The sun., 1891-12-13
rHE sUN. SUNDAY. DEcEMBER Is. isgl.

auce Of The hugo blocks Of stone to tho lower
country In the season Of the inundation.
The soldiers. who for long period consisted
exclusively Of infantry. were equipped with
clubs and axes. spears. and bows and arrows.
and were commanded BY experienced gener-
ais. A now IN the case Of China. the literary
class was scarcely less important than the
military. The scribes wore divided into many
categories. according to their position and
business In obedience to the commands Of
their master they either set down the events
OF his domestic life. or accurately recorded his
income and expenditures and kept his books
in good order Far above the ordinary scribes
were ranked the so-called teachers OF mys-
tories. the oustodians Of all hidden wisdom
in those snoient timea Tho "mystery
teachers OF heaven" were astronomers
who investigated and expounded the
course OF the stars. The mystery
teachers OF all lands" seem to have been the
geoRraphefs Of tho primitive world. Tho
mystery teachers Of tho derth" were credited
with knowledge Of what the earth conceals In
It's proiundities. and they made study OF the
nature OF the Egyptian soil Others. mystery
teachers OF the secret word" wrote books ON
subjects OF deep speculation. whne the "mys-
tory teachers Of the sacred language devoted
themselves to the study and exposition OF the
AASy psaou SouWuOs Ou0 TcHuIy hlbO, OF mybt0TY
teachers who examine words. doubtless learn
cd men or Judges who listened to complaints
and compared tho evidence OF tho witnesses.
In word. the welfare Of the court and
country under the old empire was secured By
an elaborate adjustment Of classes and
specialization OF individual effort. Every one
maintained his pla5e. not as was once supposed.
according to his caste. but mainly according to
his personal worth. It was. however. blind
obedience to the will OF Pharaoh which, as q
rule. assured the harmonious working OF the
whole machinery
No glimpse OF this complex and interesting
world at last awakened from its sleep OF more
than 1900 years. should omit to note tho testl-
n,ony that the writings OF tho Pharaohs on
medical subjects reached back as far as the
first dynasty. Mena's son and successor. Teta.
who built the royal palace In Momphis. was
physician and wrote work on anatomy. A
papyrus record OF the most romote age bought
In Thebes by Ebers. tells In archaic language
that when King Teta sat on the throne pre-
scription for making the hair grow was much
commended. The long medical papyrus found
in tho metropolis Of Memphis and now
In the Berlin Museum. contains prescrip-
tlons for tho cure Of malignant leprosy and
many other kinds Of illness: It treats also OF
fractures. and discourses. although in simple,
childish way. Of the construction and mechan-
ism OF tho human body. Though composed in
the reign OF Rameses II. tB. G. 1881 there Is
passage in 1t which throws back the origin OF
one part OF tho work to the fifth king OF the
first dynasty. D. c. 42ee.
Nv.
1t is we'll known that those wonders OF the
ancient and modern world. the three great
mi {Nu h1vNr a.
dynasty. With the founder Of that dynasty
and the builder Of the largest pyramid.
Khufu. the Cheops Of Herodotus. begin those
traditions OF Egyptian history which are re-
corded by Greek and Roman authors. The
principle on which the enormous masses Of
the pyramids were constructed was long an
tnsolvable enigma even to experts In engineer
ing. We now know that no sooner did Phar-
aoh OF the fourth dynasty mount the throne
than no Immediately began building his tomb
The kernel Of the future edlfce was raised on
the limestone soil OF the desert in the form OF
a small pyramid built In steps. OF which ger
minal structure the carefully fashioned and
wellfitted interior waste form the king eternal
dwelling A covering was added to the outside
OF the kernel. followed by q second and some-
times even third and fourth: and when at
last 1t became almost impossible to extend
further the area OF tho pyramid. casing Of
hard stone. polished like glass and fitted &C.
curately to the angles Of the steps. completely
covered the gigantic building. The stones for
the pyramid were taken from three different
places. Tho innermost material. q spongy
limestone without consistence was found
close at hand. A flrmer sort OF stone. selected
for the steps and the successive layers, was
brought from Turah upon rollers along the
which reached from the left bank of
the Nile. Immediately opposite to that noun
tain. to the plateau OF tho pyramids. The COW
erng Of the latter was Of costly stone brought
down tho river from a great distance. On
the southern border OF Epypt. close
to Assouan. stands the Red Mountain"
composed OF granite. sprinklcd with black
and red. as hard as iron and shining bcauti-
fully when polished. The orilliancy and dura-
bility OF this syenite made the stone especially
coveted BY builders. Quarry marks OF very
ancient times are still visible in tho Red
Here We meet with the outline Of
n colossal statue. and there tho whole length
Of the fourth side OF an obeisk still waits to DO
loosened from It's bed. We loarn from inscrlp-
tions that ten yoars passed before the work.
men had quarried tho stones for the pyramid
Of Cheops In tho Mountain OF Turah. Ind laid
the foundation and closed the dark tomb |
In the rock. and twice ten years more
olApo0u UeioLo tuo Wbos0 WSih Wdb CoiupicIous
A later member OF the fourth dynasty, Khnf- |
Ra. was the Kheiren. or Chephren. OF tho |
Greeks. It curious that his pyramid should |
have been designated by the ancIents as the |
Great" for 1t is slightly inferior In height to |
that OF Cheops. and considerably inferior in |
breadth. OfKhaf-Ra the stones ylittle. but his
name Is well preserved through the wonderful |
OF his statues. Apropos Of these.
we are reminded that 1t is only u few years ago |
when close to the Sphinx was discovered a
building which is still a mystery. In ono Of its
spacious halls was disclosed a shaft OF we'll |
into whose depths a number Of statues OF
had been hurled. The great |
ar number Of thom had been destroyed
by tho fall. hut ono had survived-the |
lsure Of King khaf-lha In n sitting posture.
The author deems it impossible to overrate
he historical value Of this statue. which is. 1t
seems. Of regal appearance. clothed with dig
nity in look and bearing. Like tho wooden
statue OF Sheikh-el-B -Belled. brought to light |
out Of the tombs at sakkarah. and also ut
trfbutad IN the fourth dynnsty the stntI,e ~