Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-12-21
The Early History OF Literature,

Amelia B. Edwards, in the Cotempo-
rary ReUiew, entitled "The Art of the
Novelist" the author says:
One of the most ancient examples of
fiction in the world, one which has
survived the rise and fall of many an
ancient and many a modern empire,
is an Egyptian romance entitled
t" The Tale of the Two Brothers" We
have the original manuscript in the
British Museum. 1t is written on
nineteen sheets of pspyrus, in fine
hieratic hand, and it was penned some
three thousand two hundred years ago
by a Theban serbia named Ennana.
This Ennana was Librarian OF the
Palace to King Merenptah, the sup
posed Pharaoh of the Exodus, and he
appears to have written the tale by
order OF the Treasurer, for the enter
tainment Of the Crown Prince, Seti-
Merenptah, who subsequently reigned
as Seti III. This prince has signed his
name in two places on the back of the
manuscript, these being probably the
only autograph signatures of any
Egyptian king which have come down
to our time. This most venerable
and precious document was purchased
in Italy by Madam d d'Orbiney, who sold
it in 1857 to the authorities OF the
British Museum; and it is not known
as the d'Orbiney Papyrus.
That the ancient Egyptians were
novelists and readers of novels was
what no one suspected till Madam
dOrbiney purchased her famous papy.
rus in 1857. The Psychologists of
Europe were, in fact. fairly scandalized
to find that these grave and reverend
signiors," whose mummies were so
eminently respectable, had tastes as
frivolous as our own. Since that time
many more specimens of ancient
Egyptian fiction have come to light,
tales OF adventure by land and sea,
tales of enchantment and magic
even historical romances and ghost
stories. These discoveries have cast a
new light upon the early history OF
literature. They show us that Egypt
was not only the birthplace of all our
arts and all our sciences, but that the
Valley OF the Nile was in truth the
cradle of romance. 1T was from Egyp-
tian sources that Herodotus derived
many . narrative which he innocently
accepted for fact and repeated as his
tory; and it is from these sources that
the Arab story-tellers of the middle
ages draw many an incident familiar
to us all in the pages of "The Thous.
and and One Nights" "The Ship.
wrecked Mariner" (who, by the way
performs the astonishing feat OF sail.
ing up the Nile as far as Nubia, and
thence gaining the open sea) is cast,
like Sindbad the Sailor, upon an island
peopled by serpents. General Tahuti
in a story called "The Taking ol
Joppa," introduces his soldiers into
the beleaguered city by means of q
stratagem less successfully attempted
in after-ages by the Forty Thieves; p
that is to say, he conceals a certain
number of men in big jars which are
carried by others of their comrades
disguised as captives laden with booty
We modern novelists are we'll
pleased when our stories find favor in
many lands, and are translated into
many tongues; but if tried by this
test, the second part of "The Tale o
the Two Brothers" throws all oul
modern successes into the shade. We
find it reproduced in every age and in
every civilized land.
The fact that novels and tales were
written by the scribes of Egypt before
Hebron and Zoan were founded, is in
deed very extraordinary. And We
must remember that these ancient 70
mances are the parent source OF all
the light literature OF medic val ano
modern times. The great Mesopota
mian nations had apparently nc
school OF fiction. The clay cylinder.
and tablets of Borsippa, of Warka, oi
Babylon, of Nineveh. have as YET
yielded nothing in the shape of a pop.
ular tale or popular song. Legends
of gods and heroes, chronicles of victo.
ries, cold-blooded records of hideoui
scars inflicted on prisoners of war, calen
dars, contracts, accounts. magical fol
mule, and the like, have come down tc
us in abundance from the libraries oil
these grim, practical and eminently dis
agreeable people; but nothing, which
brings them into touch with ourselves
upon the common ground of imagina
ton or sympathy. When, therefore
We lose sight of fiction in Egypt, we
lose sight of it for long time in the
East, and follow it to the West, to
Greece and to Rome.