The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-12-09

s"," {. ANCIENT EGYPT
LECTURE BYMR. BaYARD TAYLOR

nICC TH"Hn f. --sE uNuh U4I. jyl
Mr. Bayard Taylor lectures on "Ancient
Egypt" The lecture began with the
general statement that civilization is a
great deal older than many of us are will
ing to admit, and that many of the re-
forms and changes we claim as original
had in fact their origin with the anclents'
The female suffrage and total abstinence
movements were cited as cases in point
and, said Mr.. Taylor, the history of an
cient Egypt affords many illustrations OF
this fact. Egypt, continued the lecturer,
seems to have been specially created and
set apart for the home Of some favored
race. Among the wonderful bounties
there found are a climate without storms,
atemperatute subject to no extremes, d
soil which is keptin constantly good con-
dition by the Nile, seas on the east and
west, protecting the country from inva-
sion and giving outletsfor commerce, and
the needs and possibilities Of life are SO
provided for, that prosperity seems to be
bound to come. The Egyptians were the
first of mankind that reached what we
call civilization. For 400 miles, from
Cairo to Thebes, lines were measured
across the Nile at right angles, and the
earth, where there were no evidences Of
ruins, was bored, and relics Of potteres,
&C., were unearthed to a depth Of sixty
feet, Judging from which the first settle
ment of man in Egypt must date back as
far as 10000 or 10000 years. The in
scriptions on the numerous monuments
which have been found show that the
Egyptians must have had written Ian
guage long before even tradition Of the
art of writing had reached other coun-
tries. The durability of these monu-
ments, the care OF the dead in tombs
where no moisture ever penetrates save
the breath of the mourners," the scrolls
OF papyrus still intact, and Mayitta's dis
coYery in 1858 of the great tombs where
the prints of the feet of men who had
carried in corpses $500 years before,
were all cited as evidences of the lasting
quality of Egyptian work and of the
careful preservation of antiquities, and
Mr.. Taylor added, with much feeling,
" If Persians, Greeks, Christians and Ro-
mans had not violated every one of her
myriad tombs and burned the scrolls in
the possession of her dead we might pos
sess to-day every stone the Egyptians
raised, every scroll they wrote"
EVIDENCES OF CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION.
There was among the Egyptians pure
and lofty appreciation of the marriage
tie. Women were treated with respect
and reverence. They sat on the throne
as far back as the sixth dynasty. The
assertion that woman has always been
in subsection to man, said Mr.. Taylor, is
glaringly false. In Egypt man had no
right which was not shared with her,
Other evidences of the high degree of
culture, refinement and civilization are
found in theobjects recently unearthed. |
Glass vessels, 1000 years old, almost
such as we have to-day; rush bottom
chairs, glazed pottery, lpaint-boxes,
chequer-boards, toilet cushions, chill !
dren's balls, pomatum-pots, recipe for
hair-dye used by queen of the first dy-
nasty, recently discovered, all attest the
civilization and progress Of the Egypi
tians. .,..,. ....''.. ,'.. 5...,,,..a L0,. IN
The lecturer next touched lightly upon
the invasion of Egypt by the Shepherds,
or Tartars, from Asia, who held sway for
500 years, when they were overthroWn
and the ancient Pharoahs reascended |
the throne, beginning what is known as
the " Later Empire" to designate it from
the " Earlier Empire" 4" which ended with
the Shepherds Invasion After the ex-
pulsion of the Shepherds the Egyptians,
for fear of another invasion, became
verV exclusive and sealed their country
as the Chinese and Japanese, used to do. I
There is in the British Museum a papy-
rus which tells a, story identical with
that related in the Bible of Joseph and
Potiphar's wife. (At this point Mr., Tay+
lor took OCCASION to deny the report that
he had discovered the original CORE
spondencea between Joseph, and Poti-
phar's wife, and added that, in the light
of recent events, he should probably not
publish it if lie were to find it). The
lecturer warned his hearers that the
spirit of ancient Egypt is alive in all
who resist the progress of art, science or
anything useful to humanity, and con-
cluded with the words, "0ur duty is to
be forever seeking, forever unsatisfed."