New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-28
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
TIVE MONUMENTAL RECORDS. ART. LTTERA-
TIRE AND RELIGION OF THE NILE.

EGYPT UNDER TIE PHAkAOhS. "a i m,9t Ucii,ricb
rived Entirely from the Monuments. By ncii r
Brassch, Dey New Edition CONDENSED IAN, ana P Phor
ouslly Revised BY NJ Brodere"; 400 Charles serb
ner's
PHARAoHs. FELLAHs AND ENPl0kEh91ii, ady
Amelia b. Edwards lHu'Ud'Ou' iP' A'' 49,
Harper d Brothers
Looking at range of mountains lar away
one sees only smooth and flmy shapes and out
lines which melt gradually one into another AeV
he knows that were lie nearer TO these peaks nc
should find beetling precipicos, vast chashiS'
rivers OF ice and all the signs OF some ue-
mendous forces of nature either stu at WORK OF
once at work in the earths crust. IL IS the same
with history. Nothing is more deceitiU IMAM
the narrative of events in the distant past, uneeS
one carries 10 the study of it the conviction thaU
his vision is defective, and that the smooth out
lines which he SEES ONLY serve TO conceal the
copvulsiins of human nature and the revolutions
which ,iae has wrought For example, there
was time in English history when, as one may
saw without eXaggeratiOn, every other chlld porn
in the Kingdom received a Semitic, that 49,
biblical name. This fact was intimately con-
nected with a conflict which threatened the en-
istence of the Nation, conflict that raged lor
wears the results of which can only DE ehaccu
when England ceases TO exist. Now suppose 'i''t
in the course of ages the history OF Ifom"eh
and the SUBSEQUENT Revolution of l6sS should
be lost with the exception OF the comparatively
insignificant item that the PresbyterianS and In
dependents of those times had queer notions ABOUT
naming their children. Would the investigator
Of the future be cxcusable if he failed to See
the real importance of this eccentrlclty' But
this is exactly what happened in the case oil
Erypt Under what is called the Thirteenth
Dynasty, as shown by memorial stones, coifns ana
writings on papyrus the people oil Egypt pes"
10 show a curious prediction for names that
were bafbarous combination oil Henl'ic
and Egyptian words. This innovation was
the natural Accompaniment of revolu-
ton which placed Egypt under the domih-
ion of a foreign race and kept II there Tor nan
millennium. This one fact is of itself sufficient
to correct the popular notion that the history oil
Egypt is q record of motionlesS conservatism
But one may draw from Dr. Brugschs WORK
MANY other examples to show that throughout the
more than four thousand years during which
Egypt preserved its identity nation there was
all the movement in politics, in art. in society
and in religion which modern experience has
shown to be indispensable TO national life. 1t
WAS not TO Ethiopian priests that the Egyptian
Empire owed it's origin. but TO husbandmen, shep-
herds and boatmen, who found the Nile valley
suitable for the life which they were obliged TO
lead. 1t was not to gods nor to the worship oi
gods that men owed in Egypt their earllest au-
vances toward the magnificent civilization OF later
times, but to purely human ambition typlneu
in the legend of the first sovereign, VINO united
the people under Government. ana was
naturally said to have corrupted the simple man
ners of the OlNen time. in that he replaced the
frugal mode of life by royal pomp and sumptuouS
expense" It was not until a long series of kings
had reicned, twentySevcn of whose names are re-
corded in the lists on the monuments that it be-
70 odl
DESIGNATION of the regning monarch. This Is
equivalent to saying that the priesthood rose very
slowly 10 supremacy much more slowly. in fact.
than in medieval Europe Accepting the opn-
ion that what the Egyptians called the HOLY LaEu
was the southwest corner of Arabia tellN, tnc
necessary conclusion must he that the national
gods were an importation from there-an Arabian
loan. Amen Horus and Hathor. and. above ALL
Bes are TO be credited to the prmeval inhabitants
OF Arabia not TO any suppostitions development
of African totemism. While these old ArablanS
may not have been Semitic, there is no doubt OF
Tho Semitic origin of many gods added to the
pantheon after the Twelfth Dynasty, and they
were accepted from the first definite PERSONAL
ties not as the result of evolution from some
primitive nation or cult Even the figure of the
winged sphinx was not an original conception Of
the Eqvptians but was borrowed from Asia, which
in certain forms Of art was much in advance OF
the people on the Nile.
There came time when Egypt was no longer
content to learn of those who immlgrated rom
abroad and what was most remarkable, the hrst
great movement outward was at the instance OF
a woman. II was in the reign OF Queen Hat
sbepsu and owing to her irTeprcsslble curiosity,
tlHt Egyptian ships sailed far along the southern
coast of Asia-Or the eastern coast OF AREA, II
is hard 20 say which-and returned with cargoes
of rare and priceless things. with her successor
booan that long conflict between Egypt and West
ern Asia which rendered anything like stagnant
conservatism impossible. As in the former times
the Egvptians had yielded to the customs Of Semitic
conduerors, so now they adopted the phrases OF
the pcOplc whom they subdued, with an aptncsS
which could only have characterized people lively
and fond Of change. One should read over and
over again the letter which is translated III TINS
volume under the page-headng A Literary trltl-
cism" if he would see how capable an Egyptian
was of taking the very view of things which we
arrogantly call modern.
II was only when decay had begun, and when
Fgypt was descending from the foremost place in
tie world TO that Of a mere dependency, that
priest and King united in one person, ana
that motionless apathy set in which met the OBJ
scrvation Of the Greeks in Egypt and led them
10 form the conception of Egyptian life which in
spite of investigation, is still too prevalent But
even in weakness. Egypt showed the extraordinary
fexibty OF its political organization, due TO a
minnie system that answered in part TO what
ut tbe present day is called local sclf-governmont
Oyerrun by foreign invaders, the country fell
anort into small divisions each with It's own
ruIcr No sign is given Of the helpless anarchy
that paralyicd Hellenic activity at frequent inter
walls IN which the Creeks were the first to give
name.
The new edition Of Dr.. BrugschS work has been
revised in the light of discoveries that have been
made since its first appearance. IL no longer
osecrts nositiveE. the Assyran origin Of the