away from his 
 inactivity and lead him to glorious battle and war, 
 you shall make him and yourself immortal. Will you 
 obey?' 
 
 "Athyrtis reflected: shudderingly, she in thought 
 looked back to the past weeks of loneliness. Two ways 
 stood open to her — here was eternal forgetfulness and 
 oblivion ; there beckoned to her love, honor and fame. 
 Female weakness conquered. There is no more fright- 
 ful thought for a woman than to be forgotten, forsaken 
 and solitary; she wishes to know that she is loved, 
 adored and admired. This is woman's nature ; and 
 the king's poor daughter, grown up in the midst of love 
 and honors, followed her natural impulse. She promised 
 
152 TIIEEE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 obedience to the priest ; and who can, on this account, 
 cast a stone at her and condemn her ? who, in the same 
 situation, would have done otherwise ? But it was not 
 easy to conquer her dislike, hatred and opposition to 
 the priest ; and it was not till after a long internal 
 struggle she spoke, trembling, and with a low and 
 scarcely audible voice, 'I will obey !' 
 
 "'You have chosen what is the best,' replied the 
 priest. 'But here, on thine own mummy, swear to 
 me only to do as I command you : if you become re- 
 bellious and disobedient, so may your body fall to pieces 
 and molder, and never again be inhabited by a soul for 
 thousands of years ; may it be torn out of its grave by 
 the hands of our enemies, and as a warning example of 
 faithlessness be carried out of the country of your gods 
 to the far North, where no lotus-flower blooms, where no 
 palm shades the way;* may you yourself then await 
 new eternal imprisonment in the kingdom of the dead 
 below the earth ! Swear !' 
 
 " Athyrtis uttered the required oath. At this moment 
 the power of the kingdom was broken, and the priest- 
 hood began triumphantly to raise its bowed head. 
 
 " The day of the burial of the king's daughter was over. 
 In the palace, though the deceased was yet deeply la- 
 mented at heart by many, yet at least outwardly there 
 was a return to peace and tranquillity. The usual order 
 and the old course of affairs and business were observed 
 as before ; nothing more recalled to mind the days of 
 mourning. Only the king was filled with the deepest 
 
 * The mummy of a young Egyptian beauty by the name of Athyr, 
 is in the Royal Museum at Berlin. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 158 
 
 anguish that his only child had gone before him to the 
 realm of death, of whom he had hoped that, as a second 
 Nitocris,* she would mount the throne after him, and 
 as powerful as a man would rule the land of her fathers. 
 This dream, a beautiful hope, was now dashed in pieces 
 and destroyed. 
 
 "In the mean while the rainy season, often continuing 
 many months in Lower Egypt, had commenced ; a tem- 
 pestuous north wind blew through the streets of Mem- 
 phis, and shook even the solid and imperishable stone 
 walls of the palace. The king had retired into his sleep- 
 ing chamber, lighted by a single lamp, but no sleep came 
 to his eyes, and he tossed himself unquietly on his pil- 
 low ; while in the ante-chamber, the watchmen of his 
 body-guard, resting on their lances and leaning against 
 the walls in a half-waking state, with closed eyes, waited 
 for their dismissal. Then glided past them a white airy 
 form ; only one of the watch noticed it, and rubbed his 
 eyes: then it had vanished. 'I was dreaming!' mut- 
 tered the soldier to himself, and let his head sink again 
 on his arm which held his lance stayed on the floor just 
 under its iron point. 
 
 "The king, who had closed his eyes for some minutes, 
 suddenly started up, astonished and affrighted. A soft 
 delicate hand had touched his brow. But when he had 
 opened his eyes, he raised himself up fully, and sunk 
 back again confused. A tall figure, covered from the 
 head to the feet with a white veil, stood before him : 
 
 * Herodotus, II. 100. Nitocris, according to Manclho, belonged to 
 the Sixth Dynasty, was the bravest among the men and the most 
 beautiful among the women of her time, and built the third pyramid. 
 She reigned twelve years, and her name (the victorious Neith) is im- 
 mortalized on many monuments. 
 
154 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 only the deathlike pale face, from which shone out two 
 black fiery eyes, was to be seen. It was the face — of his 
 daughter ! 
 
 " Thus the father and daughter again met each other; 
 yet not as formerly, in love, but with contradictory 
 feelings, sundered by the horrible decree of the priest. 
 Could the father believe it was his daughter, whom 
 he had himself accompanied to the court of death, 
 and even into the sepulchral chamber ? Could the 
 daughter make herself known to her father, bound as 
 she was by a horrid oath, and sometimes under a delu- 
 sion, believing herself to be bodily dead? The king, 
 collecting his thoughts, laid his hand on his brow, 
 covered with a cold sweat : he, too, believed himself 
 in a dream. But as the form stood immovable and 
 always looking steadily at him, the unhappy father felt 
 that he was not dreaming, that he was awake, and that 
 he saw before him his beloved child. 
 
 " 'My daughter — Athyrtis !' were the only words which 
 he could at last utter. 
 
 "'Not your daughter — not Athyrtis !' answered the 
 form, with the loved voice so well known to him, but 
 now solemn and serious. i Your daughter you have 
 buried : Athyrtis is dead, and in the realm of shades 
 awaits a new life, after thousands of years, when the 
 cycle is ended and a new life begins for the whole 
 world!' 
 
 "'But who art thou?' cried the king, retreating a 
 step backward. 
 
 " 'I am one of those higher beings who walk through 
 the heavens in the ministry of the supreme gods, who 
 came down here from the gods to execute their com- 
 mand. I am your genius, your guardian spirit, who, 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 155 
 
 born with you, protected your childhood, defended your 
 youth, and watch over your manhood.* To-day -Osiris 
 the lofty, the eternal god, sends me to speak to you the 
 words which he has put into my mouth. Your daughter 
 has gone down into Amenthes without glory ; already 
 she is to-day forgotten and no monument will proclaim 
 her deeds. Will you, too, so go down from this wide 
 world, forgotten by posterity ? The king is the succes- 
 sor of Osiris ; you must protect and extend the kingdom 
 he founded; you must imitate -him in his blessed works. 
 Osiris went out over the circle of the earth ; not this 
 little Egypt only was his — no ! the remote North, the 
 impenetrable South, were bound to his sway. But the 
 lands which he passed through, the people he conquered, 
 the kings and princes whom he subdued,— they are now 
 but names, empty names. Sesostris was a worthy suc- 
 cessor of the king of the gods. Shall there never be a 
 second Sesostris ? Shall both of them have sown the 
 seed only for himself, and not for posterity? Be a man 
 if you would be immortal ! Life in the world beneath 
 (through which I have traveled) is empty, solitary and 
 horrible ; the true immortality only is glory with pos- 
 terity. If your people bless you, if your enemies fear 
 you, the nations of the North and South bow beneath 
 your sceptre, — then will your name be immortal, though 
 after you another royal dynasty may rule the land of 
 Ptah!' 
 
 "Then seizing the hand of the king, she went on as if 
 inspired : — 
 
 " i And what a shame will it be for you and your times 
 that the bounds of the illimitable empire of Osiris in the 
 North were washed by the Danube, and in the East by 
 * Censorinus de die Natali, chap. iii. 
 
156 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the Ganges,* while your own kingdom is only watered 
 by the Nile,f whose sources are also yet unknown to 
 you. On the other side of the Cataracts still dwell your 
 enemies and rejoice over your weakness, in which you 
 leave them undisturbed. But I see you on your war- 
 chariot, in the midst of your countless host, in Ethiopia ; 
 see how the hated black tribes of the South bow their 
 necks beneath your iron will ; see you in triumph return 
 back, greeted by the jubilee of your people and blessings 
 and prayers of the priests ; I see, finally, your name 
 immortalized on the war-pictures and monuments ; see 
 you shine among the immortal sovereigns of the land in 
 the annals of the empire. The night is nearly gone ; 
 in a few hours Osiris will mount up, proclaiming the 
 morning dawn. Let it be a new morning dawn of fame 
 and immortality for you, for your house and king- 
 dom !' 
 
 " After these words, she laid her hand over the eyes 
 of the king, while he, astonished and wondering, as also 
 distressed by the strange apparition, withdrew from her 
 his hand, and exhausted and faint sank down on his 
 couch. Probably the priest had provided her with some 
 soporific charm; hardly had he been touched by her than 
 the king fell into a deep slumber, and the mysterious 
 figure disappeared in the same way by which she had 
 come. 
 
 " Not till the sun sent his warming rays into the cham- 
 ber did the king first awake ; but then sleep had fol- 
 lowed so close upon the events of the night, and both 
 had passed away so imperceptibly blended, his first 
 thought was that a revelation had been made to him in 
 a dream-vision of that w T hich the cunning spirit of the 
 * Diod. I. 17-20. Herod. II. 102. Diod. I. 53, ff. f Herod. II. 18 
 
THKEE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 157 
 
 priest had, after mature reflection, introduced to him. 
 Long sat the sovereign of the realm buried in serious 
 thoughts. Should he call the interpreters of dreams and 
 seek from the priests an explanation ? But why ? The 
 vision was clear and plain, the command of the god di- 
 rect and capable of no misinterpretation.* Finally, he 
 raised himself and looked out of the window down upon 
 his Memphis, where already life and activity had begun 
 in every house and every shop. 'And I alone,' he 
 cried out, ' am idle ! The morning dawn has found me 
 asleep, while I should be watching over the welfare of 
 my people and the glory of the land. Yes, my beloved, 
 my dear people, you shall not reproach me in the judg- 
 ment, at death, that I was weak and inactive and a mere 
 tool, without a will of my own, in the hands of the 
 priests. But I, too, will bring in a morning dawn, the 
 morning dawn of power and splendor. Thou and thy 
 gods shall reign as far as the foot of man can pene- 
 trate !' 
 
 "He quickly opened the door which led into the front 
 hall. Fixed and motionless stood the watch, and greeted 
 him silently, while with their right hand they rested 
 their lances on the floor and laid their left upon their 
 breasts. 
 
 " 6 Call to me the commander of the body-guard,' com- 
 manded the king, and turned, as he went on through the 
 watch toward the audience-chamber. 
 
 "War in Egypt was at all times the watchword for the 
 freedom of the kings. The sovereigns of the country 
 were restricted to the utmost by the priests in their 
 State affairs and private occupations ; no important 
 
 * The unconditional obedience of the kings to dreams was not rare 
 in Egypt. Compare Gen. chap. xli. ; Herod. II. 141. 
 
 14 
 
158 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 conclusion could be made by them, no judgment be 
 established by them, without the will of the priests :* 
 but since the times of the famous Sesostris they were, 
 as commanders in war, the unlimited monarchs over 
 the army and its actions. With the word 'war/ the 
 land assumed a wholly different appearance ; the king 
 came forth from his inactivity and idleness, and, like a 
 Roman consul, he strode on proudly, in the conscious- 
 ness of his dignity, to inflict punishments, give laws, 
 issue commands and choose his officers ; and the dis- 
 cipline of war created for him power, might and author- 
 ity, which in peace he never enjoyed. 
 
 "Thus, at this time the word 'war' sounded forth to 
 the astonished people from the palace at Memphis. 
 Messengqrs hurried onward and back to carry to every 
 portion of the country the king's commands, which 
 awakened an unwonted activity. After eight days the 
 standing army was mustered, which in a great measure 
 were stationed in Lower Egypt, the weakest part of the 
 land, and so could be easily gathered together at Mem- 
 phis. It was a splendid army of 400,000 infantry and 
 20,000 war-chariots ; but, as the country must not be 
 robbed of all its fighting strength, other levies had to 
 be made. Every class — artists, merchants, mechanics 
 and farmers — must furnish their young men, from 
 eighteen to twenty years old, from whom the king 
 himself chose the most able-bodied, and by this means 
 his army was doubled in its strength. The great and 
 rich armories were opened, the new soldiers were fur- 
 nished with all kinds of offensive and defensive weapons, 
 and drilled to the use of them, as well as in marches 
 and conflicts. Thus in a few months an army, well- 
 * Diod. I. 71. 
 
THREE BAYS IN MEMPHIS. 159 
 
 appointed and trained for war, was ready, and the pur- 
 posed campaign could begin toward the country of the 
 blacks.* 
 
 " The army presented a magnificent and splendid sight 
 from the pinnacles of the temple, as like a mighty royal 
 serpent it wound its way along into the valley of the 
 Nile here some miles broad. In front was a large di- 
 vision of light-armed troops, having bows five to six feet 
 long and on their backs quivers filled with arrows; 
 then a part of the heavy infantry with brazen helmets, 
 coats of mail, shields and lances ; then a division armed 
 with slings. To these were joined the royal body-guard, 
 with spear and battle-ax, who followed the king in 
 his war-chariot, surrounded by the noblest warriors of 
 the land, also in war-chariots. f But among these war- 
 chariots, close to the king, there was one which above 
 all others excited the amazement and wonder of the 
 people. It was one of the most beautiful in the whole 
 line ; all parts of it were adorned in the richest manner 
 with golden ornaments of every kind. An old black 
 slave guided the reins of the horses that were of a 
 dazzling white, wondrously contrasting with the other 
 dark-colored ones. Near the slave stood, leaning on an 
 elegant lance, whose shaft of a black wood was studded 
 all over with pearls and precious stones, a tall, powerful 
 female form. Her face was not to be seen, as it was 
 covered by the vizor of a warrior's helmet ; only the 
 fire of her black eyes shone out unearthly through the 
 opening of the protecting bars. It was Athyrtis, the 
 
 * Compare the war-pictures of Karnak, Beitnalli, Ipsambul, and 
 Medinet-Abu, in Kosellini Mon. Real. Plates XLV.-CXL. 
 f Wilk. I. 290-354. 
 
1(30 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 guardian spirit of the ting, who accompanied him also 
 to the war, in order at all times to stir up his courage 
 and to inspire his sinking powers anew to a glowing 
 thirst for deeds. I might compare her to the Grecian 
 Athena, who corresponds exactly to our Egyptian Neith.* 
 Like her, Athyrtis stood in her chariot, veiled in her 
 long white robe, motionless, with a helmet on her head, 
 her spear in her right hand and shield in her left. Fol- 
 lowing the chariots were a great multitude, with all sorts 
 of instruments of camp and siege, with storming-ladders, 
 wall-breakers, and the necessary platforms for protect- 
 ing them ;f and after these came, finally, new troops of 
 light-armed and heavy infantry, in their various kinds 
 of arms, with lances, swords, daggers, clubs, scourges, 
 bows and slings. Every division had its own insignia 
 and standards, which mostly were the ensigns of the 
 Nomes or districts of the country to which they be- 
 longed ; most of the.banners consisted of tall poles, on 
 which were paraded sacred animals, as the Ibis, hawk, 
 cat, crocodile, &c, in gold and silver. Thus the line of 
 march moved on slowly toward the South, for a mile 
 around causing the earth to tremble at the measured 
 tread of the infantry. 
 
 "In all places to which, one after another, the army 
 came — in Crocodilopolis, Heracleopolis, Oxyrrhynchos, 
 Hermopolis, Apollinopolis, Thebes, Latopolis — it was re- 
 ceived by the people with astonishment, exultation and 
 enthusiasm, and dismissed by the priesthood with sacri- 
 fices, prayers and blessings. Every one praised the 
 mighty king who was going forth to subdue the blacks, 
 against whom already many kings before him had unsuc- 
 cessfully waged war ; many also fell down in adoration 
 
 * Plato in Timreus. f Wilk. I. 300. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 161 
 
 before the incarnate Keith, who seemed to have appeared 
 on earth to protect the king in all dangers and afford 
 him a victory in his warlike expeditions. 
 
 " When the army had reached to the southern bcfundary 
 of the kingdom, the king made a halt directly over 
 against the island of Philse, on which the later Grecian 
 kings erected such glorious and magnificent monuments. 
 Here he once more threw back a look on the land of his 
 forefathers, which he was probably leaving for years, 
 and called into the presence of the assembled army, and 
 a vast multitude of the people who had poured on after 
 him, a worthy man by the name of Saophi, i.e. Son of 
 the Serpent, whom he would leave behind as his vice- 
 roy, and here wished to clothe with the ensigns of his 
 high dignity as the representative of the king. He 
 loosed the golden neck-chain which he had hitherto worn 
 himself, and gave it to his future viceroy; he drew off 
 also his ring from his finger, which contained a precious 
 stone with the hieroglyphic letters of the king's name, 
 and with which he hitherto, together with the signing 
 of his name, had confirmed and accredited all his com- 
 mands and decrees. This he likewise placed in Saophi's 
 hand, and solemnly added, so loud that it might be 
 heard at a distance — ' Take here these ensigns of your 
 office, act in the name and the mind of the king, who 
 delivers them to you ; and you, my people, who have 
 thus far conducted me, and now are to return to your 
 peaceful occupations, proclaim in the whole country and 
 far and wide the last words and last command of the 
 king, that they obey Saophi and his decrees as they have 
 obeyed me and mine. May the Gods grant to me to re- 
 turn to you victorious and crowned with glory!' 
 
 " After a last sacrifice to the gods, and prayers and 
 
 14* 
 
162 THREE DAY3 IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 prophecies of the priests promising success, the king be- 
 gan his march of conquest toward the South, and the 
 viceroy returned to Thebes, where he established the 
 seat of*his government. 
 
 " You do not need to accompany the king in all his 
 splendid and victorious marches ; everywhere the enemy, 
 after a short resistance, fled before the vast Egyptian 
 army ; fortresses were destroyed, cities laid waste, and 
 prisoners carried away out of all places to adorn the 
 future triumph, and then, as slaves of the State, to 
 pine out their lives in the mines and the hardest bond- 
 age. If the enemy had offered a stout resistance, then 
 the king himself seized upon a part of the fettered cap- 
 tives by the hair and with his broad sword struck off 
 their heads. An uninterrupted stream of blood marked 
 the way which the army went, and if, in some weak mo- 
 ments, the king became tired of the bloody work and 
 longed for a return to the throne of his own peaceful 
 reign, there was Athyrtis, who appeared to him like a 
 vindictive goddess, and inflamed him with a new thirst 
 of valiant deeds. 
 
 " Thus fell the mightiest cities of the country of the 
 blacks ; and, finally, we find the king with his army on 
 the coast of the sea which separates Asia and Africa, 
 before the powerful and well-fortified royal city Saba, 
 which had already for a year bid defiance to the siege. 
 The Sabaens were a dangerous and fearful foe ; they were 
 famed for their great riches and power, for their mighty 
 and tall bodily frames, far exceeding the small con- 
 tracted stature of the Egyptians.* Many times already 
 had they tried bold sorties, but they were obliged always 
 to retire before the superior force of the besiegers. 
 * Isaiah xliii. 3- xly. U, Ps. lxxii. 10. Herod. III. 20. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 1G3 
 
 Finally the vfalls of the city tottered beneath the con- 
 stant shocks of the Egyptian wall-breakers, which con- 
 sisted of long and thick beams hung so as to move back 
 and forth, and which were protected by a staging with 
 a roof, so that they could be run close up to the walls 
 without exposing the warriors who were employed to any 
 danger of being wounded from the arrows, spears and 
 stones launched down from above by the defenders.* 
 The storming-ladders were set up at the same time, and 
 after a horrible bath of blood inside of the city, the 
 Sabaens were obliged to retire to their numerous ships ; 
 and now began a fight such as had often taken place 
 between the Egyptians and their enemies who practiced 
 navigation. The king stood in the midst of the blood, 
 and among the bodies of the slain on the shore, in his 
 war-chariot ; archers surrounded him, and discharged 
 their arrows out on the sea toward the valiantly-defended 
 ships. f Then suddenly whizzed a slight, pointed arrow 
 through the air ; no one could imagine whence it came, 
 as the ships continually removed further and further 
 off; but the arrow hit its mark, and pierced the eye of 
 the Egyptian king. A cry of pain was heard, which 
 for a moment sounded above the wild tumult of the 
 battle. All looked toward the king's chariot. A veiled 
 figure sprung from her chariot, threw away her spear 
 and shield, and caught the fainting king in her loving 
 arms. Her helmet had fallen from her head, and all 
 recognized in this figure with black locks and fiery eyes 
 the long-believed-dead daughter of the king, — Athyrtis. 
 Amid the amazement produced by this strange occur- 
 
 * Wilk. I. 360. 
 
 f Such a fight is represented on the walls of the temple of Medinct- 
 Abu, among the warlike deeds of Ramses IV. 
 
164 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 rence, and the confusion on account of the wounded 
 king, who, holding his hand upon his eye, had sunk 
 away in the greatest anguish, the fight ended. This 
 moment the enemy made use of, sought to land again, 
 and in compact masses pressed through to the Egyptian 
 army, which, in the confusion and disorder, and deprived 
 of its royal commander, was obliged to retreat. The 
 guard, that had been broken up, finally gathered them- 
 selves again around the king's chariot, which in the wild 
 flight hurried on through the city and reached the camp. 
 Here the physicians could first think of examining the 
 king's eye. When he withdrew his hand with which he 
 had as yet held it covered, he was blind. 
 
 " And the end ? It happened to the king I am telling 
 you of as to his great predecessors, who had conquered 
 the earth and lost their own realm. Osiris returned 
 from his great war-expeditions crowned with fame and 
 as lord of the world, and was robbed of his life and 
 sovereignty by the conspiracy of his ambitious and 
 treacherous brother. Ambushes awaited Sesostris on his 
 return home, which the brave hero could only escape by 
 an ignoble sacrifice of the dearest of his possessions. 
 His brother, whom he had left behind him as his viceroy, 
 maliciously invited him, with his wife and children, to a 
 banquet which was prepared under an elegant tent. But 
 during the meal he caused bundles of rice to be laid 
 about the tent, and these to be set on fire at once on all 
 sides. Sesostris could only retain his kingdom by throw- 
 ing two of his children on the burning wood and passing 
 over them, as on a bridge, through the fire.* — So this 
 Avarlike expedition was the signal in Egypt for an insur- 
 rection and revolution for the discontented and ambi- 
 * Herod II. 107. Diod. I. 57. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 105 
 
 tious there. And thus, during the three years' absence 
 of the now blind king, the good-natured but weak 
 Saophi, through the wiles of the priests, was called forth 
 and acknowledged as king; and while by him a new 
 dynasty of Thebes appeared to rule the country, the 
 priests as before bore sway from the recesses of their 
 temple. So Sesom's plan was carried into effect, and 
 his passion and revenge gratified. In all Lower Egypt, 
 from Memphis to the mouths of the Nile, there was no 
 mightier ruler than he. — And the blind king ! He was 
 soon abandoned by his army. Ten years later there 
 dwelt in the island of Philae, close by the bank of the 
 Nile, in a poor little hut, an old blind beggar. No one 
 cared about him ; no one wanted to know him. Only 
 a daughter, with hair bleached by sorrow, and luster- 
 less eyes, attended upon him ; and his only consolation 
 was when the daughter wound her arm around him and 
 slowly and safely led him along ; and he who could no 
 more see might tenderly embrace her and ask — ' Is it 
 you, my daughter?' 'I am your guardian spirit, who 
 patiently waits for you till Osiris releases you from your 
 sufferings !' was the daily answer, accompanied by sighs 
 and tears." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE EVENING WITH THE ROYAL BODY-GUARD — SOME 
 PARTICULARS RESPECTING EGYPTIAN TRADE — A SOL- 
 DIER-QUARREL — THE CAT. 
 
 Horus concluded. As we rose from our stone seats, 
 I cast a look of horror toward the window behind which 
 the criminal in priestly robes had his abode. But the 
 evening had come on as we had lingered with the tale ; 
 we therefore started forth and walked through the 
 broad, open space, which lay outstretched before the 
 temple. For several minutes Horus went on silently at 
 my side ; he thought of what he had been narrating to 
 me, as I too was yet dwelling on what I had heard. 
 Finally, I interrupted his thoughts with the question, 
 "Where are you taking me now?" 
 
 " To the watch-house of the palace," he replied ; " for 
 I like the soldiers, and with them we can hear the latest 
 news and learn what festivities await us to-morrow." 
 
 "Festivities ! Is to-morrow a feast-day?" 
 
 "Certainly; an important one — or rather, a succes- 
 sion of feast-days begins with to-morrow. We are to- 
 day in the last day of the month Mesori, and to-morrow 
 is the first of the five intercalary days which separate 
 it from the newly-beginning year, and, as you know, 
 will be celebrated as the birthday of the gods.*( 16 ) On 
 the first of them Osiris was born, and as you may ima- 
 
 * Herod. II. 4. Diod. I. 43. Plutarch de Iside, chap. xii. 
 166 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 167 
 
 gine, the whole country will be given up to festivities. 
 But you shall see ; so let us make haste." 
 
 And as with the setting of the sun the air suddenly 
 became quite cool, he seized my hand and drew me ra- 
 pidly forward. Neither moon nor gaslight illumined the 
 streets of Memphis ; and as the dusk quickly came on, 
 I recognized, only for a moment, when a late passer-by 
 hurried on with a torchlight, the dark outlines of the 
 lofty buildings of the royal city. When we had reached 
 the palace, we turned to the left around a corner, and 
 stood befofe a stately wing adjoining, the foremost part 
 of which was supported on eight pillars, and its door 
 Was lighted by feeble lamps on both sides. A soldier, 
 with the well-known battle-ax on his shoulder and a 
 short sword at his side, walked up and down in the pil- 
 lared hall, guarding the door before it, while he hummed 
 a little song, as the louder shout and noise resounded to 
 meet us from within. 
 
 He readily gave us admission, for my soldier-dress 
 made him suppose me to be an associate of the soldier- 
 class, and so we entered the cheerfully-opened gate into 
 a high, broad hall, in which hundreds of soldiers mixed 
 up most variously stood round about or lay in conve- 
 nient places on soft carpets. Their arms were piled up 
 against the wall, and the horns for signals also hung 
 there idly, as no one feared any hostile attack ; here 
 the cup was going its rounds, there rattled the dice : 
 serious or sportive conversation was lost in the confused 
 noise of the whole, as a single wave is lost in the raging 
 sea. 
 
 " Within there," whispered my little conductor, while 
 he pointed to a side-door which led into an adjoining 
 room, "dwells the commander of the body-guard; he is 
 
168 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 one of the most powerful officers of the State ; for he 
 not only commands the choicest troops of the country, 
 but he is also at the salfte time the superintendent of the 
 prisons, and under his supervision all executions and be- 
 headings take place.* He is called Petisis ; he enjoys 
 the great confidence of the present king, and is employed 
 by him in ftie most important business and commis- 
 sions." 
 
 Our presence was hardly noticed or thought of by the 
 soldiers ; only those who lay nearest the door through 
 which we entered moved a little closer to rnake place 
 for the strangers, that they might sit down on thg car- 
 pet. We did so, as true Egyptians stretching the feet 
 out forward and erecting the upper part of the body. 
 Accident had conducted me near two dice-players, who 
 were busily occupied with their game, made a great 
 noise, and only now and then took a draught from their 
 cups standing near them filled with wine, which is daily 
 given out to the body-guard at the expense of the 
 State.f " By the life of Pharaoh !" said one of them, 
 as he set down his cup, "this wine is sour and hardly 
 fit to drink ; . we ought to make complaint on account of 
 such bad supplies. Bad wine, black bread and tough 
 beef! It was formerly better, when Sesom had the 
 supplying of us to entice and gain us for his new king." 
 
 "And he, too, soon had to make place for a newer 
 one," replied the other. "But cheer up ! for to-morrow 
 at the feast they give us double measure, and it is to be 
 
 * Gen. xxxix. 20, 21 ; lx. 3. Hammer Staatsverf. des Osman. 
 Reiches, II. 44. Under the Ptolemies he is frequently mentioned in 
 the inscriptions as apxtocouaro^vla^ and still at the present day plays 
 an important part. 
 
 f Herod. II. 168. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 169 
 
 hoped, too, of better quality. Shfill we throw ? Come ! 
 For half of the good things of the feast, three-quarters, 
 or the whole?" 
 
 And they threw by turns. The dice were exactly 
 like ours ; and whoever first threw doublets, as we say, 
 i.e. two equal sides, won the game, i^fter numerous 
 throws, the first one finally gained it. 
 
 "In truth," said the other, "it is as though to-day 
 was already Typhon's Day, ill luck so persecutes me !* 
 But once more — all or nothing !" 
 
 And tliey threw again. 
 
 I now turned to the other side, where behind little 
 Horus jovial and powerful throats sang a joyous war-song, 
 with Sesostris for its subject. For Sesostris the mighty 
 conqueror was always regarded as the protecting patron 
 and shining example of the soldier-class. ( 17 ) The song 
 must have been generally well known, for the refrain of 
 the single verses was always repeated on all sides. The 
 substance of it was very much the follovfing : — 
 
 " Five and twenty thousand chariot-riders 
 And as many more of the drivers, 
 And six hundred thousand men, 
 Sesostris thus addressed : — 
 
 " ' Up, and forth! in distant wars 
 I lead you out to proud victory ; 
 So raise your courage — 
 Fight bravely and strike you well! 
 
 " ' Up, ye bold chariot-fighters ! 
 Up, ye riders, daring unto death! 
 Up, my foot-soldiers ! fight well ; 
 For your king pour out your blood !' 
 
 * The middle one of the five intercalary days was the birthday of 
 Typhon, and on that account was regarded as a peculiarly unlucky 
 day. 
 
 15 
 
170 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 " And they followed — all, all, 
 To the trumpet's peal ; 
 Rich in hope, joyous of heart, 
 They marched out to the East. 
 The foemen had to yield 
 Beneath their hardy blows ; 
 Even distant India's land 
 Fell into Sesostris's power. 
 
 " For the bold chariot-fighters, 
 And the riders, daring unto death, 
 And the foot-soldiers, fought well — 
 For their king poured out their blood ! 
 
 " In the cold Northern clime, too, 
 They fought and battled on ; 
 And the proud host of Ptah 
 Was nigh to Ister's flood ; 
 And again they ever sung 
 Their joyous songs of victory ; 
 And they sang bright and clear 
 In the foeman's land ! 
 
 " Ay, the bold chariot-fighters, 
 And we riders, daring unto death, 
 And the foot-soldiers, fight well — 
 For the king pour out our blood ! 
 
 "But, ah!" *.* » » 
 
 Here the simple soldier-song, which I would gladly 
 have heard to the end, and which I have sought to give 
 in words as nearly corresponding as I am able,* was 
 suddenly broken off by a new scene. A loud blow against 
 the door, made as it seemed from without with the back 
 side of a battle-ax, resounded in the hall and attracted 
 universal attention, since it was without doubt the sig- 
 nal of a call to service. One of the soldiers, an under- 
 
 * Compare Papyr. Sallier, and Campagne de Rhamses le Grand. No- 
 tice sur ce Manuscrit, par Fr. Salvolini. Paris, 1855. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 171 
 
 officer of the corps, immediately rose up, went to the 
 door, opened it and called out, in a tone somewhat 
 angry on account of the unpleasant disturbance, " U 
 petschop ?" — What's the matter ? 
 
 But as he perceived several men outside and the 
 spears of the night-police, he went out to take a report. 
 In the mean time too the commander of the body-guard 
 had his notice drawn to it, and sent one of the soldiers, 
 constantly on the watch in a room adjoining his own, 
 into the hall to ascertain what had occurred and to bring 
 him the requisite information. 
 
 In a few minutes the outside door opened and two 
 men were thrust in, whom the before-mentioned inferior 
 officer followed. He again shut the door, and seated 
 himself in his old place, after he had communicated to 
 the waiting soldier the necessary information, which was 
 then further given in the adjoining room. The soldiers 
 cast a glance of curiosity toward the new-comers, but 
 only a single look, to return again once more to their 
 cups and dice. It seemed to be no rare event for them. 
 The two newly-introduced persons had their hands tied 
 behind their backs, and from the account which I heard 
 it appeared that they were merchants. One was un- 
 questionably an Egyptian ; the other wore rope-sandals 
 bound on the feet by miserable leather straps, a sort of 
 head-band or turban on the head, a tunic fastened with 
 a broad leather girdle about his hips, and had been 
 covered in front with a broad woolen mantle full of' 
 folds, but which had been taken off when they tied his 
 hands and then bound crosswise over the right shoul- 
 der. His long and stiff black head of hair, his whiskers 
 and beard, showed him to be an Oriental, and doubtless 
 a Ben Israel, or Hebrew. He kept constantly crying 
 
172 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 out — "Beschem Elohai, naki ani !" i.e. In the name of 
 God, I am innocent ! But when he noticed that no one 
 heeded him, no one did or would understand his words, 
 he finally seated himself in a corner and let his head 
 sink despairingly upon his knees. The two merchants 
 had accused each other of fraud and false measures, and 
 raised so loud a noise in a tavern that the police-guard 
 laid hold of them and brought them to the watch-house, 
 whence, according to the Egyptian custom, they would 
 in the morning be taken to the prison, to remain there 
 until the judicial decision on their trial. In any case, 
 the innocent had cause to complain, as on the festival 
 days now at hand there would be no sitting of the 
 court. 
 
 Much as I pitied the unfortunate, yet it was a god- 
 send to me, as I hoped to be able to learn something 
 more particular respecting the trade of the country at 
 that time. I knew indeed that later, after Psammeticus 
 established a navy and made treaties with the Phoeni- 
 cians and Grecians, the trade of Egypt also rose to a 
 great height of prosperity. Having by the help of the 
 Ionian and Carian pirates attained to the sole sove- 
 reignty, this king from gratitude to the Greeks granted 
 them different places in Lower Egypt — on both sides of 
 the Nile, and particularly on the sea-coasts and the Pe- 
 lusian mouths of the Nile — on w r hich they might erect 
 their trading-houses. His successors, Necho and Amasis, 
 made themselves still more deservedly illustrious on ac- 
 count of commerce ; and the conquest of Cyprus by the 
 latter laid the foundation for an Egyptian mercantile 
 marine, as this island afforded a large supply of timber 
 for ship -building, in which Egypt had before been very 
 deficient. But the country reached to its highest point 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 173 
 
 in trade under the Ptolemies, after Alexandria had been 
 built on a spot most highly favorable and advantageous 
 for the same. The three harbors of this city stood open 
 to all sea-faring nations, which thus made it the central 
 point into which was gathered all the various traffic of 
 the then known world. King Ptolemy Lagus was so 
 great a patron and favorer of navigation that at the 
 court of Demetrius he was called only the admiral. He 
 it was who erected a pharos, or light-tower, at Alex- 
 andria, with the inscription — "To the god who cares for 
 the safety of voyagers.'' The descriptions of the old 
 historians are almost fabulous as to the gigantic ships 
 which were built at that time and afterward. Plutarch 
 relates of one which belonged to the fourth Ptolemy, 
 that it was two hundred and eighty yards long, forty- 
 eight yards high at the stern, and was manned by four 
 hundred sailors, four thousand rowers, and carried also 
 about three thousand soldiers. As to the articles of 
 trade which were at that time exported from Egypt, I 
 may mention especially the wheat, Egyptian flax and 
 the famous Egyptian sail-cloth. Besides there was 
 paper, for in the whole Roman Empire writing was 
 executed only on Egyptian paper; and not till one of 
 the Ptolemies, from displeasure at Eumenes, King of 
 Pergamus, forbade the export of paper, was the art in- 
 vented in Pergamus of preparing skins as writing ma- 
 terial, and this substance was called JPergamena, parch- 
 ment, after the city of that name. If we reckon with 
 the above articles, also, the various fine wines which 
 Egypt produced, especially in Marea and Sebennytus, 
 and further, honey, precious stones, alabaster, porphyry, 
 marble, granite, aluni, vitriol, soda, saltpetre, earthen- 
 ware, carpets, cotton stuffs, glass and all sorts of color- 
 
 15* 
 
171 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 ing-substances, which this land of marvels afforded, the 
 products of trade must have been large ; and thus may 
 be easily explained the elegance and lavish display 
 which then prevailed in the courts of these Grecian 
 kings. 
 
 Such was the Egyptian traffic afterward ; but it must 
 have been more restricted at the period in which Horus 
 placed me in Memphis, especially as at an earlier date, as 
 is well known, the inhabitants cherished a real dread of 
 the sea and all extended sea-voyages. For this reason 
 I went up to the Egyptian merchant, who stood serious 
 and silent on one side, in order to engage him in con- 
 versation. Perhaps I might enlarge my knowledge in 
 this respect if I could get him to impart to me the 
 account of his troubles. The attempt succeeded beyond 
 my expectations ; the poor man was most cordial, and 
 readily imagining the sympathy I had with him, gave me 
 the following account of himself: — 
 
 " As you know, to-morrow is the day of Osiris. Such 
 festivals are also well-known to strangers, and because 
 on them the people pour forth out of every region in 
 order to take part in the sacrifices, processions and 
 sports, so foreign merchants use this opportunity to be 
 here with their wares and exchange them for Egyptian 
 products. They come into this country mostly from the 
 North or East, by ships or caravans; many, too, in whole 
 companies, with camels, on which, besides the articles 
 they wish to sell, they bring their tents and food. So 
 they encamp around the cities, and people go out to 
 them and exchange fgr whatever they want. The Phoe- 
 nicians and Arabians particularly bring wine, for Egypt 
 consumes more than she is in a condition to produce ; also 
 oil, incense and timber ; for these they most gladly re- 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 175 
 
 ceive from us flax, linen cloth, wheat, embroideries and 
 other things. He whom you see there came early to- 
 day with wine, grape-honey and raisins, and as on the 
 feast to-morrow these will be much used by all, I hoped 
 to carry on a good business if I made a bartering trade 
 with him for some skins of wine. We were striking a 
 bargain, and he maintained that every skin held twenty 
 hins.* But I could not trust this unshaven, bearded 
 stranger ; they are too much inclined to deceit in trade, 
 and I desired, therefore, first to measure the contents. 
 The skin which among many others I opened from his 
 stock, contained only fifteen hins according to my 
 measure. I accused him of cheating; he complained 
 that I had taken for measuring a false and too large 
 hin, in order to get the advantage of him, and so we 
 both are here and shall lose all the profits of the 
 market.'' 
 
 Such was his story ; and I was sorry that I could not 
 be present at the decision of the case. It would have 
 been highly interesting for determining the old Egyp- 
 tian measures. — "But what trade do the Egyptians carry 
 on with each other ?" I further inquired. 
 
 " Oh, our trade in the interior," he replied, "is very 
 wide spread, and we do not give it up to the close-fisted 
 foreigners, as our country produces richly almost every- 
 thing which we need. The many canals that our kings 
 have caused to be conducted through all Egypt are cer- 
 tainly not merely designed to aid the cultivation and 
 
 * The hin was an Egyptian as well as a Hebrew liquid measure. 
 Names and things alike came from Egypt into the East. Compare 
 De Wette's Lehr. der Judischen Archseologie, p. 229, and Seyffarth, 
 Theologische Schriften der Alten iEgypter, Got ha. 1855, p. 118. The 
 hin held three cans, or, according to the Rabbins, 30 egg shells. 
 
176 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 fruitfulness of the fields, but they were also without 
 doubt to give facilities to the inland intercourse and ex- 
 change of wares between the different cities and pro- 
 vinces of the kingdom. Merchants and seamen are on 
 this account most closely connected ; for the little, light 
 Nile boats, made of gum-trees,* furnished with rudder 
 and sail and moved forward by stout rowers, quickly 
 carry the articles of traffic from one place to another. 
 A great number of them to-day stopped near the city 
 and brought in all sorts of wares necessary for the fes- 
 tivals : such as cattle, wine, flowers, fruits, bread, beer 
 and other things. My boat was laden with glass, stone 
 and earthen vessels, and I wished in the morning to 
 open my shop near the public square by the temple, 
 and felt certain that in the games, the time of the 
 banquet and the carousals that followed I should sell 
 much, especially when at the same time I could have 
 retailed the wine I had bought. But our laws of trade 
 are strict, and by the quarrel into which I have fallen 
 with this foreigner I shall lose all my expected profit. 
 Were there not justice in the land, and did I not hope 
 to be able to prove my innocence before the judges, I 
 should have to fear that both my hands would be cut off 
 as a falsifier of measures, "f 
 
 As the unfortunate merchant with these words sunk 
 into sorrowful reflections, and it was not possible for me 
 to comfort him or to cheer him into a joyful mood, so I 
 turned my eyes again to the single groups of soldiers, 
 in one of which there had, at the same time, arisen a 
 quarrel. The original cause, indeed, as in all such cases, 
 was a trivial one, but since each of the parties thought of 
 
 * Herod. II. 90, ek rf/g ciKav$r]Q, Mimosa Nilotica. 
 | Diod. I. 78. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 177 
 
 new wrongs, it grew continually more and more violent 
 and important. The cause that gave rise to it was the 
 joke of one of them about a beautiful slave whom the 
 other loved. 
 
 "And, I repeat," cried the first, aloud and heated, 
 " I should think it base and ignoble to ask for the love 
 of a slave-girl. She is forced to love you, but her heart 
 does not feel it. Torn away from her country, her 
 parents, her sisters, she has been sold here. Can any 
 one buy love as we buy a skin of wine ? But you your- 
 self are the son of a slave-woman, and who could ex- 
 pect any noble feelings from you?" 
 
 "The son of a slave-woman!" replied the other, in 
 a rage. "And should that be a reproach? Don't you 
 know that, according to a wise decision of the judges, 
 our forefathers, the children of slave-women are, by the 
 laws, of equal birth, and the worthy heirs of their 
 fathers ?* Go and learn the laws of your own country 
 before you undertake to contend with persons who are 
 better taught. To what priest have you been to school? 
 Have you ever learned to read and write ?"f 
 
 " To read and write, and more yet !" replied the first. 
 " I will show you what I have learned, and that I have 
 learned how to handle a sword !" 
 
 And he was about to rush to his arms, which lay on 
 one side piled up with others. It was with effort he 
 was held back and quieted ; but, at the same time, 
 they agreed upon a meeting in the fencing-school, after 
 the dismission of the watch by another division of the 
 guard, to test in honorable combat their respective 
 powers and skill. So, at least outwardly and for the 
 moment, peace was restored in the hall. 
 
 * Diod. I. 80. f Diod. III. 2. 
 
178 THREE BAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 Now began a new spectacle. The time for the dis- 
 mission of the special watch in the royal palace had 
 arrived, and they who were to take the places of the 
 others were called off by name by the inferior offi- 
 cer. Unwillingly and sullenly they arose ; for they 
 would rather have remained with the wine and food, or 
 still stretched themselves down to sleep, as the night 
 was further advancing. But they were under a good 
 discipline, and without saying a word to the contrary 
 caught up their arms. Then they went out and unto 
 their posts. 
 
 Some of those who had been released and who came 
 back brought news from the palace which they by 
 chance had heard at their posts. In the opposite side- 
 wing of the palace, in the dwelling of the royal steward 
 and superintendent of the castle, for an hour past there 
 had been shouting and rejoicing, as a lusty son had 
 there made his appearance. One of the body-guard in 
 that wing had learned of it from a slave-woman wiio 
 was hurrying by, and now told to her friend as much as 
 she knew of the matter. At the same time the horo- 
 scope and astrologer had been sent for to cast the des- 
 tiny of the new-born, and, as the temple was not far off, 
 so this guard had soon seen the horoscope enter the 
 abode of the happy father with his mathematical and 
 astronomical instruments, and the astrologer with his 
 thick rolls of books that contained the old astrological 
 determinations ascribed to Thoth, and drawn out by 
 Petosiris and Nekepso. 
 
 There they still were, examining the positions and 
 the decrees of the gods ; and the superstitious among 
 the watch, full of expectation, were anxiously await- 
 ing the declaration of the prophet, which they might 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 179 
 
 learn in the same way through the gossiping servants. 
 I must admit that I was less curious, as I belonged to 
 the unbelievers. — The astrology of antiquity, indeed, 
 rested on important truths. The visible and evident in- 
 fluences which the sun and moon exercise over all nature, 
 must have easily led to the belief that the other planets, 
 and stars, too, might have a proportionate effect. The 
 sun and moon wrought the most important changes in 
 the great world, why not then in the little world — on 
 men who were compounded out of the same elements ?* 
 But even admitting an influence of the stars upon the 
 world, yet could I never believe that the ancients had so 
 accurately studied and proved it as to be able to deduce 
 certain and unfailing conclusions from the various com- 
 binations of their positions in respect to each other. In 
 short my unbelief forced me to smile when I heard 
 astrology mentioned, and thought of the destiny that 
 would befall these reputed wise men, at that time the 
 objects of wonder, and which they themselves, the an- 
 nouncers of fate, had not yet dreamed of. I saw them 
 carried over to Old Rome ; saw them there spending their 
 lives, and derided by the Roman poets and philosophers ; 
 prohibited by the Roman Emperors, with severe edicts, 
 from the exercise of their art; I heard in spirit the 
 warning of Horace not to give in to astrological calcu- 
 lations ; heard the same post call the Circus Maximus 
 a treacherous spot, because the soothsayers and astro- 
 logers sat there and carried on their occupation. Thus 
 as in many others, their knowledge of the stars and as- 
 trology had Egypt for its native land, and borne out 
 from thence into foreign countries, they exerted their 
 influence in the East as well as in the West, and could 
 * Firmicus, Libri. VIII. , matheseos, in the Third Book. 
 
180 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 neither, at any time, by ridicule nor by the severest pro- 
 hibitions, be wholly crushed out and annihilated even up 
 to the present day. There is something grand and over- 
 powering in everything which comes out of this land of 
 marvels ! 
 
 In the midst of these and similar thoughts I had 
 wholly forgotten my little conductor, who now softly 
 touched me and called my notice to a cat w^hich boldly 
 and skilfully crept down from off the window-sill of the 
 hall. Courageously, and without the slightest fear of 
 men, she looked down from thence with her shining eyes 
 on the whirl of people below ; she appeared perfectly 
 secure in the feeling of sacredness and immunity from 
 all harm, which in its religious superstition the whole 
 country bestowed on her race.* For the cat, a favorite 
 of Isis, and of the goddess Pascht, the daughter of Isis, 
 was a sacred and universally-honored animal; and the 
 crime of injuring and harming such a one in any man- 
 ner would have been punished most severely, and pro- 
 bably even with death. It was a striking sight to be- 
 hold how every soldier, as soon as she reached the floor 
 rose up and reverentially gave place to her ; how even 
 some of the pious placed their hands on their breasts, 
 bent down low and whispered a silent prayer, while the 
 animal, looking fearlessly around her, walked in slow 
 and lengthened steps to the door. As they here knew 
 from her piteous mewing that she wanted to go out into 
 the air, the door w r as opened and the cat sprung forth. ( 18 ) 
 Now again some seized their dice-cups or resumed their 
 interrupted conversation, while most of them, tired and 
 sleepy, lay down to rest, as midnight was not far off. 
 Horus and I followed the example of these latter, and 
 * Herod. II. 65-67. Diod. I. 83, 84. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 181 
 
 in the same way as they, for they willingly lent us one 
 of the instruments that they used as a sort of pillow for 
 the head. This instrument — which I had already seen 
 in the Egyptian Museum at Berlin, without having been 
 able to explain its use — consisted of a wooden foot-stool, 
 hardly a foot high, on which a semi-circular cross-piece 
 of wood, hollowed on top, was fixed. For the officers 
 it was cushioned ; the soldiers and we had to content 
 ourselves with the simple wood'. After conveniently 
 lying down on the back this instrument was placed under 
 the neck, and served to keep the head in a somewhat 
 higher position; and when I had folded together my 
 mantle and thrust it under my head, and covered the 
 wood too with one of its borders so as not to be hard, 
 I found this kind of sleeping-stool not uncomfortable, 
 though a German feather-pillow would have been prefer- 
 able. But as I was tired, finally I went to sleep on an 
 Egyptian soldier's board-pillow, and so ended my second 
 day in Memphis. 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A DREAM — OSIRIS — THE LAND OF THE BLESSED — 
 SESOSTRIS — THE FEAST OF OSIRIS. 
 
 The festivals which existed in Egypt, and which had 
 before already appeared to me in dreams in the most 
 brilliant light, were the birth-days of Osiris, Arueris, 
 Typhon, Isis and Nepthys. With all of them, but espe- 
 cially with the first, were associated for the Egyptian 
 people the most sacred and sublime recollections and 
 legends. When formerly, thousands of years ago, Osiris, 
 the Sun-god, was born, a voice had been heard which 
 proclaimed aloud that the Lord of all things had come 
 into the light. It was likewise related that at Thebes 
 a certain Pamyles, while drawing water, had heard a 
 voice from the temple of Ammon which commanded 
 him to announce the birth of the great king of the 
 world — the beneficent Osiris, rich in blessing ; and on 
 that account the feast was in after times called that of 
 the Parnylise.* There were yet other festivals cele- 
 brated in honor of the same Osiris which referred to his 
 sufferings, his death, his coming again to life and 
 sovereignty in the world below ; but the festival of his 
 birth-clay was, and remained to all times, the highest 
 and most sublime feast of joy, as in all the forms in 
 
 * Plutarch, de Iside et Osiris, 12. Zeitschrift d. Deutsch. Morgenl. 
 Gesellsch. VI. 2, p. 255. Todtenbuch, chap, cxlviii. 
 182 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 183 
 
 which he appeared among men he ever continued to be 
 the true and immortal benefactor of the country. So 
 in the beginning they honored in him the sun ; after- 
 ward, on the other hand, the Nile, accordingly as they 
 sometimes ascribed to the former or the latter the most 
 beneficial powers and effects. The day of his birth — 
 that on which the lord of all things, the great benefac- 
 tor of the country, entered into the light — must accord- 
 ingly be for the grateful Egyptians the object of the 
 most holy reverence, and was on this account very often 
 mentioned, praised and celebrated in their religious 
 writings, while the birth-day of Typhon, under whose 
 form and name were feared all noxious influences of 
 nature, was more a day of sorrow and anxiety, in w x hich 
 they gladly avoided undertaking any important business, 
 because the hostile god would certainly turn all to ill 
 luck. — In the night before the festival I had seen, 
 among various other dream-pictures, a remarkable ap- 
 pearance, of which I scarcely dared to maintain whether 
 it was Osiris himself or my excited fancy had bewildered 
 me. In spirit I saw myself amid the ruins of an old 
 temple, and, most surprising, all appeared know T n to me 
 as if I had never lived in any other region or in another 
 clime, and as though I had hundreds of times wandered 
 through the same rooms. They were the remains of the 
 old temple of Osiris, at Abydos, which Memnon-Osi- 
 mandyas had formerly built.* With feelings of wonder 
 I walked through the ruins that had braved the destroy- 
 ing tooth of time. Slowly I trod through the portico, 
 sixty feet high, the pillars of which, set up in double 
 rows, were covered from top to bottom with hierogly- 
 phics. Then I entered the temple itself. The columns 
 * These ruins are a mile from Girge, the capital of Upper Egypt. 
 
184 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 yet stood, the wall and the stone slabs fitted to each 
 other over head, and which had formerly covered the 
 whole. But already had foreign nations begun their 
 work of destruction, searched for treasures and carried 
 off the precious articles of furniture into far distant 
 lands. The doors of the side-chambers were blocked up 
 by heaps of rubbish, and from the subterranean rooms, to 
 which broad stone-steps led down, thickly rose up noxious 
 and stupefying exhalations which poisoned the air all 
 around and rendered a further penetrating into them 
 impossible. So I stood solitary, as if fixed by a curse, 
 in the midst of the temple, before the motionless image 
 of Osiris the poor Sun-god ! The enemy too had 
 mutilated him; one foot dashed in pieces, one hand 
 broken off lying on the ground, bore witness of the love 
 of destroying by the later conquerors. 
 
 Suddenly it was as though a fresh, mild breath of spring 
 passed through the pillared hall, and all appeared to be 
 changed as if by a stroke of magic. The rubbish and 
 mold was gone, and the venerable temple anew upreared 
 itself in its original splendor and glory. The lofty co- 
 lumns, with their proud capitals imitating lotus-blossoms, 
 the beautifully-adorned balcony, the thick walls smoothed 
 and polished to the utmost, the steps laid with carpets, 
 the parti-colored, richly-embroidered curtains, the pil- 
 lars, obelisks and statues stood without injury and un- 
 impaired as formerly. A tall, powerful human figure, 
 with a double kingly crown on his head, around which 
 played a golden gleam of light and irradiated all afar 
 off, stepped forth from one of the side-chambers, with a 
 firm tread advanced to meet me, and with solemn but 
 benevolent voice asked me — "Whom do you seek here 
 in this sanctuary?" 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 185 
 
 "I was seeking Osiris," I answered, falteringly, 
 "the old king of the land, the sovereign of the world 
 beneath. I sought the temple where they once wor- 
 shiped him and found only rubbish, mold and decayed 
 walls ; sought the spirit of the Past and found the de- 
 struction of the Present ; I sought a beneficent living 
 god dispensing blessings, and have found only a muti- 
 lated idol which the people derided.' ' 
 
 " So thou, too, wouldst ridicule the spirit of the 
 venerable Past !" answered the form of light. " Osiris 
 lives, if not in his old temples yet in his original sym- 
 bols ! Osiris lives so long as the sun completes his 
 daily round ! I am the father of the gods ; I am the 
 mother of the gods ; I am the god who has created the 
 world, ivho delivers you from your sufferings — Osiris.* 
 Every form under which men think of God is perishable 
 and mortal. So too Osiris is dead with the people that 
 adored him, but the spirit of light lives ever on in 
 eternity ; so Allah, the god of Mohammed, who to-day 
 rules my heritage and with bloody sword demands faith 
 and obedience, will die and vanish from the earth with 
 the whole host of his worshipers, until hereafter one 
 name of the one God rules the whole world. But then 
 also I shall yet live, and all nations will adoringly raise 
 their eyes to the light of the sun ; for I am he who rules 
 the old world, who holds command over hours, days, 
 months and years, who calls forth the seed laid in the 
 soil at its time in order that it may bear fruit and dis- 
 pense food for man !" 
 
 The form was gone ; the temple again was empty and 
 decayed as at the beginning of the dream. Then I 
 noticed before me, beneath the rubbish of the ruined 
 
 * Todtcnbuch, cxlviii. 16. 
 1 6* 
 
186 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 structure, a stone which bore a hieroglyphic inscription 
 that referred to Osiris the Sun-god. It proved most 
 clearly what I had just learned, that the old Egyptians 
 under their Osiris honored not the great golden ball of 
 fire which walks through the heavens, not a stone image, 
 but rather a living, eternal divinity, who beneficently 
 and a£ blessing them watches over men. It read : — 
 
 " Osiris lives; he sees as ye see ; he hears as ye hear; 
 he stands as ye stand; he sits as ye sit."* 
 
 And on another mutilated stone Osiris spoke of him- 
 self. "I am the Light, the son of Light; I dwell in the 
 sublime land of light ; I am born in the land of light. "f 
 
 And yet on a third I read the words : — 
 
 " God enjoys the world of life ; Osiris enjoys himself 
 in it as you rejoice yourselves of your life. "J 
 
 I would gladly have further sought and deciphered 
 what the old stones told of that time vanished away. 
 But suddenly I felt myself borne upward as if carried 
 by spirit-hands continually higher and higher, till the 
 temple-structure beneath me finally vanished from my 
 eyes ; clouds covered the earth, and I felt that I had 
 entered into the heavenly heights. That was a new 
 blessed life, not unlike the earthly, as the venerable 
 priest had proclaimed it to the believing people. § Here 
 also flowed a heavenly Nile covered with numerous 
 boats ; here too the blessed, whom' Thoth the con- 
 ductor of the dead had let in, ploughed, sowed, har- 
 vested, threshed and finally brought a thank-offering 
 to the mighty Nile-god. He was known by the bulrush 
 belonging to him on his head; and an inscription affixed 
 
 * Todtenbucli, I. 11, 12. f Ibid. I. 4, 5. J Ibid. III. 3. 
 
 \ Todtenbucli, Plate XLI. Compare Seyffartli, Tlieol. Schriften der 
 Alten iEgypter, p. 31. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 187 
 
 to his throne-chair named him Hapi-Mou, the Father of 
 the gods. In a fine harbor, which I reached as I was 
 walking about, stood a costly boat whose bow and stern 
 ran out at the point into a serpent's head. This boat it 
 was on which the almighty Sun was wont to steer through 
 the heavenly water. It bore the inscription — "Boat of 
 the Sun-god, the king of the two worlds, (above and 
 below the horizon,) who sails upon his boat to determine 
 the times in the house of the world. "( 19 ) 
 
 It was with me here as in the temple ; all came up be- 
 fore me known and familiar, and many of the blessed, 
 who were sauntering about, I could name and address 
 by their titles. Here I saw the first king, Menes, 
 who introduced religious customs and sacrifices into 
 Egypt,* and for this reason was especially honored in 
 the heavenly dwelling of the righteous. I saw Nitocris, 
 who yet was radiant in the beauty of youthful bloom. 
 I saw the kings under whom Joseph governed the realm 
 and Moses led out his own people to the East. I saw 
 all, only not those to whom, on account of a godless and 
 unjust course of life, was forbidden in the earthly court 
 of the dead an honorable burial of the corpse, and who 
 hence w^ere also excluded from the heavenly kingdom. 
 Among the most important of all, and surrounded by a 
 splendid court-retinue, appeared to me to be Sesostris ; 
 a tamed faithful lion was beside him as when he was in 
 life. I ventured to address him to learn whether all 
 which I had read respecting him and his warlike deeds, 
 in later authors, was true, or what was well-founded 
 and what might not be so. 
 
 " That I was a grcnt king, and likewise a great con- 
 queror," he began, with all that love of boasting and 
 
 * Diod. T. 45. 
 
188 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 vainglory belonging to the Egyptians, "will be allowed 
 me even by Osiris. The magnificent arrangements of 
 the State, admired by all who visited Egypt, are my 
 work. The distribution of the land into provinces and 
 Nomes ; the regular administration of these by particu- 
 lar governors and superintendents of the districts ; the 
 collective military power ; the code of laws for the sol- 
 diers ; many of the canals wdiich conduct the Nile into 
 regions destitute of water, and also the dams that pre- 
 vent the dangers of too great an overflow ; and in fine 
 the measurement of the land and its proportional divi- 
 sion among the obedient subjects, — these beneficial 
 arrangements all owe their existence to me. I too un- 
 dertook great war-expeditions, and sought in this to rival 
 Osiris.* But I should certainly go too far if I wished 
 to arrogate to myself all which later authors, and espe- 
 cially the Greeks have related of me with especial 
 praise. There w T ere great, perhaps greater, conquerors 
 after me. I will only name the whole succession of the 
 Ramses, w T hose warlike deeds are immortalized and pic- 
 torially represented on innumerable monuments. f But 
 the Greeks knew of and mentioned scarcely any Ram- 
 ses ; all the deeds of these kings have been ascribed to 
 my name, and so there has arisen a confusion which no 
 investigator of antiquity of later ages can reduce to 
 order. Even I myself hardly know where I was with 
 my victorious army, w r hat nations I subjected, what 
 cities I destroyed and spoiled of their treasures. When 
 I went through the world it was so little known that it 
 would be impossible for me to give you the present 
 
 * Herod. II. 108. Diod. I. 57. JElian. Var. Hist, xii. 4, and 
 xiv. 34. 
 
 f Rosellini, Mon. Real. TIT. 2, Plates LXV.-CL. 
 
TIIREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 189 
 
 names of the particular cities, mountains and rivers ; 
 for, like all things, so do the names of regions change 
 as soon as they are once laid waste, forsaken by their 
 primitive inhabitants and come into possession of other 
 nations. The period too when I lived, is to the people 
 whose glory and flourishing state I once established an 
 enigma.* Have they not often confounded me with this 
 or that Ramses because too they were great conquer- 
 ors ? Have not others likewise held me to be Sisak, 
 who took and plundered Jerusalem in the days of Reho- 
 boam ? No ! Believe me, I am much older ; not only 
 older than the Assyrian king Ninus,f yes, older, much 
 older ! One circumstance I recollect which I will im- 
 part to you more fully. In the year before I began my 
 great warlike expedition, while I was yet busied with 
 the preparations of my army, about the vernal equinox, 
 the priests and astrologers announced to me with great 
 joy and solemnity a wonder which promised the best 
 success for my undertaking. Suddenly, against expecta- 
 tion, as they told it, came a beautiful bird from the East, 
 even from the furthest India, to the City Heliopolis, 
 and built for itself there a nest on a palm. A great 
 number of other birds reverentially accompanied it on 
 its flight. The incomparable bird, which they called 
 Phoenix, then set fire to its nest and thus gave itself up 
 to death. J But, oh ! a miracle ! from the ashes of the 
 burned one rose up another Phoenix in the most beauti- 
 ful bloom of its youth. — This wonderful event was cele- 
 brated at that time, and as I have heard has been re- 
 peated several times since, after a definite long course 
 of years. ( 20 ) When now in the evening, I asked the 
 
 * Boeckh, Manetlio, p. 296. Idclcr. Hermapion, p. 240, &c. 
 f Justin, T. I. % Tacit. Ann. VI. 28. 
 
a 
 e 
 
 : 
 
 ' 
 
 190 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 priests how the bird looked and what was its color, they 
 mysteriously named it the Indian, a Son of Osiris, and 
 the four-colored. Its golden and red feathers wer 
 especially dazzling in the sun.* I eagerly desired t 
 see him ; then the priest pointed silently toward the 
 heavens, where no bird was to be seen, but thousands of 
 stars were twinkling ; and so it was clear to me that un- 
 der the whole mysterious narration of the astrologers 
 was concealed an astronomical event which they neither 
 wished to communicate and betray to me nor to any one 
 else. If you can now," concluded Sesostris, "accu- 
 rately learn from the priests what they understood b; 
 the Phoenix, then will you thus easily be able, likewis 
 to calculate and determine the epoch of my life."f 
 
 Here ended my dream; and it may be said in passing, 
 that during the feast I inquired of the priests of Helio- 
 polis, who happened to be present, about the period of 
 time according to the expiration of which the appear- 
 ance of the Phoenix was wont to be repeated. But they 
 could give me no definite -information. One named this, 
 another that number, and Horus whispered to me de- 
 ridingly in my ear, that they themselves did not know 
 when the bird would appear ; and while they could not 
 agree with themselves or with each other, sometimes the 
 bird would come, and so be unexpected, since he from 
 his own wondrous knowledge hits on the correct epoch. 
 Then his arrival is immediately and solemnly pro- 
 claimed and celebrated as one of the most important 
 festivals.^ 
 
 * Todtenbuch, iii. 3; xvii. 29; Ixxxiii. 2. Herod. II. 73. 
 f As to the astronomical meaning of the Phoenix period, compare 
 Thoth, p. 226. 
 
 t .Elian. Hist, Anim. VI. 58. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 191 
 
 Already early in the morning the music which poured 
 into the hall of the guard-room from without awoke me. 
 The clangor could not be called agreeable ; the noisy and 
 tempestuous prevailed in it, which no doubt was to be 
 ascribed to the musical instruments that were used in 
 the festive processions in Egypt. Drums, fifes, tam- 
 bourines, cymbals, trumpets, horns and other noisy in- 
 struments played a large part therein. 
 
 As soon as I had rubbed my eyes and had shaken off 
 the different dreams of the night, Horus conducted me 
 out in front of the door of the guard-room that we 
 might see the festive march around of the priests. Im- 
 mediately after the numerous bands of music, whose 
 wild melodies had awakened me, followed the individual 
 members of the priest-class, every one with his special 
 insignia and badges. They walked past with an un- 
 commonly venerable demeanor -in measured tread, their 
 eyes directed steadily before them, neither wandering to 
 the right or left, so that they appeared as though buried 
 in deep reflection. Never during my three days' sojourn 
 in Memphis did I see a priest laugh, rarely one smile ; 
 and if this class of people was formerly so highly hon- 
 ored, and almost adored, this is certainly in a great 
 degree to be ascribed to the serious mien which its mem- 
 bers knew how to assume as often as they appeared in 
 public in the discharge of their official duties. Fore- 
 most in the procession came the singer, with a musical 
 instrument in his hands, and a roll of writing which con- 
 tained the sacred songs to be used for the feast ; then 
 followed the astrologer, who as the token of his official 
 dignity bore a palm-branch, the symbol of the division 
 of time,* and the so-called Horologe, a kind of indicator 
 * Horapollo, Hieroglyph, I. 8, I. 
 
192 THREE DAYS IN MEM THIS. 
 
 of the hours. For lie it was whose principal business 
 consisted in the observation of the stars and the astro- 
 nomical, chronological and astrological calculations con- 
 nected therewith. Behind followed with gravity the 
 sacred scribe, with the ostrich feather on his head and 
 a book-roll and writing instruments in his hands. — The 
 next that succeeded, the Stolist, as a sign of his dignity 
 bore a censer and a measuring-wand, the symbolic re- 
 ference of which to the duties of his office, especially as 
 to the wand, it is easy to recognize. The Stolist was 
 not only intrusted with the clothing and decoration of 
 the statues of the gods, but he was likewise especially 
 the arranger of the festival and procession, and he had 
 therefore to watch that in the festivities, sacrifices and 
 processions, everything should take place properly ac- 
 cording to the prescriptions and laws laid down in the 
 particular books. The yard-wand therefore undoubtedly 
 indicated here that he should suitably proportion all the 
 transactions, usages and ceremonies. Finally followed 
 the Prophet as I have already several times sketched 
 him.* Those hitherto named appeared to be the most 
 respectable members of the priestly-class ; to them were * 
 directly joined a great number of the servants of the 
 temple, who partly led sacrificial animals and bore other 
 articles necessary for the offerings. From the great 
 number I will only notice particularly the following: — 
 Immediately after the prophet came at least twenty 
 Pastophori, some with little shrines or chapels dedicated 
 to Osiris ; others with small handsomely-decked images 
 of Osiris, and finally yet others dragging forward a 
 large statue of Osiris by ropes attached to a sort of 
 
 * As to this order of succession in the procession, compare Clemens 
 Alexandrinus, VI. 268, and Wilkinson, Plate LXXVI. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 193 
 
 sledge. The larger, as also smaller statues, were clad 
 in costly robes, and adorned with flowers, garlands, 
 chains and bands ; the robes on the sun Osiris were red, 
 as the morning-dawn which daily announces his com- 
 ing ;* this was the only color which I noticed in them ; 
 no other might be used as the ornament of the Sun- 
 god ; the shrines were partly of variegated woods and 
 richly-adorned, and partly of stone. Apis also was in 
 the procession, for, according to the belief of the people, 
 he was the abode of the soul of Osiris ;f he was slowly 
 and carefully led with a costly rein by his special keepers 
 and servants. Then followed the sacrificing priests, the 
 so-called Moschosphragists, who have to seek out the 
 appropriate beasts for offerings and to provide them 
 with a seal in confirmation of their fitness. At this 
 time they led only swine, as the designated feast-day 
 of Osiris or Dionysos was peculiar for this reason, — that 
 merely swine, and especially young pigs, were brought 
 as an offering to him, not merely publicly, but also by 
 every private man. Only the very poorest contented 
 themselves, instead of living animals, with those that 
 were formed and kneaded out of dough. J Others still, 
 finally brought up the whole procession, who bore sacri- 
 ficial vessels filled with wine and milk, as these liquids 
 likewise were copiously dispensed to the gods.§ 
 
 But after all these different orders of priests had 
 passed, the streets for a long time were not yet free so 
 as to allow us to join the procession. Now followed 
 some divisions of soldiers, with slow music and in slow- 
 measured march ; and then, finally, a vast, countless 
 number of people, who crowded on as in Catholic coun- 
 
 * Plutarch, in Osir., 51, 78. f Diod. I. 85. 
 
 J Herod, II. 47, 48. g Wilk. II. 2, pp. 865, 866. 
 
 17 
 
194 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 tries, after the crucifix ; so here, after the image of 
 Osiris and the Apis. All castes were here mixed up to- 
 gether ; even the so-much-hated and despised swine- 
 herds I saw here to-day in the midst of the throng, as 
 they also had presented beasts for sacrifice, and would 
 afterward receive again the slaughtered flesh as a pre- 
 sent. But yet we could observe the aversion among the 
 people that was universally felt toward the swine-herds. 
 They anxiously sought to avoid them and to keep 
 away from them just as we give the way to a chimney- 
 sweep or miller's boy from the fear that we may be 
 soiled by contact with them. To-day, however, they 
 allowed them a place in their midst, while else their 
 avoidance of them was so great that none of them would 
 enter a temple nor dared to contract any relationship 
 by marriage w T ith one of another caste ; and the slightest 
 touch from one of the unclean beasts they herded was 
 so great a contamination that those who met with this 
 misfortune were bound immediately to dash into the 
 Nile and purify themselves according to the laws of 
 religion.* 
 
 So rolled slowly onward the procession, in which we 
 both finally mingled, amid the shouts of the people, 
 until it reached the large open place of which I have 
 already spoken and which extended out before the 
 temple of Ptah. Here a number of the members of 
 the other priesthoods were gathered, and among these 
 Horus pointed out to me Sesom, almost a hundred years 
 old, whose life and deeds he had related the day before. 
 He lay on a white cushion, in a sedan, which his ser- 
 vants had brought thither ; for as my little guide in- 
 formed me, he was crippled in both of his feet. But in 
 * Herod. II. 47. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 195 
 
 the body, destitute of motion, almost dead, there yet 
 lived a proud lofty commanding spirit, which sparkled 
 out of his dark eyes, and by all who passed before him 
 there was paid him a reverential greeting and a low 
 bowing down. 
 
 I had placed myself with Horus on one of the highest 
 steps of the temple, from which we could overlook the 
 whole open space lying before us, in the midst of which 
 was the sacrificial altar, and where the sacred cere- 
 monies were to take place. Those who bore part in the 
 procession placed themselves around the altar decked 
 with flowers, and encircling these a chain, forming a 
 square, was drawn by the soldiers posted so as to keep 
 off the people crowding in from curiosity. The par- 
 ticular festivity, with its prayers, sacrifices and gifts, 
 had little interest for me, as I had already seen similar 
 ones in the past days ; I longed for the peculiar popular 
 festivals which should exhibit the otherwise sober and 
 morose Egypt in its joy and license.* But it did not yet 
 take place. After the signal had been given by a horn 
 for the beginning of the feast, and a universal silence 
 had taken place, the singer came up to the altar in order 
 to recite publicly the well-known hymns to Osiris. For 
 though he bore in his hands, and must do so in all fes- 
 tive processions, the two rolls of books, of which one 
 was songs in honor of the gods and the other a sketch 
 of the royal life, yet it was his particular business to 
 know them perfectly by heart, and be able to rehearse 
 them in public, f During his half-sung half-spoken ad- 
 dress, universal silence reigned ; only certain single pas- 
 sages, full of the subject, that always returned at definite 
 
 * Ammianus Marcellinus, B. XXII., and Herod. II. GO. 
 f Clemens of Alexandria, ut supra. 
 
196 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 intervals, and formed a sort of refrain, were repeated 
 aloud and spoken after him by the priesthood and the 
 people. The first one I call to mind even to this day ; 
 it ran thus : — 
 
 " I sing the works of the Lord, which quickens my 
 heart so long as I walk in the house of the Lord."* 
 
 After this the liquids mentioned were poured out as 
 libations on the altar by the high-priest. Then the great 
 statue of the god was set up, and the sacrifice began by 
 the priests especially called to it. The swine, the feet 
 of which had been tied together, were slaughtered ; their 
 entrails taken out and then the heads cut off. These 
 heads of the sacrificial animals correspond in a certain 
 degree to the scape-goat among the Hebrews, which, as 
 is well-known, was laden with all the sins of the people 
 on the great day of atonement and driven into the 
 wilderness ; so here the head of the animal for offering 
 was laden by the Egyptian priests w T ith curses and im- 
 precations. The high-priest spoke over it the following 
 words : — " If any misfortune is coming upon the land, 
 let it be averted and fall on this head !" — This head was 
 then, as Herodotus relates, borne away and cast into the 
 Nile ; at a later time, when foreigners, and especially 
 Greeks had gained an entrance into the country, it w T as 
 sold in the commercial cities. 
 
 While I followed with anxious observation this scene 
 of imprecation, I felt myself suddenly surrounded by an 
 exceedingly strong, intoxicating odor, and turning my- 
 self almost involuntarily toward the temple, I saw a 
 thick cloud of smoke pressing through it, which soon 
 wholly covered us. Horus, who remarked my astonish- 
 ment, at once readily explained to me this new appear- 
 * Todtenbuch, I. 22. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 197 
 
 ance. " They are burning incense/' said he, "in the 
 temple, with Kyphi, well known to you certainly by 
 name. The preparation of this incense according to 
 rule, is no easy matter, and is a particular secret of the 
 temple-servants assigned to the duty. Sixteen different 
 substances must be mingled for it in equal proportions. 
 I will try to enumerate them in your own language. 
 For this purpose they take honey, wine, resin, galgant,* 
 turpentine, myrrh, aspalathus, i.e. a thorny shrub which 
 affords a kind of oil like your oil of roses, also stone- 
 clover, the gum mastic, or as the botanists call it, of the 
 Pistacia lentiscus, asphalt, fig-leaves, sorrel, berries of 
 the large and small juniper, a kind of root which the old 
 Greeks called 'kardamon,' and finally, kalmus.f All 
 these put together furnish an incense which is daily 
 used to purify and consecrate the air of the temple, and 
 thus likewise promote the health as well as serve and 
 please the gods. But as to the name the Greeks have 
 so corrupted and distorted, it is to be expressed not pro- 
 perly by Kyphi, but by Schobe." 
 
 As soon as the cloud of incense had somewhat passed 
 away, in the distance, on the extreme and opposite side 
 of the open space, a new and unexpected spectacle pre- 
 sented itself to me. These were the embassadors of 
 various subject-tribes, who at the close of the year 
 brought their tributes in the manifold natural products 
 of their country, and marched with them slowly and 
 solemnly, almost unmarked and disregarded by others, 
 to the king's palace, there to deliver them to the Royal 
 Intendant, who with numerous secretaries took an ac- 
 
 * Maranta Galanga, Lin., yet known by its balsamic resin and 
 ethereal oil, which is extracted by means of spirits of wine, 
 f Plutarch, de Iside et Osiri, chaps, lii. and lxxxi. 
 
 17* 
 
198 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 curate reckoning of them. The white complexion, dress 
 and growth of hair of these new-comers, showed them 
 clearly to be foreigners and Asiatics. The leader who 
 marched at their head bore a club, bow, shield and 
 lance ; a musician with a seven-stringed lyre and the 
 plectrum followed him. Others bore gold and silver 
 vessels, baskets of fruits of all kinds, and also as a pre- 
 sent of honor to the king splendid weapons and arms ; 
 captured animals likewise, as for example a gazelle, ap- 
 peared in the procession.* It was certainly only by ac- 
 cident that there was on this day present another depu- 
 tation belonging to another nation, which followed 
 immediately after the first. They were Mauritanians, 
 of a somewhat clearer complexion than the Egyptians, 
 and beardless. t They wore a hair-net and a short, 
 girded garment, and brought as presents to the king 
 giraffes, ostriches, rock-goats, monkeys, ostrich eggs 
 and feathers. Horus named this people Punt, and on 
 this I involuntarily thought of the Phut of the Bible, 
 whom Jeremiah (xlvi. 9) mentions as bearers of shields 
 in the army of Pharaoh-Necho. 
 
 When the procession to which I had exclusively turned 
 my attention had passed by, then the sacrificial solemni- 
 ties concluded with a prayer were also finished, and 
 now began the festival-sports which I had with longing 
 expected. The priests marched back into the holy 
 place of the temple, whither no one might follow them, 
 and thus it remained hidden from me what they did 
 there in the further course of the day. For with anxious 
 carefulness the priests at all times sought to keep far 
 
 « Rosellini, Monum. Storici. III. A. p. 48, &c. 
 
 f Bimseivs .Egvptens Stelle in dor Weltgeschichte, II. S. 323, and 
 the places there cited. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 199 
 
 away every uninitiated person from their mysteries, and 
 for this purpose invented a sacred legend to affright the 
 curious. They related that there was once a man who 
 had in no wise the privilege of going into the temple, 
 yet crept in by stealth, and was therefore punished for 
 his curiosity ; for having cast a look behind the curtain 
 of the most holy place, he had seen all there full of 
 terrific images and apparitions, and after giving an ac- 
 count of it to others he suddenly died. 
 
 Scarcely had the priests disappeared than with an 
 almost fabulous hurry and quickness everything was re- 
 moved by the servants of the temple that had been used 
 for the sacrifice, and immediately all was gone that 
 could bear witness to what had been already done. The 
 open space was cleared out, strewed with fresh sand 
 and prepared for the sports of combat, which were now 
 held without any decoration, w r hile at a later period 
 probably an arena was erected, with seats for the spec- 
 tators. Strabo, at least, relates the following particu- 
 lars : — " On this open space hear the temple of Vulcan, 
 in Memphis, there is a colossus made of a single stone. 
 In this space too are held bull-fights ; the bulls are 
 specially trained for it as a man trains a horse. Set 
 loose they meet in combat. The victor receives a prize.' ' 
 Such a bull-fight it was that next presented itself to my 
 sight. Two powerful, courageous bulls, one of which 
 was black, the other speckled, were brought in. Their 
 two leaders, who without doubt belonged to the herds- 
 men-caste, were clad only w T ith a common linen apron 
 and armed with long and thick clubs. After they had 
 placed the animals eager for the fight opposite to each 
 other, at about the distance of six paces, they were set 
 loose. Furious they dashed against one another, assault- 
 
200 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 ing each other with their horns ; as often as one was 
 tired, or was forced by the impetuous shock of his ad- 
 versary to turn about in flight, he was driven on anew 
 from his master by blows of his club. When they would 
 no more obey the cudgel an iron point was fixed on it, 
 and with this the poor beasts were pricked from behind 
 in the back.* The fight did not end till one of the two 
 combating beasts sunk down with shattered skull and 
 ripped-up belly, and dying reddened the sand with his 
 blood. A tempest of applause by the people, as if un- 
 willing to stop, was the only reward for the master of 
 the victor-beast, unless some other awaited him ; for I 
 saw several scribes with their writing-materials sitting 
 on the lowest steps of the temple, who were busy in 
 noting accurately the course of every game of combat. 
 Both of the herdsmen likewise deserved praise and ad- 
 miration, as not seldom the furious animals had turned 
 against their masters, and they could then only defend 
 themselves and save their threatened lives by the great- 
 est skill and adroitness. Less dangerous were the gym- 
 nastic and warlike exercises that now followed. The 
 young sons of the soldiers also must contribute their 
 share to the general pleasure of the assembly. For 
 the most part they were young persons of between six- 
 teen and twenty years of age, who exhibited splendid 
 proofs of the skill which they had acquired in the wrest- 
 ling and fencing schools. They fought with wooden wea- 
 pons only, but with these they could have easily injured 
 each other, had they not understood how to catch every 
 stroke dexterously on their wooden shields covered with 
 
 * Representations of bull-fights are to be found in the sepulchral 
 chambers of Thebes and Beni-Hassan. Compare Wilk. II. 444 to 
 the end. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 201 
 
 leather. I saw only a few bloody heads, and every cut 
 which was made was greeted by the people with laughter, 
 humbling and causing shame to him who was hit. If, 
 as was often the case, their sw^ords were broken in pieces 
 in the single fight, their weapons were cast away, and 
 then began a wrestling which was not regarded as ended 
 till the overthrow of one and the complete victory of the 
 other of the two.* Then every time the vanquished 
 must withdraw, while the conqueror kept the field of 
 battle and another opponent came forth to meet him. 
 I saw some who remained victors ten times and more in 
 succession before they had to yield to a stronger and 
 more accomplished antagonist. Thus the fight con- 
 tinued for an hour, and many an old bearded soldier 
 stood among the spectators and with sparkling eyes 
 silently rejoiced over the address and most promising 
 bravery of his young son. At the conclusion, round 
 wooden disks were brought in and placed on poles, at 
 which the soldiers might shoot with their arrows and 
 hurl their spears. An elegant silver cup was the prize 
 of the one who in a certain number of shots hit the 
 mark the oftenest. 
 
 But the sun already stood high in the heavens 
 and sent down his glowing rays, which were reflected 
 from the flat stone-steps of the ascent to the temple 
 with redoubled violence, and thus made a longer stay 
 impossible for one from the North. "Let us go under 
 the tent and to the river," said Horus, and drew me 
 forth with him ; "there we shall find a jubilee, joy and 
 refreshing which we so much need." So we left the 
 place of combat. 
 
 Beneath the tents at the river the little fellow said 
 * Leipzig Illust. Zeitung, Band, VII. 1852, p. 331, &o. 
 
202 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 ras; 
 has 
 
 we should find jubilee and joy. And so indeed it was 
 for here was the proper popular festival. Whoever 
 hot once had an opportunity to be in Leipzig or some 
 great city of traffic to visit a fair, and there on the dif- 
 ferent market-places to notice under the tents and in 
 the shops the business, the crowds and the amusements 
 of the visitors, can with difficulty form a correct and 
 perfect idea of this fair of Osiris. Already the yearly 
 torrents of rain had begun in Upper Ethiopia and 
 brought in a swelling of the Nile ; already some fields 
 in its neighborhood were overflowed, from which the 
 higher-situated country-houses of the region around up- 
 reared themselves as islands. Here on the waves of the 
 black river, as it was called by almost all the old na- 
 tions,* sported thousands of gondolas and pleasure- 
 boats, which were all decorated in the most festive 
 manner by variegated bands, curtains and garlands of 
 flowers. As on a Corso in the lagunes of Venice, the 
 Egyptians, men and women variously intermingled, 
 sailed back and forth, courteously greeting each other 
 when they met with friends or kindred. They had 
 music, they sung, they danced, they drank on the 
 boats. f Many of those also whom I had become ac- 
 quainted with on the former days I saw fly by in their 
 barks, and called out to them a friendly salutation, 
 which they also kindly returned. The young man whom 
 I had met hunting on the second day, and who had so 
 kindly shown me his father's estate and had returned me 
 to Memphis, also shot his boat toward the land at the 
 place where we stood observing, and invited us to mount 
 
 * Diodorus calls it OJceame, the Chaldeans Ukkam, and this is the 
 Egyptian word Ukame, or Black. 
 f Herod. II. 60. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 203 
 
 his boat and contemplate the wild whirl still closer ; but 
 I did not dare to give myself into the vortex where 
 innocent joys were interchanged by wild pleasure, 
 friendly jokes with indecent scoffs and vulgarities, quiet 
 laughter with the most unrestrained mirth and excess ; 
 and in all this dissipation the women, who had for a long 
 time rejoiced in the feast-days as days of freedom and 
 license, took the liveliest part.* 
 
 Under the tents and huts which stretched like a long 
 street on the high-situated bank we met the same un- 
 bridled license. Most of the tents were consecrated to 
 Ceres and Bacchus. Wine, beer, cakes and different 
 baked articles, eggs, honey, figs, dates, melons, pome- 
 granates, grapes, onions and other products of the 
 country were presented in rich abundance. In another 
 tent warm food was spread out, prepared near it on simple 
 hearths formed of three stone slabs. We contented our- 
 selves with tasting the various fruits, and ate some wheat- 
 bread ; then desirous of a drink of foreign wine I entered 
 with Horus into a drinking saloon which, standing here 
 and there, were easily to be distinguished from the other 
 shops by the noise that burst forth from them. The 
 view which the inside of the first tent offered was in- 
 describably disgusting. It appeared to be filled only by 
 persons of the lowest class, but even in these I should 
 have expected more propriety and sense of shame. Sit- 
 ting partly on low benches, partly lying about on the 
 ground, they gave themselves to the utmost licentious- 
 ness; and even, the drunken, noisy women whom we 
 looked at, expecting that exhausted and no longer capa- 
 ble of controlling their feelings they would sink down 
 
 * Herod, as above. 
 
204 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 into a corner, were no uncommon spectacle.* While 
 with us the glow of fiery wine, moderately enjoyed, red- 
 dens the cheeks, and hence an otherwise pale face may 
 sometimes be disfigured, with these dark-complexioned 
 Egyptian women it showed its effects especially in their 
 lips and eyes : the lips and eye-lids were swelled up, the 
 eyes became piercing and rolled around like balls of fire 
 in their sockets, — it was the picture of the Furies as they 
 mounted from their home in hell in order to torture and 
 persecute the evil-doers on earth. 
 
 But there was yet one scene which caused me to re- 
 main a few minutes among this coarse multitude of the 
 populace. On one side of the tent particularly all crowded 
 around a magician, who by his arts of juggling excited 
 the highest astonishment of the spectators and gained 
 many a treat for himself. On a low table behind which 
 he stood, he placed two little cups and covered each 
 one of them with a larger. When he again lifted off 
 the latter the first and smaller one had disappeared. 
 Now he placed the larger' one again upon the table after 
 he had shown that there was nothing hidden under it. 
 But oh, wonderful ! he made one of those present raise 
 up one of the cups and there stood the little one under 
 it ; then he raised this, under which was found a smaller, 
 and so on till the whole table was filled with cups of 
 different sizes. All these cups were placed with the 
 edge turned down in a row on the table ; the conjuror 
 asked for a ring and seized his magic wand. " Under 
 which cup shall the ring lie?" he asked the spectators. 
 " Under the smallest !" all cried, with one voice. Then 
 he threw the ring into the air, it disappeared as a flash 
 
 * Wilk. II. 168, &c. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 205 
 
 of lightning from our eyes, and was found again under 
 the cup pointed out.* 
 
 Although we are accustomed to such a sleight of a 
 practiced hand exciting astonishment, by our jugglers, 
 yet the Egyptian conjuror awakened the greatest at- 
 tention and the highest surprise ; and while on the 
 other side of the tent the noise increased every mo- 
 ment, all around him reigned astonishment and silence. 
 Breathless the spectators looked at him and his hand 
 practiced in the art, and scarcely ventured to speak a 
 word for fear of disturbing and causing displeasure 
 to the divinity, w T hich appeared to work through and 
 in him. The juggler too left them in this belief; the 
 superstition of the Old Egyptians at that time was great 
 and powerful, and not only priests and lawgivers, but 
 also impostors, conjurors and other jugglers, whose 
 knowledge and arts appeared inexplicable and super- 
 natural to the astonished multitude, might openly and 
 without apprehension of danger exhibit and boast of the 
 aid of a divinity. 
 
 After we had seen and admired some other tricks of 
 his art we left the tent to seek out for ourselves a more 
 respectable society. We went through the shops, many 
 of which, besides the kinds of food before mentioned, 
 contained also other articles on sale, and found eager 
 venders, and reached a larger tent in which a great 
 number of respectable Egyptians had assembled. Be- 
 fore it various pole-balancers and jugglers exhibited 
 their arts, accompanied by a band of musicians with 
 noisy music, and sometimes interchanged with the 
 
 * Minutoli, Social Sports and Gymnastic Exercises of the Old 
 Egyptians, in the Leipzig Illus., Zeitung, 1852, p. 831. 
 
 18 
 
206 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 dances of lovely foreigners who betrayed an Eastern 
 origin. These dancers were wild and passionate, such 
 as we may see in the East at the present day. There 
 were not only dances, but dramatic and pantomimic 
 representations of the various feelings and passions, in 
 which not only the feet but also the hands and features 
 of the countenance were brought into action. The 
 airiness of these female dancers in all their motions 
 was extraordinary ; wondrous was the quickness with 
 which they knew how to change their features accord- 
 ing as they wished to express joy or sorrow, pleasure 
 or grief, desire or indifference. The voluptuousness of 
 their postures might sometimes, according to our ideas, 
 exceed all bounds ; but while the looks, movements, 
 and in short all in them spoke a language too evident 
 to be mistaken, they presented an indescribably lovely 
 picture that will never indeed be effaced from mj 
 memory.* 
 
 In the tent itself into which we next entered to r 
 fresh ourselves by a cup of good wine, brought into 
 the country by foreign traders, sat soldiers, artists and 
 merchants in a parti-colored mixture, busied in eating, 
 drinking and gaming. Especially the dice were agoing, 
 as on the evening before at the watch-house, and many 
 a large sum, many a costly estate, were staked on a 
 single throw. At many tables sat in pairs opposite 
 each other a party playing draughts. The stones, in 
 the form of our wedge, were white and black, or red 
 and black, and were pushed back and forth on a square 
 tablet divided out by lines according to the rules of the 
 art.f The players were so engaged and buried in the 
 
 * Wilk. II. 301, 329. 
 
 f Wilk. II. 448, &c, and Minutoli, at supra. 
 
 i 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 207 
 
 game that they rarely raised their eyes, fixed on the 
 table, to cast a glance at the assembly or take a drink 
 from their cups. They seldom also spoke, and then 
 only to make a remark as to one and another turn of 
 the play. If in the first tent I had been driven away by 
 the dissipation and noisy tumult of the company, here, 
 on the contrary, I felt myself restrained and distressed 
 by an almost unearthly stillness and repose. As Ave 
 had no wish to take part in the games or remain idle 
 spectators, when, after a few moments, we had eaten 
 and drank and refreshed ourselves, we had nothing more 
 to see here. We therefore soon went again out into 
 the open air, and took our way anew through the ever- 
 increasing whirl of human beings. 
 
 On an open square, which we finally reached, were 
 at least forty respectable young women assembled en- 
 joying themselves at ball-play or throwing hoops. For 
 the ball-play — which I had often already seen repre- 
 sented in pictures, and that may be seen at the present 
 day in the grotto of Beni-Hassan — in all Ancient Egypt 
 was only a play for females, who threw back and forth 
 to each other parti-colored leather balls, caught them 
 again, and sought to surpass one another in both kinds 
 of skill, especially in the height and distance of the 
 throw.* In the same way as with us too they threw 
 the hoops, which were wound about w T ith elegant rib- 
 bons ;f and the pleasure and joy which shone forth in 
 these gymnastic plays, their sportive jokes and merry 
 springing, dissipated the unpleasant impression which 
 their well-known and already-mentioned ugliness had 
 produced upon me. But my little conductor left me 
 * Wilk. II. 429, 430, 432. f Minutoli, ut supra. 
 
208 THKBB PAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 a Bhort time only for observation; anxiously and impa- 
 tiently he drew me further on and forth from the wild, 
 furious activity of the popular festival. I- 1 ) Keeping 
 the Nile always on the right and the oast, toward which 
 side it here bounded the city, we walked ahead with 
 rapid step. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PYRAMIDS — THE FAREWELL. 
 
 While my little conductor talked with me about one 
 person and another known to me, and sometimes told 
 me of the different princes who had built the city of 
 Memphis, and especially the well-known temple of Vul- 
 can, and beautified and enlarged it,( 22 ) sometimes prais- 
 ing the wisdom of the first founder, who, by the forma- 
 tion of dams and canals, regulated the overflow and 
 gained the greatest merit on account of the fertility of 
 the soil, we withdrew ourselves further and further from 
 the noise and tumult of the festival, and were recalled 
 to it only here and there by a Nile-bark gliding past, 
 which was bringing in new participants and guests from 
 cities situated in the North. Joyous laughter, merry 
 jokes and music resounded over to us from them; and 
 if by chance they saw us walking off, we were also not 
 secure from their raillery and jibes, to which they 
 usually added an invitation to come into the bark and 
 return back to the festival.* But Horus always replied 
 to them with like jokes, and they let us go quietly on 
 our way. I soon noticed that the ground was more 
 elevated, and that gradually we ascended one of those 
 dams the first formation of which tradition ascribes to 
 Menes. After we had walked about a mile we found 
 ourselves high above the water-level, and now my con- 
 
 * Herod. II. 60. 
 
 18* 209 
 
1210 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 
 ductor, who had hitherto sought to divert me by conver- 
 sation of all kinds, proposed to me to take a look back- 
 ward to the region lying on the South. 
 
 It was the last look which was permitted me on the 
 old land of the Pharaohs. Before me at my feet lay a 
 once-mighty royal city with her temples and palaces, 
 which have been destroyed for centuries ; whose ruins 
 in the invasion of the Islamites into Egypt have been 
 converted into building-materials for the new city of 
 Cairo on the opposite side of the river ; whose last re- 
 mains and foundation-walls have become covered with 
 the mud of the Nile and withdrawn from the view of 
 the world. But there yet remains one thing that testi- 
 fies even at this day to the power and greatness of the 
 former kings of Memphis — the Pyramids which rose on 
 my right hand, and on this side of the land of Joseph, 
 with their outlines sharply defined on the horizon. With 
 what anxious care for the imperishableness of their 
 earthly bodies, with what outlay of expense and lives 
 of men the old Pharaohs built them, prepared in them 
 a little sepulchral chamber for themselves that might not 
 only remain secluded from the air but also from the curi- 
 osity and love of destruction of later centuries ! And yet 
 the desire of knowledge respecting them of the last ce: 
 tury again found out their walled-up and. hidden e 
 trances, penetrated into the dark passages and galleries, 
 and has drawn forth from the deep chambers coffins and 
 mummies into the daylight. Walk in thither, proud 
 man ! confess thy feebleness, and gain the conviction 
 that the work of man is a perishable thing. Until a re- 
 quickening at some future time, after a long wandering 
 and purification of their souls for thousands of years, the 
 kings hoped to rest here undisturbed in their tombs. 
 
 et 
 
 : 
 
T J I B E E D A I S I N M E M P H 1 0* 211 
 
 and now they are torn out and scattered over the world 
 to be exposed to the eyes of the curious multitude. 
 
 Horns pointed with his hand over to the largest and 
 highest pyramid. " There, in that," said he, " reposed 
 Suphis, one of the first builders of the pyramids, whom 
 our historian Manetho has placed far before the times of 
 the great Sesostris.* It is almost five hundred feet 
 high ; its entrance, as in all' of them, is on the north 
 side, yet not exactly in the middle, hut somewhat to the 
 east. It stands on a level rocky-bottom, by which it 
 gains considerably in height. On the south and east 
 sides there are certain large temple-edifices belonging to 
 it which are covered up and not visible from the point 
 where we stand. The pyramid itself contains in its in- 
 side one subterranean chamber above a hundred feet be- 
 low the surface of the ground; a sepulchral chamber for 
 the queen, the spouse of the builder; and finally a third, 
 some two hundred feet above the before-named, in which 
 stands the sarcophagus of the king.*}* To all these rooms 
 steps and galleries, mounting upward and outward, for- 
 merly led, but which immediately after the deposit of 
 the dead were filled and Availed up with stones, so that, 
 as you know, but a short period before your time there 
 has been no success in discovering it, or by hewing out 
 the stone to re-open it.' 7 
 
 "Is it true," I interrupted him, "that the builders of 
 
 * Manetho, according to Syncellus, says of the kings of the fourth 
 Dynasty: — "The third was .Suphis ; he built the greatest pyramid, 
 which Herodotus ascribes to Cheops, lie wan a despise? of the gods," 
 &c. The Egyptian name of the builder is Chufu, of which Manetho 
 has made Suphis, and Herodotus Cheo] 
 
 f An accurate description may he found in Bunsen's "JEgypten's 
 Stelle in der Weltgeschichte," II. p. 149, kc. 
 
212 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 the pyramids were so hated by the people that they only 
 unwillingly spoke their names?" 
 
 "With some this was indeed the case," replied Horus; 
 " and this evil reputation has been propagated even to 
 the latest times of the kingdom, so that the Greeks 
 traveling to Egypt heard of it and related it in their 
 writings. But remember too Avhat forces they must 
 have employed for these huge structures, which properly 
 had no other object than to receive their mummies to 
 secure them from corruption. The builder of the largest 
 pyramid was a cruel and tyrannical monarch. Yes ; he 
 went so far in his godlessness that he shut up the tem- 
 ples of the country and forbade the sacrifices and usages 
 of religion, in order that all the people might labor with- 
 out interruption for himself only. Many drops of sweat, 
 many tears has this mighty structure witnessed, many 
 sighs, many a curse has it heard. While some had to 
 hew out the stones in the quarries in the Arabian moun- 
 tains, others brought them to the Nile, where they were 
 again carried over by yet others, and so brought on this 
 side of the river to the place of their destination. Aside 
 from these laborious works and the long time in which 
 they were hewing out the subterranean chambers and 
 passages in the rock, twenty years w T ere spent simply in 
 building the pyramid. When Herodotus visited the 
 country it was related to him that, according to an old 
 inscription, the cost of furnishing the laborers with ra- 
 dishes, garlics and onions merely, amounted to a million 
 and a half of dollars,* and he justly cries out, 'If this 
 cost so much how much must the other food, with the 
 clothes for the workmen and the iron tools, have cost ?'f 
 * Six hundred talents of silver. f Herod. II. 125. 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 213 
 
 Under the following kings likewise the oppression of the 
 people continued on, and Mcncheres, or Mycerinus, first 
 gained for himself the thanks of the people and the 
 name of Holy. He opened the temples and again 
 allowed the celebration of the various festivals. He in- 
 deed built himself a pyramid, but without torturing his 
 subjects and forcing them to hard bond-service, and so 
 he remained to the latest time in songs and odes of the 
 people as a favorite, and is frequently named and glori- 
 fied in the sacred hymns."* 
 
 "And had then these colossal structures, the pyra- 
 mids, really no other object than merely to conceal 
 the mummy of a king?" I asked, as have many anti- 
 quarian investigators of older or later times. 
 
 "What object else could they have had?" said Horus, 
 astonished at this to him unexpected question. "Do 
 you think they were for astronomical observatories be- 
 cause their four sides were accurately turned to the four 
 quarters of the world ? Then they certainly would not 
 have been crowded together near Memphis alone in such 
 numbers, but would be found in other parts of the king-' 
 dom, and especially at Heliopolis, whose priests from 
 ancient times have been famous for their astronomical 
 knowledge. Their tops also would have been accessible, 
 while most of them are laid above with flat, polished 
 stones, and cannot be ascended. Or could they be sym- 
 bolic representations of the realm of shades and the life 
 after death, as some have supposed ? Why are they then 
 not to be found in all Egypt ? And wherein consists 
 the similarity of the symbolic image with the object 
 symbolized ? And as they are likewise walled up and 
 
 * Todtcnbuch, LXIV. 31. 
 
214 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 their entrances closed, wherefore a symbol that was in 
 a state to make no impression on the observer ? For 
 a similar reason, because they were inaccessible they 
 could not have been designed for priestly consecrations 
 and other services of divine worship. — I know indeed 
 that posterity have also supposed them to be store- 
 houses for grain, and those even which the Israelites 
 must have built during their residence in Egypt. But 
 you cannot believe anything of the kind, since the pyra- 
 mids" have been opened after thousands of years and 
 been searched into on all sides, and their whole interior 
 arrangement has proved most contrary to this supposi- 
 tion, as they contain no rooms except little sepulchral 
 chambers, which have no proportion to the magnitude 
 of the structure. They were also air-tight, and a cur- 
 rent of air is indispensable to the preservation of grain.* 
 No ! They were nothing but tombs for the kings ; and 
 two reasons may be given for building the pyramids — 
 Religion and Policy. The religious faith of the old 
 Egyptians is well known, that after death the soul 
 leaves the body and wanders through the bodies of 
 various animals for purification, and not till after a 
 succession of thousands of years returns back to the 
 same human body to live anew in it. This was reason 
 enough for mighty kings to cherish the wish either to 
 hold back the soul in the body and wholly to escape the 
 dread wandering, or at least to preserve the body from 
 any corruption, any disgrace, disturbance and destruc- 
 
 * [It may be observed in passing that this remark of Horus is 
 doubtless incorrect, as the exclusion of air as much as possible is 
 deemed important in silos, or subterranean pits for preserving grain. 
 — Tr.] 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 215 
 
 tion till the requickening. On this account all the 
 Egyptians were embalmed after death and placed in air- 
 tight, closed catacombs, and for this reason the most 
 powerful kings built the pyramids as the most solid, 
 surest and most durable tombs. But there was another 
 reason which was the cause of these structures — Policy. 
 As afterward the Israelites were forced to the hardest 
 labors, because they hoped thus to prevent their increase 
 and possible rebellion ; as Tarquinus Superbus for simi- 
 lar reasons employed the Roman people in the building 
 of subterranean sewers,* so the building of the pyra- 
 mids gave our kings an excellent opportunity to occupy 
 thousands of idle people, and to hold them in oppressive 
 bondage. Those who first tried it were indeed cursed 
 and execrated by the people ; but, in time, the people 
 became accustomed to it, and the later ones were built 
 without exciting the discontent of the population. For 
 it is an old and acknowledged State-craft of tyrants to 
 make their subjects poor by oppressive labors ; to en- 
 slave and humble them in their own eyes in order that, 
 occupied in their business and with daily food, they 
 might have no time to think of rebellion, "f 
 
 During these words of my little conductor the sun 
 had sunk continually lower, and we might expect to see 
 it soon disappear behind the tops of the pyramids in the 
 West. Its last beams irradiated the numerous canals 
 which connected the Nile with Lake Moeris and 
 stretched like silver bands over the fruitful plains. Then 
 Horus, with a friendly gaze on the lovely valley, seized 
 my hand. " We must now part," said he, with a troubled 
 look ; " but I hope you have seen and heard enough to 
 
 * Ex. i. 10. Livy, I. 56, 50. f Aristotle's Politik, V. 11. 
 
216 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 The 
 
 be able to relate much to your contemporaries, 
 time is not far off when our old realm will lie open to 
 you as it has b^en outspread to-day before your eyes. 
 Labor earnestly in the common fight for truth and light. 
 There are many prejudices indeed to be destroyed which 
 the learned of all ages have cherished and diffused. But 
 they will disappear ; the majority of our dead will come 
 out of their graves and bear their testimony to the van- 
 ished splendor of past centuries. But for the proof that 
 you have not dreamed, that I have in truth appeared to 
 you and been your faithful guide, you must take with 
 you into your own country a memorial of me." 
 
 And he looked around him as though he was seeking 
 for some object which he could give me for a present. 
 Then the wind, which had risen at the departure of the 
 sun, blew T before our feet a small, torn piece of papyrus 
 which a scribe might have thrown away as useless and 
 worthless. This the little fellow caught up, and after 
 he had directed a silent prayer to the god Thoth, the 
 secret scribe of his father Osiris, and he with an invisi- 
 ble hand had reached out to him a writing-reed dipped 
 in ink, he bent down in his well-known position on the 
 earth, wrote very hurriedly some hieroglyphics on the 
 paper, and held it out to me. 
 
 " Go," said he, for a farewell, "into the city and re- 
 late to all the people what you have heard and seen in 
 the city of Memphis and the sanctuary of Ptah, the 
 everliving God!" 
 
 Yet one friendly greeting, a kind, childish nod of the 
 head and — all had vanished. I stood again under the 
 old oak ; only the leaf of papyrus in my hand recalled 
 to me what I had experienced. I cast a glance on it 
 and saw the following writing : — 
 
THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 217 
 
 They were the same words which my faithful com- 
 panion had last addressed to me, which I also deciphered 
 from the hieroglyphics. ( 23 ) The autumn wind rustled 
 in the branches of the trees, and from the leaves falling 
 and driven around in a whirl there resounded to me as 
 on spirit- wings these words : — 
 
 u Gro into the city and relate to all the people what 
 you have heard and seen in the city of Memphis and 
 in the sanctuary of Ptah, the everliving Grod.' n 
 
 Thoughtful, I walked homeward. And w T hat I had 
 seen in spirit I wrote down, and often thought of the 
 wondrous appearance. But the yellowed leaf reposes 
 in a hidden compartment of my writing-table as a dear 
 memorial of a dream fresh with life, of three days 
 pleasantly lived in the old venerable city of Memphis, 
 of which an Arabian historian,* who visited Egypt in 
 the thirteenth century of our chronology, says, " Al- 
 though this formerly so rich and venerable city, in which 
 so many different religions have prevailed, has been 
 wholly despoiled by successive bloody revolutions of its 
 citizens ; although it is buried in ruins and its founda- 
 tion-walls are destroyed even to their last vestiges ; al- 
 though its stones and remains have been carried away ; 
 although its buildings have been dragged off and its 
 statues mutilated; although more than four thousand 
 years have destructively passed over it, yet you will find 
 
 * Abdollatif ed. White, pp. 118, 120, 
 19 
 
218 THREE DAYS IN MEMPHIS. 
 
 much of the wondrous, at which even the reason of the 
 most acute observer will stand still and the most elo- 
 quent historian must be dumb. The more attentively 
 you consider the ruins the more admiration will they ex- 
 cite in you; the more carefully you investigate them the 
 more must you be astonished. As often as you pene- 
 trate into anything you will confess that yet greater 
 things lie hidden beneath it, and as often as you derive 
 knowledge from them you will be aware that what re- 
 mains concealed must be far greater and -still more 
 worthy of your admiration." 
 
NOTES. 
 
 (1) p. 16. The little god is called Horus on account of its being 
 shorter; but by him is properly meant to be understood the well- 
 known Harpocrates. For the Egyptians in their mythology distin- 
 guish two of the name of Horus — an older and a younger. The 
 former is a brother of Osiris, born with him on one of the five inter- 
 calary days, and was called Har-ueri, i.e. Horus the Elder; the latter 
 is the son of Isis and Osiris, and in the well-known myth the avenger of 
 his murdered father. He is always called Harpo-chroti, [Harpocrates, ] 
 i.e. Horus the Child. That he always remained a child, and is always 
 represented as such, is for the reason that in contrast to the powerful 
 Osiris, who was conceived of as the autumn-sun dispensing fruits and 
 blessings of all kinds, he was figured as the feeble and powerless 
 early spring-sun. Compare the author's Thoth, pp. 33, 40. His 
 name is always written and represented on the hieroglyphic monu- 
 ments by the so-called Horus-hawk [Har], a square [P], and the 
 image of a child in the position sketched [Chroti]. Frequently, also, 
 the words are added — "Son of Osiris and son of Isis." Compare 
 Bunsen's iEgypten's Stelle in der Weltgeschichte, Plate xiv. 
 
 (2) p. 33. The sacred books of the Old Egyptians contain, accord- 
 ing to Clement of Alexandria, [Strom, vi. 4, S. 757,] not only hymns 
 to the gods and directions for the life of the king, but they treat also 
 of the particular branches of astronomy, cosmography, geography, 
 the Nile, the estates and furniture of the temples, sacrifices, prayers, 
 festive processions, feasts, laws, and all parts of medical science. 
 The legends themselves place the time of the composition of these 
 writings in the earliest reigns of the old kingdom ; and that in fact 
 they must have been very old is evident from this, that already under 
 Osimandyas — about 1700 years before Christ — there is mention made 
 
 219 
 
220 NOTES. 
 
 of a .famous library building. A great number also of rolls of pa- 
 pyrus, of the contents above mentioned, have been found, that pro- 
 bably may be regarded as parts and extracts of those old scientific 
 works. Among them, namely, are the papyrus of Cadets — in the 
 Description de V Egypt ; the large Mimitoli papyrus ; and prominent 
 above all is the large papyrus, fifty-seven feet long, at Turin, which 
 Lepsius published after a drawing of the Director, under the title of 
 " The Book of the Dead of the Old Egyptians, according to the hiero- 
 glyphic papyrus in Turin, [Das Todtenbuch der Alten iEgypter nach 
 dem hieroglyphischen papyrus,] Berl. 1842." Brugsch, who in the 
 year 1851 had an opportunity to compare this edition in the time and 
 place with the original, in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenland- 
 ischen Gesellschaft, 1851, p. 515, describes it as "very defective ;" and 
 if this objection is well grounded, the merit of this publication also 
 will be considerably lessened ; as the Egyptian philology and know- 
 ledge of writing and speech are in a great degree founded on the few 
 monuments and written rolls hitherto published, and accuracy, care 
 and conscientiousness must be regarded as the first requisites for the 
 Egyptologist. 
 
 Champollion has already subjected this papyrus to an examination, 
 and in his writings cites some groups from it. He divided the whole 
 into three parts, [Chaps. 1-15; 15-125; 125-End.] The occasion 
 of this division was the circumstance that these sections are often 
 found alone ; and some manuscripts conclude with chap. 15, others 
 with chap.- 125, whereby these three great portions appear to be sepa- 
 rate writings, independent of each other. Let us hear, now, what 
 the editor says of the contents of this Turin roll of papyrus. Differing 
 from Champollion, who calls it a funeral liturgy, \_Rituel funeraire,~] 
 and explains it as being precepts for the worship of the dead, hymns 
 and prayers, Lepsius in his Introduction says — "The dead person in 
 whose tomb it was found was the person treated of in it, and it relates 
 only to him and his circumstances in his long wandering after his death 
 on earth. It tells where he comes, what he does, hears, sees; or it con- 
 tains the prayers and discourses which he himself utters to the diffe- 
 rent gods to whom he makes his approach." Lepsius further desig- 
 nates the whole book as a collection of single, more or less early, 
 independent texts, joined in one roll and placed under the title which 
 refers only to, the first fifteen chapters, as follows : " Beginning of the 
 chapter of the appearance in the light of Osiris." Then the particu- 
 lar vignettes of the title and larger pictorial representations — as, for 
 example, of the judgment of the dead — are described generally. 
 
NOTES. 221 
 
 Lepsius has not given connected translations, and we ought not to 
 expect any from him ; as at a later period he has first declared we 
 must entirely refrain from it in course and as a whole, and only use 
 those parts which can be unquestionably explained. Compare Ueber 
 eine hieroglyphische Inschrift am Tempel zu Edfu : Aus den Abhand- 
 lungen der Koniglichen Academie zu Berlin, 1855, pp. 69-141. Some 
 years after the publication of the Book of the Dead, [Todtenbuch,] 
 Seyffarth directed bis attention especially to it, whose principles of 
 deciphering, differing from Champollion's, need not here be repeated, 
 as they are to be seen in many works of modern times. Compare my 
 De Veterum JEgyptiorum lingua et Uteris. Leips. 1851, and Seyffarth's 
 Grammatica JEgyptiaca, Goth. 1855. He treated of the Todtenbuch 
 in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 1845, 
 '46, p. 71, &c, under the title "das Turiner Hymnologium," and 
 translated its superscription thus: "Contemplation of the discourses 
 of the Serene, Sublime King, the Creator of Men, the God before 
 whom bow the mountains of the world," [Betrachtung der Reden das 
 Erlauchten, des Erhabenen Konigs. des Schopfers der Menschen, des 
 Gottes vor dem sich die Berge der Welt beugen.] Some other chap- 
 ters also — 1, 6, 7, 11, 65, 80, 88 — he subjoins in a translation, and 
 endeavors to define the contents of all the chapters according to their 
 superscriptions. But much as the phonetic system and principle of 
 homonyms discovered and followed by him is to be recommended, 
 yet the translations at that time given by him suffer from certain 
 defects which he has first corrected recently. He assuredly would 
 have obtained many more disciples of his system, and have secured 
 much greater applause for himself from the learned, had he adopted 
 the pure Coptic language as the basis of his decypherings. But he 
 held to the Old Egyptian language as a peculiarly sacred one — a dia- 
 lect approaching the Chaldaic ; and then explained this simultane- 
 ously from the Coptic, Chaldaic and Hebrew languages, whereby he 
 allowed a considerable play for mere conjecture. It is also known 
 that in the Oriental languages, in the case of genitives the principal 
 governing word always precedes, and the dependent ones always fol- 
 low ; and that in the same the object hardly ever can stand before 
 the verb. Seyffarth on the contrary left out of view this important 
 law of Oriental language ; he translated, for example, wholly accord- 
 ing to modern usage, — "The raiser of the dead; the people of the 
 law ; the godless he punishes in the name of the prince ; he who does 
 not honor the laws ; to what flames he is hurled down like the stars," 
 
 19* 
 
222 NOTES. 
 
 &c. [Der Todten Auferwecker; des Gesetzes Leute; die Gottlosen 
 straft er im Namen des Fiirsten ; wer die Gesetze niclit ehrt ; welcher ' 
 Flanmien herabstiirzt gleich den Sternen, &c] 
 
 But aside from this and some other defects of his translations in 
 1815, Seyffarth, without receiving the acknowledgment due to him, 
 has essentially aided the study of the deciphering of hieroglyphics, 
 and in respect to Champollion must always be named as the first dis- 
 coverer of syllabic hieroglyphics. But that Lepsius and Seyffarth 
 translated the title itself of the book so diversely from each other, is 
 the less remarkable, since even the name of the mother of the dead 
 is differently read by different advocates of the same system, as for 
 example by Lepsius, Setuta ; by Brugsch, Tsenmin ; by Orcurti, 
 Setniin. 
 
 If we wish further to pursue the fates of the Todtenbuch, besides 
 small portions and sections, — as for example in my Thoth, Gott. 1855, 
 and Todtengericht bei den alt. JEg., Berl. 1854, — there have very 
 lately again been made essays at its translation. Especially we may 
 cite Seyffarth' s Theologische Schriften der Alten JEgypter, Gotha. 
 1855, in which book — chaps. 1, 5, 108, and plates xli. 1. lxxii. — 
 twenty-five are translated and illustrated in detail. Almost contem- 
 poraneously, or only a short period later in the same year, has ap- 
 peared an accurate description of the monuments of the Turin Mu- 
 seum, [Orcurti. Catalogo illustrato, etc., Tur. 1855, 8,] in which also 
 some sections of the Todtenbuch are translated into Italian. Of these 
 two, Seyffarth's appears to be entitled to the most credit, and so to 
 deserve the preference ; because they seem to be founded on the para- 
 phrase of the hieroglyphic pictures by Coptic letters, and the tracing 
 them back to Coptic roots of words, and for an accurate exposition; 
 and it can thus be subjected to a test, while in Orcurti's there is only 
 a simple Italian translation, without any linguistic explanations, in 
 which a person conversant with hieroglyphics could not once ima- 
 gine why it should be translated precisely thus and not otherwise. 
 For his exposition, which he has translated after Champollion, is not 
 satisfactory, as a great number of groups of hieroglyphics which are 
 found in the Book of the Dead are scarcely explained at all in Cham- 
 pollion' s Dictionaries, or otherwise than by his successor. 
 
 As now in this volume of mine frequent reference is made to par- 
 ticular sections of the Book of the Dead, so I subjoin a short account 
 of the contents, according to the superscription of the particular 
 chapters : — 
 
 Superscription — ''Book of the Discourses of the Supreme God, the 
 
NOTES. 223 
 
 Most High King, the Ruler of his Slaves, the God who Created the 
 World." 
 
 Chap. 14 — treats of the Creator and of the Creation ; especially of 
 the formation of light, of the human race, of the four-footed animals, 
 fruit-trees and fruits. Next follow, on to Chap. 20, pious medita- 
 tions, and hymns to particular divinities, especially to the Sun-god, 
 to Thoth [18] and others. Then meditations on the various parts of 
 the human body — the mouth, the bladder, the stomach, the heart 
 [26], and especially important beasts — for example the beetle, 
 [30] the crocodile, [31, 32] serpents and worms. Chap. 42, in the 
 manner of the old ^astrology distributes the fourteen members of the 
 human body under the seven planetary divinities and twelve great 
 zodiacal gods, and recommends the same to their special protection. 
 Then follows sketches of particular trades or occupations, as of a 
 butcher, cabinet-maker, baker, apothecary, seaman; then particular 
 magistrates, supreme judge, the executioner, jailer, college of justices 
 and others, as well as finally sacred animals — for example the hawk, 
 the phoenix ; also writing and its inventor are celebrated in Chap. 90, 
 &c. Chap. 99 treats of navigation on the Nile, and the necessary 
 parts of a well-built vessel. Of particular interest here too are Chap. 
 110 and Plate xli., on account of a representation of the land of the 
 blessed, where the dead sails on the heavenly Nile, where he ploughs, 
 sows, harvests, threshes and sacrifices ; where the two barks are 
 formed on which the sun and moon navigate the heavens. Chap. 
 125 and Plate 1. represent the already-explained judgment of the dead 
 in Amenthes. Compare my Todtengericht bei den Alten iEgypter, 
 Berl. 1854. The proper hymnology, with the song of praise to the 
 gods, begins with Chap. 121 ; and then follow the astronomical books 
 [Chaps. 144-150]. Of these Lepsius in his Introduction, p. 16, says 
 only the following: "Chap. 144, Seven Ari are enumerated in the fol- 
 lowing twenty-one Sebchet, then fifteen Sebchet, then again seven 
 Ari," — without further explanation what the heavenly abodes Ari and 
 Sebchet mean. But the sections bear the following superscriptions : — 
 
 144. Book of the Seven Princes, the Lords of the house [planets]. 
 
 145. Book which treats of the twenty-one possessions of the house 
 of the Shining abodes in the dwelling-house of Osiris [constellations]. 
 
 146. Book of the fifteen possessions of the house of the Shining 
 abodes in the dwelling of Osiris. 
 
 149. Without superscription treats also of the groups of Stars, of 
 which every one is named Kol, i.e. collection, viz. of stars. 
 
 The numbers 7, 21 and 15 might have been introduced because the 
 
224 NOTES. 
 
 discourse here is of the planets and groups of stars, as also Ptolemy 
 in his "Almagest" mentions 21 constellations of the Northern and 
 15 of the Southern Hemisphere. The last sections appear, again, to 
 be of medical subjects, as they treat of some internal parts of the 
 human body. Compare Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morg. Gesellschaft, &c. 
 
 (3) p. 35. Plutarch in his well-known essay " De Iside et Osiri," 
 chap. 10, says, respecting the name of the latter, — "Some also ex- 
 plain the name [Os-iri] by Many-Eyed, because Os signifies many, 
 and iri in Egyptian language is the eye." Since now Osiris was 
 originally regarded as the God of the Sun-light, so this explanation 
 is not only sensible but it is confirmed and justified by the Egyptian 
 language and by the hieroglyphics in which both parts of the name 
 arc found in the given meaning. Compare the Author's Philologus 
 JEgypticus, Lips. 1853, p. 24. On the other hand moderns have sought 
 other explanations of the name ; and although Osiris is well known 
 to be the husband of Isis, Bunsen, following Plutarch, chapter 34, 
 names him Hysiris, and says, [JEg. Stelle in der Weltgsch. I. p. 494,] 
 " This connected with the hieroglyphic leads to the sole correct deri- 
 vation of the name — the Son of Isis." But aside from the fact that 
 Osiris never appears as the son but always as brother and husband 
 of Isis, according to this explanation iri must signify son, which can- 
 not be proved, as iri and alu, p. b(S(S, are widely different, though the 
 change of r and I is found in the Egyptian language. Another expla- 
 nation is found in Seyffartlrs Theol. Schrift. d. alt. JEg. He says, 
 p. 2, '-Osiris signifies the Most Holy." But this translation appears 
 not to be founded in the Coptic language, as in that there is no single 
 word similar to iri with the meaning of holy. The meaning of the 
 name therefore already proposed by Plutarch must be allowed the 
 preference. 
 
 (4) p. 50. The wine-culture among the other ancient nations is 
 described by the old writers exactly in the following sketch of the 
 culture of the vine in Egypt according to representations on the wall- 
 pictures. According to Pliny, XVII. 21, there were five different 
 methods of the same : either they left the grapes to run simply on the 
 ground, or to shoot without any supports upward, or they fastened 
 them to single poles or two or three supports connected by a yoke. 
 The first of the kinds mentioned is even to-day used in Palestine, 
 [Rosenmuller Morgenl. iv. 88, ff,] while the latter, according to the 
 monuments, were specially in use in Egypt. Among the old Ptoruans 
 the vine-stock was planted in hollows or trenches, supported by poles 
 of reed, oak or olive wood; sometimes every stock had four poles 
 
NOTES. 225 
 
 with a cross-piece over every one, and was then called vitis compluviata, 
 on account of the resemblance of this square to the compluvium, the 
 inside court of the Roman house surrounded by buildings. They 
 were also wont to bind the vine-stocks to certain trees, and as it were 
 marry them with the same, of which Horace plays upon the words in 
 his Second Epode, [Plin. xiv. 1 : populis nubunt maritas complexse.] 
 The pressing took place among the Old Hebrews as with the Egyp- 
 tians, by treading out in a trough, while among the Romans frequently 
 a particular machine for pressing is mentioned, from which the 
 pressed-out juice was run through a sieve and caught in a large tub. 
 But that wine was cultivated, pressed out and drunk early in Egypt, 
 the many pictures of the wine-culture, vintage, taking off of the 
 grapes, pressing and filling the juice into flasks and pitchers, prove, 
 which are found on the Old Egyptian wall-pictures, and which have 
 been published by Rosellini and Wilkinson, [Ros. ii. 1, p. 865 ; Wilk. 
 ii. 143, &c] Rosellini says of these pictures, — "These objects are 
 not found merely in the tombs of the time of the 18th Dynasty, but 
 also in those which belong to the oldest dynasties." With this may 
 be compared what Athenaeus says in his Deipnosophists, v. p. 191 : 
 "Among the Egyptians formerly the banquets of every kind were 
 moderate, as Apollonius relates, who has written concerning the cus- 
 toms of this people. They contented themselves when they sat at 
 table with the most common and healthy food, and with as much wine 
 as is sufficient to cheer the heart, [ad animum exhilarandum.~]" The 
 same author at the end of his first book praises greatly the Egyptian 
 wine, mentions a number of species, and says that the kind which 
 grew especially around Koptos was so light that it might be given 
 without hesitation to the sick. 
 
 (5) p. 59. The Egyptian wagon is correctly described here accord- 
 ing to the representations on the Egyptian monuments. Exactly 
 similar, only probably more durable and less elegant, were the Egyp- 
 tian war-chariots. Compare Thoth, p. 94. Two-wheeled battle- 
 chariots are also found with the Homeric heroes and the Old Hebrews, 
 with whom they doubtless consisted wholly of iron, as in the different 
 passages in the Bible the iron is named, [Josh. xvii. 16 ; Judges i. 
 19.] Also among these people only two persons stood up in the 
 chariot as with the Egyptians, one a combatant and the other a driver. 
 The Gauls and Britons too had such battle-chariots, which were called 
 esseda, and after whom the combatants in the chariots were called 
 essedarii — Caes. Bell. iv. 33. 
 
 (6) p. 66. The account of Atnute respecting the primitive history 
 
226 NOTES. 
 
 of Egypt, with the exception of the invented name Sabo, — iEg. Sabe, 
 the Learned, Sabo, to learn, — are perfectly historical. The original 
 inhabitants of the country, according to the legends of the Egyptians 
 themselves, were without the knowledge of agriculture, and lived, 
 without any regular civil government, on the natural fruits of the 
 earth, and on fishes which the Nile furnished in abundance ; and they 
 inhabited huts made of rushes. Compare Heeren Ideen. ii. 60. 
 The first culture these tribes of black and dark-brown color, and who 
 appear thus represented in the monuments, received, were by means 
 of people of another descent and complexion, who settled down in the 
 valley of the Nile, built cities, erected monuments and founded States. 
 The ruling castes of priests and soldiers, according to the variegated 
 wall-pictures, belonged to a fairer race, who subjected the dusky ones 
 and made them their dependents. The origin of these two castes, who 
 exercised the most decisive influence on the cultivation and religion 
 of the whole people, is of the highest importance, and can be easily 
 discovered and proved. Thebes and Elephantine, which are called 
 the two most important States of Upper Egypt, in the statements of 
 the priests to Diodorus, must have been colonies of Meroe in Ethiopia, 
 while Memphis on the contrary was a colony of Thebes. So then it 
 was that the priestly stock, who reigned in Memphis, spread them- 
 selves out by colonies first in Upper Egypt, and from thence again 
 caused other settlements following the course of the river in the 
 northern regions, which originally also formed as many single priestly 
 States independent of each other, and afterward united by powerful 
 rulers into one whole. This mother-State Meroe was in the earliest 
 period already famed on account of its proportionably high cultiva- 
 tion, its cities, temples and palaces, as well as on account of its pic- 
 ture-writing, civil institutions and laws. The ancients speak of an 
 island of Meroe, by which is understood the country that is surrounded 
 by the rivers At-bar and Bahr el Abiad, and might easily be regarded 
 as an island, as in the inundation it might present such an appearance. 
 The ancient authors have related many things of this Meroe. The 
 ruling priestly stock chose from among themselves a king, who was 
 honored as a god by the people, but was as dependent on the priests 
 as was afterward the Egyptian kings. Compare Thotli, p. 82, &c. 
 The priests, as Diodorus relates, III. 6, when it was thought best 
 for him to die, sent a messenger to the king with such a command. 
 They caused it to be announced to him that the Gods had enjoined 
 this — and the king in such a case never ventured to resist the will of 
 the Gods or of the priests, but yielded himself up to death. But 
 
NOTES. 227 
 
 Meroe was, according to Herodotus, II. 29, at the same time also a 
 warlike, conquest-loving State, which as Pliny, VI. 29, relates in the 
 period of its highest prosperity had an army of 250,000 men under 
 arms. Priests and soldiers therefore, those whom Egypt received 
 from abroad as an entering element, possessed Meroe in the greatest 
 degree and in large numbers, so that the opinion that colonies of 
 Meroe had wandered into Egypt appears ever more credible and de- 
 serving of credit. The two principal gods who were honored in 
 Meroe were Jupiter and Dionysios, or Ammon and Osiris. The wor- 
 ship of Ammon became extended even to Thebes the city of Ammon, 
 and to Ammonium in the Lybian Desert, both of which are named 
 after this god, [Herod. II. 42.] And when Diodorus, III. 3, relates 
 that the Egyptians were colonists who went out of Ethiopia to Egypt 
 under the lead of Osiris, by this legend is intimated the diffusion of 
 the worship of Osiris from Ethiopia and Meroe. In the same place 
 Diodorus points to the agreement of Egyptian manners and laws with 
 the Ethiopian. 
 
 (7) p. 70. According to the concurring accounts of later writers, 
 astrology was first and especially cultivated in Egypt, and then com- 
 municated to the rest of the world. Herodotus relates, II. 82, that 
 the Egyptians had first found out what god ruled in every particular 
 month and every particular day ; and how, therefore, it could be 
 reckoned what misfortunes awaited any one according to the constel- 
 lation at the hour of birth ; how and when one should die, and what 
 character he should have. For according to the ancient astrology the 
 signs of the zodiac, its decans and degrees and the months corres- 
 ponding to them, the ten-day weeks and the days, yea, even the 
 hours, were under the reign of well-known planet-gods, and they 
 sought, from their different positions in relation to each other, from 
 their reciprocal, friendly, or hostile appearance [aspect] to determine 
 the fate or destiny of the newly-born. In this respect generally cer- 
 tain planets were benignant, others unfavorable ; the former promised 
 good-luck, the latter foreboded ill-luck. Jupiter and Venus were 
 always propitious ; on the other hand Saturn and Mars were always 
 unfavorable, while Mercury was variable. The sun and moon, al- 
 though the greatest; most powerful and efficacious of all, had in dif- 
 ferent places a different influence. Compare Sextus Empiricus 
 Adversus Astrologos and the astrological writings of Ptolemy, Vcttius 
 Valens, Paulus Alexandricus, Firmicus, Marcus Manlius. When now 
 Atnutc relates that he was born in the hour of mid-day, the sun stand- 
 ing high in ilic zenith was decidedly favorable to him, while Mars 
 
228 NOTES. 
 
 and Saturn, the hostile stars, threatened him with misfortune and 
 ruin, from their hostile aspects. In the same manner, though much 
 more favorable, because the influence of the two unpropitious planets 
 fell out, was the constellation of Goethe. He begins in Dichtung and 
 Wahrheit with the words — "With the stroke of the clock at twelve 
 I came into the world. The constellation was favorable: the sun 
 stood in the sign of the Virgin and culminated for the day. Jupiter 
 and Yenus looked clown kindly; Mercury not contradictory; Saturn 
 and Mars were indifferent." 
 
 (8) p. 76. It is of course to be understood that other funeral pro- 
 cessions might and did differ from that here described, in some par- 
 ticulars. This is correctly described according to that of a Royal 
 Secretary which Wilkinson gives in pictures in the above-mentioned 
 place. The funeral processions no doubt differed according to the 
 class, occupation, or the higher or lowlier position in life of the de- 
 ceased. As the opened tombs prove, the principal ensigns of his 
 former business and different objects that he prized were carried after 
 the mummy in solemn procession and put into the tomb — as for ex- 
 ample, for the soldiers their arms ; for mechanics their tools ; for 
 physicians their surgical instruments and a small medicine chest, 
 such as may be found in the Royal Museum at Berlin ; for the de- 
 ceased, if a woman, her mirror, combs, ear-drops, necklace and 
 other ornaments. In the whole ceremonies likewise there was dis- 
 played more or less splendor and cost, corresponding to the birth, 
 position in life and riches of the deceased. The sketch too of the 
 passage across the lake, given in what follows, is according to the 
 pictures on the monuments. The Berlin Museum possesses two old 
 Egyptian models of such barks which were found inside of a sepul- 
 chral chamber close to the sarcophagus. In the former of them lies 
 the mummy of the deceased on a bed of death, under a canopy; two 
 priests stand beside it, one of them reading in a written roll, the 
 other is slaying a bullock. Qrcurti also — Catalogo Illustrate*, p. 101, 
 No. 167 — mentions a model of the bark of the holy procession in the 
 Egyptian Museum at Turin. 
 
 (9) p. 86. The description of the Labyrinth is attempted, according 
 to the accounts — varying indeed from each other in some details — 
 of the old historians, especially Herodotus, Strabo and Pliny. The 
 passage quoted from Pliny gave occasion to the hypothesis advanced 
 respecting the object of this vast building, yet it is not to be denied 
 nor passed over that other attempts have been made at all times to 
 find out its destination. It has been regarded sometimes as a burial- 
 
NOTES. 229 
 
 place of the kings, sometimes as a house destined for the conferences 
 of State-officers, sometimes as a place where the mysteries were cele- 
 brated, and sometimes finally as a laboratory, where the Egyptian 
 priests sought to find out the philosopher's stone. Compare Gatterer, 
 Weltgeschichte in ihrem ganzen Umfange, i. p. 504, &c. As to the 
 builder, or rather the first founder of the Labyrinth, we find in Era- 
 tosthenes that it was Mares, while in Manetho it is Lamares, the suc- 
 cessor of Sesostris, [Twelfth Dynasty,] in eight years of his reign, and 
 the inscription is — ''This Labyrinth was erected for a tomb." Hero- 
 dotus likewise narrates of the old kings who "originally" erected the 
 Labyrinth, and whose coffins stood in it. Diodorus, I. Gl, says that 
 it was built by a monarch by the name of Mendes, whom some also 
 call Maros, which latter name agrees with Mares and Lamares. But 
 the building may have decayed somewhat by time, and been restored 
 under the Dodecarcby, so that afterward the Dodecarchs themselves 
 were looked upon as its builders, [Herod. II. 148.] That, as is here 
 shown, the building itself at different times received alterations and 
 new additions, may probably also explain how the different his- 
 torians, who visited Egypt in different centuries or drew from various 
 accounts, disagree in some points with each other in their descriptions 
 of it. If as the old historian maintains, it was a tomb of the kings, 
 it shows a great progress of the art and taste in contrast to the 
 earlier colossal pyramids, [4th Dynasty of Manetho,] void of taste, 
 the entrance to which, after the deposit of the mummy, was walled 
 up and wholly closed against access to the outer world. An Essay 
 for an architectural plan of the interior arrangement of the wondrous 
 structure, made according to the old descriptions, by Mr. Arundale, 
 may be found in Bunsen's JEgypten's Stelle in der Weltgeschichte, 
 ii. S. 884, and plate xxi. The Labyrinth which Dcdalus constructed 
 in Crete might have been an imitation, in miniature, of the Egyp- 
 tian ; a third one was in Lemnos, a fourth in Italy. — Pliny Nat. 
 Hist, xxxvi. 18. 
 
 (10) p. 96. Proper coins, in our sense of the word, arc first to be 
 found in Egypt in the time of the Ptolemies and the Roman sove- 
 reignty, and so since about 300 B.C. "The so-called Scarahsei often 
 found in great quantities in Egypt, and now preserved in European 
 museums, have for this reason been regarded as Egyptian money. 
 These are smaller or larger stone images of beetles, with longer or 
 shorter inscriptions engraved on the bottom surface. But they could 
 not have been money, because they are never of the nobler metals 
 but wholly of stone. Moreover they are no doubt seal-stones, as 
 
 20 
 
230 NOTES. 
 
 some of them were set in gold rings, and as their inscriptions not only 
 contain the names of the kings but also of the gods and of private 
 persons. The collection by Doron and Klaproth — Collection oV An- 
 tiquites Egyptiennes, Par. 1829 — contains more than a thousand of 
 such various Scarabaei impressions. Compare Zeitsch. der Morgenl. 
 Gesellsch. vol. vi. p. Ill, &c. They therefore, as is more than pro- 
 bable from the account of the most ancient times in Egypt as well 
 as in other nations, made use of smaller and greater lumps of gold 
 and silver, which were furnished with marks of their weight ; and 
 thus by those who in an ancient Egyptian law — in Diodorus i. 78 — are 
 called vouLGjua TrapaKOTrrovreg, counterfeiters of money, persons are to be 
 understood who made false accounts in respect to the signs of weight. 
 So Abraham, [Gen. xxiii. 16,] in payment of a field of Ephron, weighed 
 out silver, and the ancient Israelitish merchants for this object car- 
 ried a little balance in their girdle-bags. But since often in the Egyp- 
 tian monuments persons are pictured who weigh a quantity of equally 
 large golden and silver rings with each other, there is reason for the 
 supposition that they probably made use of small rings of defined 
 weight as a sort of common money. 
 
 (11) p. 99. We must in general confess that we know much less 
 of the dwelling-houses of the old Egyptians than of their temples, 
 palaces and other vast public works of architecture. Old writers — 
 as Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, &c. — have only described in detail 
 temples, palaces, pyramids, obelisks and the Labyrinth, but on the 
 other hand have said little or nothing respecting the private dwell- 
 ings of the Egyptians. Ruins too are preserved even to the present 
 day of temples and other magnificent buildings, on account of their 
 solid and durable materials, while there remains hardly a trace of 
 the private houses, since they were always made less solid and mostly 
 of bricks. As to the ruins of temples which remain, we perceive at 
 first sight that the old Egyptians, as in many other things, were ori- 
 ginal in their architecture, and differ essentially from other people 
 of the same times. Vitruvius relates that the public buildings of the 
 Greeks had a country house for a model, as the first inhabitants of 
 Greece were early compelled by the climate of their country to erect 
 huts of trunks of trees, twigs and straw, and therefore in their later 
 architecture this form necessarily had an influence. On the other 
 hand we find in the Egyptian buildings no trace of a similar primitive 
 model, and we must therefore admit De Pauw's supposition that the 
 original type of the Egyptian architecture was a cavern in a moun- 
 tain, since the Egyptians must have dwelt in such caverns in the 
 
NOTES. 231 
 
 earliest times, as they were lacking in timber; and on account of the 
 inundations of the Nile they must have settled down earliest in the 
 mountain regions of the Thebaid. The walls of the Old Egyptian 
 temples and other public buildings were disproportionately thick ; ac- 
 cording to the accounts of travelers they have been found from 20 to 
 24 feet thick. The pillars were of such a kind that their thickness 
 was very great in comparison to their height, the proportion of the 
 diameters to the height varying from 1 to 3 and 1 to 6. Many pillars 
 were 20, 24 and yet more feet in circumference, and they sometimes 
 stood so near each other that the space between two of them was only 
 1 J, 2 or 3 feet. The forms of the pillars were diverse. Most of them 
 were round, many octagonal or hexagonal, and a very few square. 
 With most of them the diameter was everywhere alike, yet there were 
 those which bulged out in the lower third or half. The oldest pillars, 
 for example many among the ruins of Thebes, had no pedestals ; but 
 in other regions there have been found under the remains of the 
 bottom, round, many-cornered and some few cube-shaped pedestals. 
 The capitals of the pillars were of manifold shape, — square stones, 
 lotus-flowers, leaf-work, Isis-heads, &c, the more decorated and 
 artistic of which must be referred to a later period of the Egyptian 
 kingdom. The roof was for the most part entirely flat, and consisted 
 of large massive pieces of work which were laid across from one 
 pillar to another, and on which again others rested, and so were ren- 
 dered necessary many pillars standing so close to each other. 
 
 As to the private dwellings of the Old Egyptians, alas ! descriptions 
 are wanting ; but the circumstance that hardly any ruins of them are 
 preserved indicate that they were built of lighter and more perish- 
 able materials than the temples. Without doubt they were formed 
 of rough bricks; and Wilkinson says, II. p. 96, the use of rough 
 bricks hardened in the sun was common as well for public as also for 
 private buildings, inclosures of gardens or grain-houses, walls around 
 the courts of temples, the fortresses, cities and dwelling-houses and 
 tombs — in short all except the temples themselves were of rough 
 bricks. The picture in Wilkinson, II. p. 94, gives us a general idea 
 of an Egyptian house according to the sculptures. We enter directly 
 through a portico and the main gate into the first open court ; before 
 us lies a hall resting on pillars which Wilkinson states to be the re- 
 ception-room ; three gates open into a second court, which is planted 
 with trees and has in the rear a large gate to go out by ; on the right 
 and left again three gates lead to the interior of the house itself, i.e. 
 first into two pillared passages, from which by a great number of 
 
232 NOTES. 
 
 doors entrance can be had to as many rooms in the basement : they 
 contained, according to the articles pictured therein, various kinds of 
 stores, pitchers, boxes, dried fish, &c. At the further end is the 
 kitchen. According to Wilkinson's supposition, the proper sitting- 
 rooms, sleeping-chambers and guest-chambers were in a second story, 
 above this basement. In respect to the Villa described in our text, 
 reference may be made to a representation in Wilkinson, II. p. 132, 
 taken from one of the old monuments, and which contains reservoirs, 
 store-rooms, watch-rooms, stairway, an open court, a pavilion, a 
 fruit-garden, stables, dwelling-rooms, shady alleys of trees, a canal 
 from the Nile, pyramidal towers with porter's lodges, &c. 
 
 (12) p. 104. Such unburnt bricks dried and hardened in the sun 
 may be found in the Royal Berlin Museum, in a little passage-room 
 which leads from the temple into the historical saloon. These bear 
 the stamp of the kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and recall to mind 
 vividly the time of the Israelitish bondage in Egypt. They contain 
 for the most part a quantity of chopped straw, which is mixed in 
 with the clay to give it firmness and durability. Baumgarten men- 
 tions similar ones in modern times in Cairo, in his Travels, chap. 18. 
 " The houses are mostly of bricks which are merely dried in the sun, 
 and mixed with straw to give them firmness." Compare Rosenmuller, 
 Morgenland. I. p. 27, and Rosellini, Monumenti del Egitto e delta 
 Nubia, II. p. 259. 
 
 (18) p. 116. Not only on account of the prophetic gifts here de- 
 scribed which is assigned to him, but also in a chronological respect, 
 is Apis of the highest importance. The five and twenty years' cycle 
 of Apis, [eluooi'KEVTaETTjpiq,'] an equalizing of the solar and lunar calen- 
 dar is well known, while 309 mean synodic months are equalized 
 with 25 Egyptian years up to 1 hour, 8 minutes and 33 seconds. 
 Compare Bailly, Hist, de Astron. pp. 404, 405 ; Lepsius, Chronologie, 
 p. 160, and the author's Thoth, p. 225. It is also known that the Old 
 Egyptians, in order to give to this astronomical period an outward 
 symbolic dress, adored the sacred bullock Apis, at Memphis, and 
 after he had been worshiped for twenty-five years killed him and 
 supplied his place by another. For Apis was an animal consecrated 
 to the Moon. Among the four genii of death he bore the head of the 
 cynocephalus sacred to the moon, and which was named after his 
 name, Ilapi, [Plut. Symp. viii. 1, and de Iside, chap. 43,] and on his 
 right side had a picture of the moon on the increase, [Plin. Nat. Hist. 
 viii. 46.] That he was consecrated to the moon Ammianus Marcel- 
 linus, JElian, Porphyry, Suidas, &c. also confirm. Compare Zeitschr. 
 
NOTES. 233 
 
 der Deutsch. Morgenland. Gesellscli. vol. vii. p. 427. According to 
 other authors, Apis stood in a certain relation likewise to the Nile, 
 and this it is easy to explain, since the swelling of the Nile was fre- 
 quently brought into connection with the effects of the moon. Either 
 the birth or the death of an Apis, the mourning over the same, or the 
 festival and joy on account of again finding one, is mentioned in 
 many ways by the ancient authors ; and the tombs of Apis recently 
 discovered at Memphis promise new and important conclusions. But 
 yet in these circumstances so full of significance for chronology there 
 are some difficulties which hitherto have not found their entire expla- 
 nation. Apis, like all living creatures, was mortal, and subject to 
 different casualties. If now he died before the fixed period of the 
 twenty-five years was he to be lamented till the end of this period, 
 and then first a new one supplied in his place ? Or did he immedi- 
 ately have a successor, who filled up the remaining years of the 
 twenty-five of his predecessor ? How long was Apis usually mourned 
 before they sought out and found a new one in place of the one de- 
 ceased or killed ? These and other questions may be very properly 
 asked and an answer to them desired, before the Apis-period can be 
 allowed a determinate voice in the establishment of the Egyptian 
 chronology; and when Seyffarth, for example, uses the account of 
 Diodorus, I. 84, "That just after Alexander's death an Apis died in 
 the feebleness of age [y^/oa]," for correcting the chronology [Berich- 
 tungen der Greschichte und Zeitrechnung, Leips. 1855, pp. 11, 12] it 
 may be justly objected that here the question is not of the close of an 
 astronomical Apis-period ; as the death in the feebleness of age might 
 take place at any given time within the twenty-five years, and only 
 the drowning of Apis in the Nile by the priests at the end of his pre- 
 scribed lifetime is related to an astronomical change of Apis. Com- 
 pare Plin. viii. 46 ; Solinus, 32 ; Ammianus Marcellihus, xxii. 14. 7. 
 At how early a time the introduction of this period falls is evident 
 from this, that Manetho says, Under the second king of his second 
 dynasty Kaiechos, the bulls Apis in Memphis and Mnevis in Heliopo- 
 lis were proclaimed to be gods, [k<j> ov ol j36eg r Anig kv Me/ufoi, ml 
 
 Mvevig kv 'H'kiovnoT&i kvo/iicd-^aav slvai •d-eol.'] But as every 
 
 dead person was after his death identified with Osiris and was thought 
 to be joined to him as one person, so too was Apis after his death, 
 who received the name Osiris- Apis ['OGopanlc'] , that is by contraction 
 Serapisy and as such, till the discovery of a new Apis, was as dead, 
 mourned over, honored and worshiped, and placed in the Serapion in 
 Memphis. Compare ^eitschr. der Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellscli. ut 
 
 20* 
 
234 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 supra, p. 428. From "Osiris- Apis in Amenthes, King of the Gods," as 
 he is often named on the monuments, arose the Serapis of the Greeks, 
 the God of the world beneath. 
 
 (14) p. 129. As the old astrologers placed every particular divi- 
 sion of the zodiac — the years, months, weeks, days and hours, and 
 in short all things in space and time — under the special protection of 
 one of the seven planets, so to the various divisions of human life 
 the planetary divinities were assigned as special sovereigns and 
 rulers, and indeed in the following manner: — 
 
 1. Childhood (infantia), lasting 4 years, the Moon. 
 
 2. Boyhood 
 
 (pueritia), i 
 
 < 20 " 
 
 Mercury 
 
 3. Adolescence 
 
 (adolescentia), ' 
 
 8 « 
 
 Venus. 
 
 4. Youth 
 
 (juvenilis), ' 
 
 19 " 
 
 Sun. 
 
 5. Manhood 
 
 (yirilitas), ' 
 
 » 15 « 
 
 Mars. 
 
 6. Age 
 
 (senectus), c 
 
 < 12 " 
 
 Jupiter. 
 
 7. Old Age {senium), 
 
 " till death, Saturn. 
 
 Compare Ptolemy Quadripart. post Firmic. vol. ii. p. 72. For as fur- 
 ther the old astrologers maintained that the particular events of life 
 might be accurately reckoned to a day or hour according to the horo- 
 scope, they also placed the particular years of the life of man under 
 the seven planets in the succession given ; and thus the years 7, 14, 
 21, &c. were regarded as specially unfortunate, because they had the 
 hostile and ruinous Saturn for their governor. This is precisely our 
 so-called years of the stages of life, which even to the present day 
 are regarded as peculiarly dangerous turning-points in the life of a 
 man, and owe their origin without doubt to the Old Astrology. Every 
 such series of seven years was again placed under a particular planet, 
 and so the 7 times 7 or 49th year was the most hazardous year of life, 
 because it was doubly under Saturn — first as Saturn ruled this year 
 49, and secondly because the same unpropitious planet ruled the 
 whole succession from 43 to 49. And who does not know that in the 
 superstition of all times, even to the most modern, the 49th year of 
 one's life has always played a principal part ! 
 
 (15) p. 147. Strychnos [orpvxvog'], according to Pliny, xxi. 15, a 
 plant growing wild in Egypt, was well known to the ancients for its 
 effects. The same author in different places of his Natural History 
 gives different species and names to it. It was, for instance, called 
 spear-plant \_dopvKvtov~\, because the ancients were wont to poison the 
 points of their spears and arrows with the juice drawn from it ; the 
 Romans called it vesicaria [bladder-plant], because they used it sue- 
 
NOTES. 235 
 
 cessfully for the stone-disease of the bladder. Another species called 
 halicacabon produced death more quickly than opium, and was also 
 named morion or moly. This is the well-known fi&luV of Homer's 
 Odyssey, x. 304, which was given to Ulysses by Mercury as a counter- 
 charm against the enchantments of Circe, and which had a black root 
 with milk-white blossoms. Xenocrates maintained that there was no 
 bodily disease which could not be healed by strychnos. According 
 to Pliny, xxvi. 12, the juice of the plant was applied with success to 
 all kinds of wounded limbs ; it was also useful for bites of serpents 
 and scorpions, headaches, goitres, &c. Its narcotic effects Pliny de- 
 scribes, xxi. 31. — The smallest dose caused violent hallucinations, a 
 double dose real madness [legitimam insaniam~\, and only a trifle more 
 might produce death. It is well known that one of our most violent 
 poisons [Strychnine] received its name from it. This latter most 
 dangerous and destructive alkaloid is contained in the so-called strych- 
 nos nuz vomica, the ignatius amara, in the strychnos columbiana, and in 
 the arrow-poison of Borneo, [the Woorara, Upas tieute.~\ 
 
 (16) p. 166. As the Old Egyptians did not intercalate, as we do, one 
 day after four years of 365 days, but as the well-known Sothis period 
 proves, after 1460 years one whole year, the festivals connected with 
 particular calendar-days of the civil year did not always happen in 
 the same season of the year. For since the New Year's day [the 
 29th of the Julian August] once fell due on the first Thoih of the 
 civil year, so after the first four years it fell on the second, after eight 
 years on the third Thoth, and so on, and run through all the days of 
 the civil year till after 1460 civil years it returned once more to the 
 first Thoth. Thus too must the festival here described of Osiris, 
 which every time followed directly after the last day of the month 
 Mesori, run through the whole civil year; and just so might the various 
 periods of the year — of the inundation, gathering of fruit — sometimes 
 fall on this and sometimes on that month of the Egyptian year. 
 But on the other hand there were also some festivals connected with 
 determinate periods of the year, and so these again could not always 
 happen in the same month. For example, the departure of Sirius 
 or the dog-star was celebrated ; on the shortest day a cow was led 
 seven times around the temple, and on the same day were brought 
 the first-fruits of the blossoming lentils ; and about the time of the 
 spring equinox the lying-in of Isis was celebrated. Compare Plu- 
 tarch de Iside, 65. The arrangement of the festivals and the deter- 
 mination to what days of the calendar they must belong was always 
 a prerogative of the priests, who reckoned besides the civil year an 
 
236 NOTES. 
 
 astronomical year of 365 days and 6 hours. This latter fixed year 
 Cesar borrowed of the priests, as Dion Cassius [Hist, xliii. 26,] and 
 Macrobius [Saturn, i. 14,] agree in stating. Compare Lepsius, 
 Chronol. p. 149. 
 
 (17) p. 169. Sesostris is a personage too prominent in Egyptian 
 history not to devote to him some pages, and to make the attempt to 
 determine accurately the time of his reign. Manetho in his whole 
 list of Dynasties gives only one Sesostris, namely the third king of the 
 12th Dynasty, to whom he assigns a forty-eight years' reign. It is 
 probable the original work contained a fuller account ; the fragments 
 that- have reached us in Africanus and Eusebius relate of him the 
 following particulars: — "He was four ells, three palms and two inches 
 high. In nine years he subdued all Asia, and Europe to Thrace, and 
 everywhere erected monuments among all the nations whom he con- 
 quered. By the Egyptians he was regarded as the greatest after 
 Osiris." The extended legend of Sesostris is found in Herodotus, 
 II. 102, &c. and Diodorus, I. 55, &c. Both agree in substance in the 
 following statements : — He was educated in common with those boys 
 who are born on the same day in the whole of Egypt, and early trained 
 in warlike exercises. In his father's lifetime even he had conquered 
 Arabia and a great part of Africa. After he had himself come to the 
 throne, excited by his daughter Athyrtis, he formed the purpose of 
 conquering and subjecting all the kingdoms of the world to himself. 
 Before he went forth to the wars he made many good regulations, in 
 order that during his absence peace and quiet might be preserved in 
 his country. On this account he sought especially to assure to him- 
 self the love of his subjects by large releases from debts and presents 
 of gold and estates, and then divided the land into 36 Nomes or pro- 
 vinces, over every one of which he placed a governor or Nomarch. 
 After this he assembled his army, which consisted of 600,000 infantry, 
 24,000 cavalry and 27,000 war-chariots. As leaders of the different 
 divisions he appointed those warriors who were born on the same day 
 as he was and had afterward been brought up together with himself. 
 With this host he went at first to Ethiopia, conquered it without diffi- 
 culty and rendered it tributary. Thence he sailed with a large fleet 
 of 400 ships across the sea between Africa and Asia, and subdued the 
 islands of the Indian Ocean, and also the mainland of India up to the 
 Ganges. But as it was impossible to have carried so large an army 
 over so wide an ocean, it is to be supposed indeed that at least a part 
 of it marched on the roads by land to Asia, and there again may have 
 met him. He now passed on westward, conquered Scythia to the 
 
NOTES. 237 
 
 Don, Colchis, Asia Minor, and the islands of the Archipelago. At 
 last he marched to Europe, where he contented himself however with 
 reaching the Danube and making this river the boundary of his con- 
 quests. As we see he marched through and conquered the whole of 
 the then-known world, and ended his warlike expeditions where 2000 
 years later Alexander the Great began his. In all the countries sub- 
 dued by him he left monuments which contained inscriptions that 
 gave his own name and that of his father, and related whether the 
 conquered people had offered a brave resistance or cowardly yielded 
 themselves. Among cowardly people the monumental columns con- 
 tained particular and dishonorable images, [Manetho, Herodotus.] 
 Such monumental pillars of Sesostris Herodotus himself saw in Syria 
 and Ionia with his own eyes ; and of these campaigns the same author 
 derives the agreement that is to be found in the particular customs 
 of the Egyptians and other nations, as for example circumcision, 
 which also was later in use among the Ethiopians, Phenicians, Jews, 
 Colchians, &c. Finally wearied with conquests, after nine years Se- 
 sostris returned to Egypt with an indescribable number of captives 
 and with great booty and countless riches, where the wiles awaited 
 him which are alluded to on page 164. Having escaped these in the 
 way mentioned, after he had caused his insidious and traitorous bro- 
 ther to be executed, he remained in the quiet and undisturbed posses- 
 sion of his sovereignty. He divided all the spoil he had acquired in 
 his campaigns among his soldiers, and now turned himself to peaceful 
 acts, arrangements and laws, which were preserved to the latest period 
 and proved full of blessing. 
 
 The larger portions of Sesostris's kingdom being uninhabitable, 
 partly on account of excessive inundations, and partly in regions at 
 a distance from rivers on account of the want of water, he caused a 
 large number of canals to be dug from the Nile throughout all Egypt, 
 which moderated the overflows and distributed the water proportion- 
 ally through the country ; so that a great part of it could now be 
 cultivated and newly peopled. To afford protection from the too large 
 inundations he also erected a great number of high and wide dams, 
 on which afterward whole cities could be built. He likewise fostered 
 the Arts, and caused very many temples, obelisks and statues to be 
 erected. In all these magnificent buildings and works only the 
 prisoners of war were used; and it was the special pride of the 
 king that no Egyptian was employed for the same, which as Dio- 
 dorus relates he boasted of in innumerable inscriptions. He is also 
 regarded as the first founder and originator of the Egyptian laws of 
 
238 NOTES. 
 
 war, which is not improbable, as lie was the first one who gathered 
 so large an army around him, and therefore must have turned his 
 particular care and notice to its discipline. — Thus Sesostris was great 
 as a warlike hero, great as a lawgiver and in manifold works of peace, 
 particularly by the erection of buildings and monuments ; and the 
 memory of him was so sacred to the Egyptians that when two thou- 
 sand years afterward the king of Persia, Darius Hystaspis, wanted to 
 set up his statue in a temple of Memphis before that of Sesostris, 
 the high-priest without hesitation ventured to make objections, and 
 boldly observed that the statue of Darius did not deserve this place 
 because he had hitherto done nothing which could be compared with 
 the deeds of Sesostris much less exceed them. 
 
 The views of modern investigators of history are now very diverse 
 as to Sesostris. Although indeed Manetho has only one Sesostris in 
 his list of kings ; although he ascribes to him the same deeds as He- 
 rodotus and Diodorus, yet an attempt has been made to place the 
 mighty conqueror and hero in other times and explain him to be the 
 same person with other kings. For as his reign is one of the most 
 important in the history of Egypt, so it has been the main effort of 
 the chronologers of all times to determine his period accurately. 
 Thus for example Marsham \Chron. Can. pp. 22, 352] believed Sesos- 
 tris to be identical with the Shishak of the Holy Scriptures, who took 
 and plundered Jerusalem in the time of Rehoboam. "For," says he, 
 * ' according to the Alexandrine version and the Vulgate there followed 
 Shishak a multitude of Lybians, Troglodites and Ethiopians, people 
 of whom profane history says they were conquered by Sesostris." 
 Marsham also believes that the pillars mentioned by Herodotus which 
 he himself saw in Syria, were erected by the conqueror for the dis- 
 grace of Rehoboam, who had surrendered the city without the least 
 resistance. 
 
 This view Perizonius \Orig. 2Eg. p. 106, &c] very justly contro- 
 verts. He says Shisak and Sesostris were different kings and far 
 separated from each other. Sesostris according to the clear declara- 
 tions of the Greeks [compare, besides the before-quoted passages, 
 Strabo, xvii. and Aristotle's Politik, vii. 10] was much anterior to 
 the Trojan war. Justin, I. 1, says he lived before the days of Ninus, 
 [Primus omnium Ninus, rex Assyriorum. . . . Fuere quidem temporibus 
 antiquiores Sesostris, etc.] ; and iElian \_Var. Hist. xii. 4] maintains that 
 he was instructed by Mercury. Perizonius too justly supposes that 
 if Sesostris had lived in the time of Rehoboam, the Greeks who at 
 that time possessed the greater part of Asia Minor, where the con- 
 
NOTES. 239 
 
 quering marches of the former were extended, would have noticed 
 them, and that Homer, born a few years afterward, would likewise 
 have done so. Further, according to the Holy Scriptures and Jose- 
 phus, Shisak after he had plundered Jerusalem and the temple re- 
 turned home, while according to the accounts of the Greeks Sesostris 
 overran the whole of Asia in a warlike campaign of nine years. 
 Perizonius expresses the idea that Sesostris flourished in the time of 
 the Judges, and the Israelites did not mention his campaigns in their 
 writings because these were directed not so much against them as 
 against the other inhabitants of the country ; and as Sesostris intro- 
 duced no change in the kind of government of the countries and did 
 not secure his conquests permanently for himself, so they might have 
 regarded his conquest of Palestine merely as a passage through their 
 country. 
 
 In the most recent times the view is become almost universal that 
 Sesostris was one of the Ramses whom Manetho [Dynasties XVIII. 
 XIX. XX.] and the monuments mention. The main inducement for 
 this is without doubt indeed the many war-pictures in the Egyptian 
 wall-paintings, which represent the warlike expeditions and heroic 
 deeds of the Ramessides ; and that these Ramessides and their war- 
 like deeds are hardly mentioned by Herodotus and Diodorus. Boeckh 
 for example says [Manetho und die Hundsternsperiode, Berlin, 1845, 
 p. 294] of the 18th Dynasty — "Between Ramesses the 15th and 
 Amenophat the 16th kings in Africanus, is to be inserted Ramses the 
 Great, whom Africanus has omitted. While heretofore indeed Sethos 
 or Sethosis, the first king of the 19th Dynasty, was held by Scaliger 
 to be the Sesostris of the Greeks, yet on the other hand Champollion 
 and Rosellini after the guidance of the monuments have recognized 
 the Ramses Miamun found in this place of the 18th Dynasty as the 
 Sesostris of the Greeks. Herodotus, II. 10, admits that the Egyptian 
 priests had placed 330 families or kings after Menes, the last of whom, 
 Moeris, was the 331st including Menes. After him, according to He- 
 rodotus, directly followed Sesostris, Pheron, Proteus, &c. Herodotus 
 further relates that when he conversed with the Egyptian priests 
 Moeris had now been dead not nine hundred years. If we place 
 Herodotus's visit to Egypt from 454 B.C. and on, then according to 
 him Sesostris first came to the throne after the year 1354 B.C." 
 
 Boeckh also remarks, p. 296, that Herodotus among other monu- 
 ments in Asia, in Syria and Palestine, saw one of the pillars of Se- 
 sostris with the dishonorable images which he caused to be set up 
 among the conquered people whom he had found cowardly in resist- 
 
240 NOTES. 
 
 ance. This monument is now known ; the image has indeed disap- 
 peared, but the surname-shield Ramses III. is yet discernible. Com- 
 pare Ideler, Hermapion, p. 249. Therefore the Sesostris of Herodotus 
 was this Ramses. 
 
 Another able critic, R'uhle of Lilienstern, [R. v. L. Graphische Dar- 
 stellungen zur altesten Geschichte und Geographie von iEthiopien 
 und iEgypten, p. 72,] maintains that Ramses VI. the first king of the 
 19th Dynasty was Sesostris. He says, p. 73, "No one of all the 
 Pharaohs has left behind him so countless a multitude of monuments 
 as this famous conqueror, whose marches according to the traditions 
 spread to the East, West and South, and almost the whole of the then- 
 known world. . . . But further that this Ramses must have been one 
 and the same person with the grandson of Miamun — who is called in 
 the different fragments of Manetho Sethos and Sethosis, and by Dio- 
 doris Sesoosis, by Strabo and Herodotus Sesostris — may be regarded as 
 proved partly by Manetho' s own account of the flight of Amenophis 
 [Ramses V. of the monuments] to Ethiopia, in Josephus against 
 Apion, [I. p. 1035,] partly by the answer which Germanicus received 
 in Thebes, [Tacit. Annal. II. 60.] There it is expressly said that 
 the son of Amenophis, Sethos, was also called Ramesses or Ramses 
 equally with his grandfather, and here the name of Ramses is affixed 
 to the Egyptian conqueror of Lybia, Ethiopia, Media, Persia, &c. by 
 the priests of the country." Besides he appeals, p. 75, to a bilingual 
 inscription in hieroglyphics and arrow-headed characters mentioned 
 by Champollion [Precis, p. 231] as made at Nahr el Kelb in Syria. 
 
 The two principal reasons on which a union of Sesostris and Ram- 
 ses in one person rests, are, as is evident from the above-quoted pas- 
 sages, besides the war-pictures of the Ramessides, in the first place 
 the number 900 with Herodotus, and secondly the monument in Syria 
 which does not contain the name of Sesostris but Ramses. But these 
 reasons do not compel us to bring Sesostris [XII. Dyn.] forward to a 
 much later time [XVIII. or XIX. Dynasty] against Manetho' s account. 
 The war-paintings which refer to Ramses prove nothing in favor of 
 that hypothesis, as no one will maintain that no warlike king lived in 
 Egypt except Sesostris, or after him. When then Herodotus further 
 says that Sesostris lived only 900 years before his time, it is known 
 from many other examples how uncertain he is in the account of 
 numbers, and especially in respect to Egyptian history ; and an author 
 to whom in the restoration of an old Egyptian chronology scarcely 
 any voice is allowed, cannot indeed alone decide this point in opposi- 
 tion to other witnesses. The monument finally, in Syria, with the 
 
NOTES. 241 
 
 name of Ramses, only proves that a Ramses came thither on his 
 march and there immortalized himself in an inscription ; but not that 
 Ramses and Sesostris were the same person ; especially as the pe- 
 culiar dishonorable images characteristic of Sesostris, of which He- 
 rodotus and Manetho concurrently make mention, are not found on 
 that monument of Ramses, as Boeckh [page 296] expressly testifies. 
 For another view that the Sesostris of the 12th Dynasty of Mane- 
 tho was the true Sesostris, the famous conqueror of the world, many 
 important reasons may be adduced. Manetho was an Egyptian priest, 
 and wrote his history in accordance with the old Egyptian temple- 
 archives. He wrote long after Herodotus, knew of his works and 
 took every opportunity to correct him ; as, for example, is evident 
 from the history of the builders of the pyramids, where on King Su- 
 phis he makes use of the words — " He built the great pyramid which 
 Herodotus ascribed to Cheops." If therefore one of the Ramessides 
 had really been that Sesostris of Herodotus, then Manetho would 
 certainly have here made a correction, and said — " To this Ramses 
 are ascribed the deeds which Herodotus relates of his Sesostris." 
 He does not however do this, but he places a Sesostris, and indeed 
 the only Sesostris which he mentions, in the 12th Dynasty, and says 
 of him in a few words the same that Herodotus relates about him 
 more fully. The popular traditions and the sources which he fol- 
 lowed must therefore in Manetho' s time have pointed to the great 
 conqueror of the 12th Dynasty, about 2600 years B.C. If on the other 
 hand this Sesostris who conquered the whole world was really one -of 
 the kings of the 18th or 19th Dynasty, then he lived one or more 
 centuries after the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, as they 
 left in the reign of Amos, the first king of the 18th Dynasty. But 
 then it certainly is remarkable that in the Book of Kings there is to 
 be found no mention of this mighty foe, for there is no mention here 
 of any campaign of this kind. The Israelites during this period only 
 fought with their nearest neighbors in Palestine, in the midst of 
 whom they dwelt, but never with Egyptian armies of conquest. 
 Finally, in Tacitus [Annals. VI. 28] the account is preserved that 
 the Phoenix appeared for the first time under Sesostris, and the second 
 time under the likewise already-mentioned Amosis, the first king of 
 the 18th Dynasty. Sesostris was therefore a whole Phoenix-period 
 [according to Lepsius 500, according to Seyffarth 652 years] older 
 than Amosis, while those critics would place him some centuries later 
 than Amosis. According to Seyffarth, Sesostris falls into the year 
 2555, as in his view the first appearance of the Phoenix was in this 
 
 21 
 
242 NOTES. 
 
 year, and the second in 1904 before Christ. In this time also Orcurti, 
 in page 217 of the work heretofore quoted, places him, while he makes 
 him reign in the 11th Dynasty, up to 2600 B.C. — But if the Sesostris 
 of the 12th Dynasty was indeed an historic person, yet it is by no 
 means maintained that all which is related of him is to be regarded 
 as unconditionally true historically. He was the national hero, and 
 to his name there were probably many things transferred by which 
 the name of a great monarch could be glorified but which otherwise 
 did not belong to him. Thus he was a victor and a great conqueror, 
 the founder of the political division of the country, and of the canal 
 so full of blessing for the fruit-fulness of the land, the famous law- 
 giver, and finally the builder of magnificent temples, palaces and 
 monuments. Compare Heeren Ideen ueber die Politik, &c, Wien. 
 1817, II. 2, p. 81. 
 
 We cast now a look at Sethos, often interchanged with Sesostris. 
 Compare as above Riihle von Lilienstern, p. 72. Respecting him Jo- 
 sephus communicates to us [against Apion, I. 15] the following par- 
 ticulars from Manetho : — " Sethos, who is likewise called Ramses, 
 possessed a cavalry and a navy. He appointed his brother Armais 
 as the representative of his sovereignty, and gave over to him the 
 whole kingly power ; only he prohibited him from wearing a diadem 
 or showing indecorum to the queen and mother of his children, and re- 
 quired him to refrain from the other royal wives. But he himself un- 
 dertook a campaign to Cyprus and Phenicia, and then against the 
 Assyrians and Medes. All these he subjected to himself partly by force, 
 and partly without a single blow by the fear which his mighty host in- 
 spired. As his courage increased, he pressed boldly forward and 
 subdued the cities and countries which are situated toward the East. 
 But after some time his brother Armais whom he had left behind in 
 Egypt began to act contrary to all that Sethos had forbidden and 
 refused him. He violently possessed himself of the queen, and reck- 
 lessly and continually served himself of the other wives of the king ; 
 and finally, advised by his friends, took the royal diadem and openly 
 revolted from his brother. But the high-priest of Egypt informed 
 Sethos by letter what had taken place. On this account he immedi- 
 ately relinquished his conquests, returned to Pelusium and again took 
 possession of his kingdom." He then further says that Armais was 
 also called Danaos, and was banished by his brother from the country. 
 
 The cause of uniting Sethos and Sesostris was doubtless the resem- 
 blance of the narrations of Josephus as to Sethos, and of Herodotus 
 as to Sesostris. But the similarity is not so important as it might 
 
NOTES. 243 
 
 appear at a hasty glance ; on the contrary, there are many wholly 
 different features in them. They both indeed were conquerors, but 
 Sesostris reached much further than Sethos-Ramses : Sesostris re- 
 turned after he had subdued the whole world, Sethos after a short 
 period was recalled by the high-priest; the faithless brother of Se- 
 sostris rebelled after his return, that of Sethos during his absence; 
 the former sought to destroy his brother with all his family, the lat- 
 ter arrogated to himself only the throne, diadem and wives of his 
 brother ; the former was executed, the latter banished. In short all 
 is different. The only agreement is that of two treacherous brothers 
 who grasped after the crown of the sovereign at a distance, who had 
 gone forth on conquests, and this circumstance, if not often repeated, 
 might occur certainly twice in almost a thousand years, just as in a 
 space of fifty, two Napoleons have twice founded a French imperial 
 throne; but both need not therefore be regarded as one person. 
 From all these reasons the Sesostris of the Greeks must be fixed in the 
 12th Dynasty and decidedly separated from the Ramessides. — For the 
 comparison with what is related finally, the legendary fates of Osiris 
 are worthy of attention, who likewise after long and distant warlike 
 expeditions returning back victorious to Egypt had to fall a victim to 
 the wiles of his brother Typhon. Compare Thoth, pp. 51-58. 
 
 (18) p. 180. The Cat was one of the most sacred animals uni- 
 versally honored in Egypt. Herodotus, II. 66, relates the following 
 fable of the priests: — ''If a fire breaks out a divine enthusiasm 
 seizes on the Cats. The Egyptians regard then only the Cats without 
 any thought of extinguishing the fire; but the Cats creep through 
 under the men or spring away over them, and rush into the fire. 
 When this takes place there bursts forth an universal wailing. But 
 in the house where the Cat dies a natural death all the inhabitants 
 shave off their eyebrows." The dead Cats, like men, were carefully 
 embalmed, wrapped in linen bandages and laid away in sacred chests 
 in Bubastis, where they have a common tomb. Such Cat-mummies 
 are found in great numbers and brought into the European museums. 
 The designed death of any one of the sacred animals was punished 
 with death, with the exception of the Cat and the Ibis; for whoever 
 had the misfortune to be guilty of the death of one of these two ani- 
 mals was unconditionally obnoxious to death, whether he did it pur- 
 posely or not. The reverence paid to this sacred animal continued 
 even to much later times. When Ptolemy Philometor had not yet 
 secured the friendship of the Romans, and the people zealously en- 
 deavored to gain those of them who were present in Egypt by at ten- 
 
244 NOTES. 
 
 tive civilities of all kinds, at a period when from fear they were care- 
 ful not to give any occasion for controversy or war, a Roman had the 
 imprudence to kill a cat. Then the people assembled around the house 
 of the criminal, and neither the messengers from the king for the 
 quieting of the multitude nor the universal fear of Rome could save 
 the unfortunate man from punishment, though he had only undesign- 
 edly killed the sacred animal. This Diodorus himself saw with his 
 own eyes when he was in Egypt, [I. 83.] — The Cat was consecrated to 
 the two goddesses Isis and Pascht, which by some, as for example by 
 Bunsen, II. 491, are united in one person. Both of them frequently 
 bear in the pictures or statues in place of a man's head the head of 
 a Cat, on a round disk of the moon, about which the primitive ser- 
 pent coils itself. Compare Bunsen, Plate XT. The latter, Pascht or 
 Bubastis, is compared by Herodotus, II. 137, to the Grecian Artemis ; 
 and when Stephen of Byzantium says that the Egyptians called the 
 Cat Bubastis [ol J' Ab/virriov JSbvftacrov rbv ai?iovp6v tyaoi] they may 
 have regarded this name "the Bubastic" as that of the sacred animal 
 Bubastis. 
 
 (19) p. 187. The kingdom of the blessed is represented in the 
 Book of the Bead, Plate XLI. Just as given in the already earlier- 
 mentioned Essay, [Todtengericht bei Alten iEgypten, Berlin, 1854,] 
 this picture of the heavenly family-economy is in a certain measure 
 to be called dramatic, since everywhere that the space allowed their 
 names, actions and words are marked above the persons represented. 
 Compare Thoth, pp. 60, 128. The whole picture [Plate XLI.] is en- 
 circled by the waters of a heavenly Nile, and it is intersected and 
 divided in three separate divisions, standing above each other, by the 
 same Nile. In the uppermost on the right we see first the god Thoth, 
 with the head of an Ibis, and the style and writing-tablet in his hands ; 
 here he corresponds entirely to the 'Ep/zjyc ipvxo7roju7r6g of the Greeks, 
 and conducts the dead who has been justified in the court of the 
 dead into the kingdom of the lower world. On the left hand of Thoth 
 stands the just-introduced dead person, who may be easily known by 
 his name marked above him. This name Lepsius reads Aufanch ; 
 Seyffath on the other hand, Ahap Anuk. The former gives no etymo- 
 logical meaning, the latter is translated by " Friend of Anuke." 
 Compare Seyffarth, Theol. Schriften der Alt. ^gypt. p. 2. The de- 
 ceased is pictured out most exactly three times near each other in 
 different positions in order to express the emotions of the soul which 
 possessed him on his first entrance. These are humility, astonish- 
 ment and gratitude. As a humble being he has his hands hanging 
 
NOTES. 245 
 
 down and his head bowed ; as astonished he appears to be admiring 
 the glories of the heavenly kingdom with uplifted hands ; and finally 
 as grateful he presents an offering and comes forward with a censer 
 in his hand to a table of offerings, full of fruits, bread and a slain 
 goose, behind which on elegant pedestals sit three divinities, and 
 above them stands written in hieroglyphics "the three great gods," 
 who no doubt are the rulers of the three Trines of the zodiac and the 
 three Egyptian seasons. [There is another explanation in Seyffarth, 
 ut supra, p. 35.] Further to the left the same deceased person sails 
 on a bark furnished with a sacrificial table, past many heavenly coun- 
 tries and cities, and a writing affixed above announces — "Osiris Ahap- 
 Anuk sails with his bark on the way prescribed to him;" then he 
 brings the world-soul again as an offering to the Creator and to the 
 other gods. The second and middle division represents the heavenly 
 family and the heavenly cultivation of the land entirely similar to 
 the earthly. We see here advancing nearest from the right to the 
 left the deceased ploughing with a plough drawn by two cattle, and 
 then also near by sowing the seed ; above it stands the hieroglyphic 
 words — "Ploughing and Sowing." Further to the left we see him as 
 a reaper, with a sickle in his hand and busy in cutting the ears, and 
 next follows a threshing-floor, on which are two cattle treading out 
 the grain while they are driven by him with a whip. A longer in- 
 scription says in these words — "Description of the harvest which em- 
 braces the irrigation of the Nile, ploughing, sowing and growth; 
 further the mowing of the sheaves, a threshing-floor proper for the 
 " place, then the treading out on the threshing-floor ; finally the separa- 
 tion of the chaff and the grain with the winnowing-fan." To these 
 last words refer two vessels standing near each other, of which the 
 one is filled with chaff and the other with grain. Compare Thoth, p. 
 104. In the conclusion of this division we see the blessed one anew 
 giving thanks, praising, praying and bringing his offering. Here too 
 he appears again as at the beginning, in threefold positions : he praises 
 the divinity rich in blessing with upraised hands ; he prays kneeling, 
 and has also his right hand laid on his heart ; and finally in the third 
 place he stands again before a table of offerings, behind which the 
 Nile-god sits enthroned in his chair, with a lotus-blossom on his head 
 and the sceptre in his hand. Above the offerer stands — "Osiris .... 
 the Just;" the name of the deceased, which was to be inserted be- 
 tween the two words, has been left out through the negligence of the 
 scribe, as the written rolls of this kind destined for the dead were 
 wont to be prepared beforehand, and there was afterward inserted in 
 
 21* 
 
246 NOTES. 
 
 all the necessary places where the discourse was of the dead, to- 
 gether with Osiris, also the name of the blessed one referred to ; on 
 which account as here also this addition might easily be forgotten 
 and overlooked in some places. Over this Nile-god are found the 
 words — " Hapi-M6u, Father of the Gods." That the Nile was honored 
 in almost all the cities of Egypt as a distinct god is evident from the 
 fact related by Herodotus, II. 90, that when any one was drowned in 
 the Nile and was driven ashore near a city, the priests of the Nile must 
 embalm him and solemnly bury him. There was likewise a special 
 festival celebrated to his honor which began about the time of the 
 longest day, and so at the commencement of the swelling of the Nile, 
 and in which the river-god was called on to produce an overflow rich 
 in blessing. 
 
 Finally the third and lowest division contains two harbors con- 
 nected with the water that streams around the whole picture, in each 
 of which there is a bark. They are called the " Harbors for the ships 
 of the powerful;" and of these two barks, according to the inscrip- 
 tion, one is for the Sun, the other for the Moon, that in them they 
 may steer through the heavenly waters. The bark of the sun bears 
 a pair of stairs, that of the moon, on the other hand, a throne-chair ; 
 the latter is furnished with eight rowers, by which also is signified 
 the rapidity with which she circles about the heaven compared to 
 the bark of the sun. On the right side of this lower division the 
 water represented divides into several arms, by which the dwellings 
 of every one of the particular divinities are bounded. On both sides 
 of the whole picture in the Turin papyrus stands a long prayer, [Book 
 of the Dead, chap. cxxx. a,~\ which is put in the mouth of the de- 
 ceased and spoken by him with upraised arms, in reference to the 
 represented kingdom of the blessed. 
 
 (20) p. 189. The duration and meaning of the Phoenix-period has 
 been treated by no one more correctly, scientifically and with greater 
 discrimination than by Seyffarth, who after close examination of all 
 the sources belonging to it has proved that the Phoenix signified the 
 planet Mercury, and his burning of himself the transit of the planet 
 through the sun's disk — an astronomical event which repeats itself 
 every 652 years, shortly after the spring equinox. Compare Zeit- 
 schrift der deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 1849, p. 63; 
 Thoth, p. 226; and Seyffarth, Berichtungen der Geschichte und 
 Zeitrechnung, p. 250. This explanation, which we will not here dis- 
 cuss anew, has hitherto found neither an opposer of name nor a scien- 
 tific contradiction; for a notable unsupported ridicule by a name- 
 
NOTES. 247 
 
 less reviewer of it [Leipz. Liter. Central Blatt, 1856, No. 25,] is 
 scarcely worth notice, and not to be named a contradiction, with 
 however much assurance he has sought to make himself of import- 
 ance. Full of errors and contradictions on the other hand is the ex- 
 planation of the Phoenix fable in Lepsius' Chronologie, p. 108, &c, in 
 which likewise the sources relating to it are not properly used and kept 
 in view. Compare Leipzig er Repertorium der Liter atur, 1849, II. 
 vol. i.. St. s. 14. In the above-mentioned work it is attempted to 
 prove that the Phoenix " means the soul purified by the circle of its 
 wanderings." Pliny's account [Nat. His. X. 2] that the Phoenix- 
 period lasted 540 years, in p. 170, is changed into 1464 years, be- 
 cause, according to the opinion of the author, mdlxi. could easily be 
 read instead of dxl. ; though Solinus clearly writes quingenti quadri- 
 genti anni. Besides the just-mentioned account of Pliny, the 500 
 years of Herodotus and others, the 1000 years of Lactantius, and the 
 7006 years in Tzetzes, none are further named or noticed, and it is 
 asserted, p. 181, — "I have by careful comparison been able to fincl out 
 no others among the ancients." — Shortly after, p. 189, note 3, we read 
 the words " Suidas v. <f>oivit;;" yet the number given by Suidas of 654 
 years is nowhere brought into the investigation. Now it is likewise 
 maintained that the Phoenix-period was originally not different from 
 the Sothis-period that embraced 1500 figurative years, and was 
 reckoned from the days of the summer solstice. If we take from the 
 1500 years one-half or two-thirds, we arrive at the 500 of Herodotus 
 and 1000 of Lactantius. The period properly lasted 1505 years, but 
 this small variation is hardly worth mentioning, p. 1 87 ; it indeed began 
 according to Pliny, Syncellus and others, not at the solstitial Thoth 
 but at the spring equinox, on which account, without anything fur- 
 ther, these two writers are accused of an error. The appearances of 
 the Phoenix testified to by the ancients do not agree with this ex- 
 planation, and it is said, p. 189, — "It is clear that some misunder- 
 standing must have crept in there, because the times of the reigns of 
 the kings named, which are sufficiently well known to us, cannot be 
 harmonized with any view of the return of the Phoenix." According 
 to Pliny he appeared 215 years before 97 B.C., on which account ccxv. 
 is changed into ccxxv. and the latter again into mccxxv. in order to 
 bring out the year 1322 B.C. ; according to Tacitus he appeared un- 
 der the third of Lagidae, and as this again does not suit, so it is said, 
 p. 189, — "But this opinion is obviously incorrect. Tacitus must 
 either here himself have committed an error, or have incorrectly un- 
 derstood his authority." According to the same Tacitus, further 
 
248 NOTES. 
 
 [Am. VI. 28] the Phoenix came the first time under Sesostris, the 
 second time under Amosis ; and in order to explain this, the author 
 thinks of Amosis, and assumes [p. 189] a half Phoenix-period of 250 
 years ; and finally the above-mentioned Sesostris [p. 190] is not the 
 famous one, but Sesostris Ramses II., with whom again the later war- 
 like Ramses III. must be confounded. In short all the old authors 
 have erred and made false reckoning, only not so the author of the 
 celebrated Chronology. Finally the appearances of the Phoenix re- 
 presented on the money are hardly alluded to, as they could not con- 
 firm the proposed hypothesis, much more indeed, would have militated 
 against it. Then further, on p. 196, it is said, "This Phoenix-period 
 being placed beyond a doubt," — yet a doubt may be allowed to the 
 thoughtful reader until all the points which remain obscure in this 
 inquiry are cleared up. In general there are in the book many 
 incorrect numbers on which false estimates are founded, and which 
 also cannot be removed by the denial in the Leipzig Literary Central 
 Blatt, [as above.] Did the reviewer not examine the book, or did 
 he wish in the author's favor to be guilty of a falsehood by main- 
 taining as to its inconclusiveness that there was nothing of the 
 kind to be found in the passages referred to ? From a regard to 
 truth we must therefore here once more minutely return to it. 
 Lepsius, in his above-mentioned work, p. 168, says, — " Clemens 
 Alexandrinus .... who relates that the exodus of the Israelites 
 followed 345 [three hundred and forty-five] years before the Sothis- 
 period." On the contrary it is likewise said, some pages later, [171, 
 172,] — "If we now, according to the concurrent accounts of Manilius, 
 Censorinus and Theon, have been brought to the year 1322 B.C. as 
 the close of the last Sothis-period, and we afterward turn to the pas- 
 sage of Clemens, it is clear that he in making the exodus of the Is- 
 raelites to fall 245 [two hundred and forty -five] years before the Sothis- 
 period, places it in the year 1567 B.C." This is not an easily admitted 
 and pardonable error of the printer ; but as every one may see, the 
 false figures 245 are employed in the calculation, and it is said of 
 Clemens that he referred the exodus of the Israelites to the incorrect 
 year 1567. Compare the Leipzig Repertorium der Literatur, 1849, 
 II. 1, S. 4. Just so in respect to the dates in the Book of Kings, from 
 the Exodus to the death of Solomon, it is reckoned "not much over 
 three hundred years," &c. 
 
 (21) p. 208. All the sports and popular amusements are repre- 
 sented and explained in Rosellini and Wilkinson according to the 
 monuments, and also in a short but most interesting treatise 
 
NOTES. 249 
 
 of Minutoli, — " Social Sports and Gymnastic Exercises among the 
 Old Egyptians," Illust. Zeitung VII. 1852, p. 831. The pictures 
 there given are — 1. The play of Morra; 2. Odd or even; 3. Game of 
 draughts ; 4. Ramses playing draughts ; 5 and 6. Draught-men ; 7. 
 Chess-men; 8. Hoop-players; 9 and 10. Throwing the spear; 11. 
 Blind-plays ; 12-14. Gymnastic Exercises ; 15. Boxers ; 16-22. 
 Wrestlers ; 23. A sham-fight on the water ; 24-26. Bull fights ; 
 27-29. Throwing the quoit; 30 and 31. Balls; 32-34. Ball-play; 
 35-40. Dancers ; 41-46. Balancers ; 47. Jugglers. 
 
 (22) p. 209. While the origin of Thebes, in Upper Egypt, falls into 
 an ante-historical-period, all old authors place the founding, establish- 
 ing and beautifying of the second capital, Memphis — the extent of 
 which, later, according to Diodorus, was 150 stadia, and thus about 
 nine miles — in the time of the reigns of the first kings, and connect 
 it with the so-called Menes, the first sole sovereign of the country, 
 who followed directly upon the reigns of the gods, by which probably 
 are to be understood the original priestly-colonies and the rule of the 
 gods introduced by them. Menes must have been sole sovereign of 
 the whole country, as all the lists of the Egyptian Dynasties which 
 we possess unitedly begin with Menes, however much they may vary 
 from each other in the names of the other kings. Up to the time of 
 this Menes the whole Delta was a marsh and uninhabitable ; but he 
 saw the place there for the future capital, and sought to protect it 
 from overflow by dams and canals. From Herodotus, II. 99, the fol- 
 lowing is evident: — "The Nile ran formerly along the sandy moun- 
 tain-chain of Lybia. Menes dammed up the bend of the river above, 
 about one hundred stadia from Memphis, by which the stream re- 
 ceived another direction ; the old bed of the river was laid bare, and 
 it was forced to flow between the two mountain-chains." Even yet in 
 Herodotus' s time this bend of the Nile, forced in by a dam, was care- 
 fully examined by the Persians and improved in damaged places, be- 
 cause it was feared that the whole of Memphis might be swallowed 
 up by the river if it should at any time break through and overflow. 
 After now Menes had rendered dry the land so dammed up he built 
 the city of Memphis in the mountain vale of Egypt, on the west side 
 of the river, and laid the foundation of the great and famous temple 
 of Hephaistos, [Ptah.] This account of Herodotus in respect to the 
 damming up of the western arm of the Nile has been fully confirmed 
 by modern investigations. Compare Bunsen, II. p, 40, and Wilkin- 
 son's Topography of Thebes, p. 341. Menes, according to Manetho 
 and Eratosthenes, was a Thinite, born in the city of This, near Aby- 
 
250 NOTES. 
 
 dos, and from this place lie appears to have founded his sole sove- 
 reignty and there reigned, and afterward removed his royal seat to the 
 newly-founded city of Memphis. Of his son and successor, Athothis, 
 Manetho says, " He built the royal palace in Memphis." But as re- 
 lates to the name of the city, Plutarch explains it, [de Iside et de 
 Osiride, chap, xx.] "Haven of Good," or "Haven of the Good," 
 [bpfuog aya&ov;'] and this the Old Egyptian Man nufi really indicates, 
 from which afterward came 3femphi, Mephi, and finally arose the name 
 of the now Arabic village Menf, situated in the same spot. The two 
 Hebrew names Moph and Noph [Hos. ix. 6; Isa. xix. 13] are con- 
 tracted from the same form. In the hieroglyphics the city is called 
 Manvf and Panuf. Compare the author's Inscriptionis Roseitanse de- 
 cretum sacerdotale, Lips. 1853-4, pp. 39, 131. 
 
 The famous temple of Ptah frequently mentioned and described in 
 the preceding tale, was according to Herodotus [as above] likewise a 
 work of Menes. But he only laid the foundation and erected the 
 temple-buildings proper, while many later kings contributed to its 
 extension, beautifying and decoration. The well-known king Moeris, 
 who is looked upon by the ancients as the author of the Lake Moeris, 
 named after him, and whose tomb Herodotus fully describes, adorned 
 the temple by propyls on the north side ; the famous Sesostris, with 
 the aid of the prisoners brought back from his warlike expeditions, 
 enlarged it, and erected before it six stone statues, which represented 
 himself, his wife and his four children; the covetous and greedy king 
 Rhampsinitus, known by his treasure-house, one of the Ramessides, 
 the first king of the 20th Dynasty, built the propylae on the west 
 side, while those toward the east and south owe their origin to Ary- 
 chis and Psammetichus. The latter also added over against the pro- 
 pyls a court for Apis, in which he was thenceforth taken care of, 
 which was surrounded with galleries and covered with hieroglyphic 
 pictures, and instead of pillars had collossi twelve ells high, [Herod. 
 II. 153; Strabo, XVII. 64.] Finally Amosis erected on the same 
 portion of the temple a colossus of seventy-five feet high, and two 
 smaller ones of Ethiopian stone, each of which was twenty feet high. 
 Compare Thoth, p. 46. In yet later times also much was done for the 
 adorning and preserving of the temple on the part of the kings. The 
 Inscription of Rosetta relates for example, in its Greek portions, [lines 
 29-35,] of Ptolemy V., that he had freed the temple from taxes of all 
 kinds, had bestowed on Apis, Moeris and the other sacred animals 
 rich presents, employed large sums in sacrifices and festivals, provided 
 the Sanctuary of Apis with elegant additional buildings, newly- 
 
NOTES. 251 
 
 erected temples, chapels and altars, or caused those which required 
 it to be improved and renovated. But that this temple of Ptah itself 
 maintained and preserved to the latest times its old venerable privi- 
 lege is especially evident from this, that the same Ptolemy adhered to 
 the ancient custom of the earlier kings, solemnly entered in procession 
 the temple and submitted there to the consecration of the priests, from 
 which no king at his entrance on his reign dared to withdraw himself. 
 Compare Inscript. von Rosette, line 44, and Polybius, xviii. 38. 
 
 (23) p. 217. Although the foregoing two hieroglyphic lines in some 
 of the images betray the still uneducated hand of a child, yet the . 
 single figures may be easily compared with the hieroglyphics on the 
 splendid monuments and the rolls of papyrus wrought by skilful 
 scribes, and must be briefly explained here. In this the following 
 rules are to be observed: — 
 
 1. The hieroglyphics were written on columns from the right to the 
 left and from the top downward. In the former (?) case if several stand 
 ebove one another they are to be read from the top to the bottom ; if 
 in the latter(?) case several stand near each other, they are to be read 
 from the right to the left. 
 
 2. The views of Champollion and his successors [Lepsius, Brugsch, 
 de Rouge, &c] are often false and contradictory, — as that a great 
 part of the hieroglyphic images are to be explained symbolically ; 
 they are much more, without exception, partly letters and partly signs 
 of syllables. 
 
 3. The figures express either the letters with whieh the name begins, 
 [letter signs,] or the consonants which contain the name, consisting 
 for the most part of two consonants and a vowel interposed between. 
 For example, the foot \_paf\ has the sound of P ; the serpent [set] 
 expresses the syllable ST. 
 
 4. The vowels, as in all Oriental languages, are mostly not expressed, 
 and are only added when there is reason to fear a misunderstanding. 
 
 5. Sometimes behind a sign of a syllable two, or at least its last 
 consonant, are once more expressed by other signs, in order to 
 guard against any ambiguity, [Phonetic marks of distinction.] 
 
 6. The Old Egyptian language is to be explained by the Coptic, 
 and is only distinguished from this latter language by greater 
 simplicity and a less-developed grammar. The article of the femi- 
 nine gender and the designations of the persons in the verb in the 
 Old Egyptian language stand after the words to which they belong, 
 (suffixes,) while in the Coptic they come first, (prefixes.) Compare 
 the author's Lingux Coptics Grammatiea, Lips. 1853, pp. 12, 14. 
 
252 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The single figures of the writing in question denote the following 
 letters or syllables:* 
 
 Line 1. Line 2. 
 
 Foot, B or P, 35. 
 
 Quadrant, K, 56. 
 
 Feet, ER, AR, S. 207. 
 
 Mouth, HR, 26. 
 
 Plan of a city, BK, 69. 
 
 Half-circle, (mountain,) T, 6. The 
 feminine article standing after 
 the noun. 
 
 Leaf, (Champoll., leaf of cala- 
 mus,) A, 57. 
 
 Bird, 0, U, 47. 
 
 Serpent, ST, ZT, 54. 
 
 Fringe, T, R. 108. 
 
 Line of waves, N, 8. 
 
 Little man, RM, S. 43. 
 
 Three strokes. Sign of the plural. 
 
 Bowl, NB, 83. 
 
 Square, P, PT, 86. 
 
 Ear ? S. (Todtenbuch, i. 11, 
 cxxxiii. 9 ; Bunsen, i. p. 687, 
 No. 8.) 
 
 Owl, M, 46. 
 
 Handle-basket, K, 84, 2d pers. 
 singular. 
 
 Leaf, A, 57. 
 
 Bird, 0, U, 47. 
 
 If we supply to these hieroglyphic al consonants the vowels wanting, 
 we have the following Old Egyptian words : 
 
 BoK eR HaRo BaKi-T AuO ZoT eN NiBi Pe T Sme-K AuO. 
 
 PeT Ro'Si-K HJ PaNuB T-BaKi HA ABeT PTaH HaTiR ANK 
 ZoT TeNe. 
 
 Square, P, PT, 86. 
 Half-circle, T, 6. 
 Eye-balls, R, S. 135. 
 Sickle, S, S. 605. 
 Handle-basket, K, 84, as above. 
 Face, H, R. 18. 
 Stroke, J, S. 35. 
 Foot, P, as before. 
 Bowl, NB, 83. 
 Half-circle, T, 6. 
 Plan of a city, BK, 69. 
 f Sling, H, 91. 
 t Arm, A, 28. 
 Temple, Abet. 
 Square, P, 86. 
 Half-circle, T, 6. 
 Sling, H, 91. 
 Hammer, HTR, 77. 
 Handle-cross, ANK, S. 202. 
 Serpent, ST, ZT, 54. 
 Half-circle, T, 6. 
 
 Stroke, shortened from the wave- 
 line, N, 8. 
 
 * The simple numbers refer to my Glossary in De Veterum jfflgyp- 
 tiorum lingua et Uteris, Lips. 1851, pp. 77-100; the letter R to my 
 Alphabet in Insci'iptionis Rosettanze decretum Sacerdotale, Lips. 1853, 
 pp. 113-120; and the letter S to Seyffarth's Grammatica JEgyptiaca, 
 Goth. 1855, in the lithographed Appendix. 
 
NOTES. 253 
 
 Or in Coptic — 
 
 Ari-bok haro ti-baki auo zot en-romi nibi pet ak-sme auo 
 Go into the city and say to men all what you heard and 
 
 pet ak rosi hi Panuph ha abet Ptah hatir ( I TISt) 
 
 what you saw in Memphis, and in the house of Ptah the God, 
 
 ank zot tene. 
 
 the living without end. 
 
 The passages in which the same groups of hieroglyphics are found 
 with the same meaning are the following : 
 
 Bok, go, Inscrip. von Rosette, line 5. Er, Ari, make ; here make as 
 a designation of the imperative, lb. lines 5, 8, 13. Haro, in, lb. line 8. 
 Baki, city, lb. lines 8, 9. Auo, and, lb. lines 11, 13. Zot, say, relate, 
 Todtenbuch, ii. 2, iii. 1, iv. 2. Romi, men, Inscrip. v. Rosette, line 11; 
 Todtenbuch, cxxiv. 4. Nibi, all, Inscrip. v. Rosette, lines 6, 8, 10, 11, 
 &c. Pet, what, lb. line 6 ; Todtenbuch, xcii. 3. Sme, heard, Todten- 
 buch, i. 11, cxxxiii. 9. Rosi, saw, Todtenbuch, i. 11. Hi, in, Inscrip. 
 v. Rosette, lines 7, 8, 9, 10. Panub, Memphis, lb. line 9. Ha, and 
 or in, lb. lines 5, 7, 11. Abet, house, temple, lb. line 9. Ptah, 
 Ptah, lb. in many places ; Todtenbuch, xlii. 7. Hatir, God, compare 
 the author's Inscript. v. Ross., p. 135. Ank zot tene, living without 
 
 END, ETERNALLY LIVING, aloVofitOC, lb. p. 160. 
 
 (24) Appendix to pages 182 and 219. The king's name, Osi- 
 mandyas, which Diodorus writes Osymandyas, Strabo Ismandes, is to be 
 translated according to the hieroglyphics, especially on the Fla- 
 minian obelisk in Rome, by Os-ma-n-Ptah, the much-beloved of 
 Ptah. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 22 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 The distance of the translator from the press and the necessity of 
 hurriedly reading the proofs by night have caused some errors to 
 escape his notice which, or any others, the reader will please correct. 
 
 Page 25, line 12 from the bottom, for lightening read lightning. 
 
 " 68, 
 
 < 15 
 
 top, 
 
 a 
 
 secret read decree. 
 
 " 76, 
 
 4 9 < 
 
 i iC 
 
 a 
 
 on read in. 
 
 " 89, 
 
 Note f, 
 
 
 a 
 
 Zeitshcrift read Zeitschrift. 
 
 " 99, 
 
 " 19 
 
 i a 
 
 
 insert a before pointed. 
 
 " 100, 
 
 < 15 
 
 i a 
 
 
 insert an before account. 
 
 " 123, 
 
 < 12 
 
 < bottom, 
 
 a 
 
 Hieroskolists read Hierostolists. 
 
 :i 191, 
 
 i 14 
 
 i a 
 
 a 
 
 or read nor. 
 
 - 196, 
 
 4 5 
 
 ' top, 
 
 a 
 
 quickens read quicken. 
 
 " 197, 
 
 i 14 
 
 i ii 
 
 a 
 
 kardamon read kardamomon. 
 
 " 210, « 
 
 4 15 
 
 i ii 
 
 a 
 
 land read canal. 
 
 " 210, 
 
 < 20 
 
 i ii 
 
 
 insert and after them. 
 
 « 211, < 
 
 4 15 
 
 i ii 
 
 a 
 
 above read more than. 
 
 « 211, 
 
 < 4 
 
 ' bottom, 
 
 " 
 
 but read ft7Z. 
 
 " 211, 
 
 < 3 
 
 i a 
 
 a 
 
 has been read was. 
 
 " 215, 
 
 * 10 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 might read may. 
 
 " 221, 
 
 < 18 
 
 i a 
 
 a 
 
 «s read are. 
 
 " 221, b 
 
 ottom line 
 
 , for to what 
 
 flames he is hurled down read who 
 
 
 Awfo efowr 
 
 to flames. 
 
 
 
 " 226, li 
 
 ne 2 from 
 
 the top, 
 
 for are read is. 
 
 " 226, 
 
 < 9 
 
 i a 
 
 ik 
 
 were read was. 
 
 " 226, ' 
 
 < 22 ' 
 
 i a 
 
 
 erase /rora before thence. 
 
 " 227, < 
 
 4 3 
 
 ' bottom, 
 
 a 
 
 Alexandricus read Alexandrinus. 
 
 " 231, ' 
 
 < 19 
 
 i a 
 
 
 transpose were rendered necessary 
 to the end of the next line. 
 
 " 232, 
 
 * 18 
 
 6 ii 
 
 " 
 
 gifts read gift. 
 
 " 237, 
 
 < 13 
 
 top, 
 
 " 
 
 of read from. 
 
 " 240, 
 
 4 6 
 
 i a 
 
 a 
 
 altesten read altesten. 
 
 Where the word Horoscope occurs as a person, the word Horoscopist 
 may.be read. 
 

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