Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1868-08-27
Arbrasha 4drEstisth
- 81 AnvERTIaINa.
AfrIcan CITIII1alIon.

Thirty centuries ago African civil
ilization was the mightiest and most
refiued upon the face Of the earth
The arts and sciences were carried %
q high degree Of perfection, and have
enriched all succeeding civilizations
Astronomy, and al branches Of SCI
ence, were taugh in her schools; and
the reputation Of their colleges and
universities was Of such high stand
ing that the sages and philosophers Of
Greece and other nations repaired to
them in order to become learned in the
wisdOmwhieh they possessed. Painting
and sculpture were well understood
by them long before the days Of HO-
mer. They were vel versed IN geOm-
etry and astronomy; and the first who
taught that the year consisted Of three
hundred and sixty-dve and one-forth
days.
fheskill displayed By their physici-
ans in the treatment Of disease gave
them such a worldwide fame that
even Cicero admitted that he wanted
no better aid in sickness than they
could give him. They were unequaled
in the art of preserving dead bodies
from putrefactiOn. The first national
police ever known in history were or
iginated by them. They were the
first who eOnseereated each day In the
year to a particular god-and this
method Of forming the calendar has
been initiated and preserved to tho
present time; the gods having yielded
their places to the saints of Christian
era. In their estimation OF women,
and in the respect shown to them, they
were not equaled by any nation Of
antiquity. The honor and reverence
shown to the aged is another fact
which exalts their civilization. They
originated the worship Of departed
heroes; and were the first authors Of
many Of the gods and gOddesses we
read Of in classic story.
They were celebrated for the manu-
facture of cloths, which equaled In
perfection and fineness the most per-
feet fabric Of the present day. So well
were they skilled in the manufacture
of glass, and in the manner Of stain
ing it of various hues, that they
cOunterfefted with success the anne
thyst and other precious stones.
They were famed for the manufac-
ture of paper, in which they excelled
all other nations of antiquity. Great
were they in ship building and navf--
CATION, and in the days Of the Roman
empire their grain ships were the lar
gest on the Mediterranean. Their
mariners made long voyages tOdistant
parts Of the earth. One Of their ships
left the Red Sea and explored the
whole coast Of Africa, returning thrOi
the Straits of Gibralter. They worked
the tin mines of Cornwall, in Eng
land, long before the Brit0ns were q
civilized people. Their mining opera
tiOns were carried on upon a stupen-
dOus scale, and by very scientific
methods. Among their lost arts was
that of cutting and polishing the
hardest stone and no one can tell Of
the means employed for cutting in
scriptiOns, frequently to the depth OF
more than two inches, with a minute
ness and finish which is truly surpris-
ing.
They were well acquainted with
mechanical powers and the mode Of
applying a locomotive force with tho
most wonderful success. Who cana
tell the secret of that power which
quarried immense blocks of granite,
hundreds of tuHs in weight, OF by
they were transported
over a space of several hundreds Of
miles to their places Of destination
Their wonderful knowledge Of mech
anism in the erection Of immense
pillars, many feet in hight and crow
ned with Intel stones forty feet long
and five feet square. The different
orders Of architecture are distinctly
traceable to them. NOpeople, ancient
or modern, have equaled them in the
grandeur, massiYeness and cOstliness
of their structures; and their eVeFlas-
ting architecture exists to-day, though
in ruins, to proclaim the wonderful
mechanical knowledge Ofits founders.