The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-07-13
Ancient Egyptian People Cared
Nothing for Tomorrow and
Were Devoted to Pleasure.

Some one has said that Egypt OF the
Pharaohs was "a nation of undertake
ers.' Mummies and their o~erelnents,
tombS and valleys of the dead, the
pyramids that were but colossal maui
soleums, the lone and level sands"
that cover some metropolis Of Il pre-
historic FRA, the mOrtuary %parapher-
MALTA and Inscriptions, all such things
SO dear To the hearts Of the archae-
OlOgists lend a funereal color to mod
ern conceptions of the ancient Egyp-
tian life, Yet, while it has been
through Egypt'S tOmbs that we have
been able to penetrate The mysteries
OF its civilization, life in the days OF
the Pharaohs and the valley Of the
Nile, as it has been reconstructed from
papyrean manuscripts and from the
voiuminOuS hieratic and hieroglyphic
inscriptions, was far removed from the
sad and lugubrious aspects suggested
by the ruins ami the ornate system Of
sepulture unearthed by the modern
delivers in Egypt'S sands. The philoso-
ply Of the Egyptians in the days of the
lharaOhS was one that would have
warmed the heart of old Omar, inn
pregnated as il was with the doctrine
that "the pursuit Of happiness is the
chief purpose of life, according to Ar
thur Weigall, whose latest book, 1.-The
Glory OF the Pharaohs," glitters like a
star bomb above the gloomy trenches
OF the Psychologists. revealing In IN
wonted COlOrs the life that was lived
by the sons and daughters of old Nile
thirty or forty centuries ago, says the
Kansas City Star. Mr.. Weigall, it may
be mentioned, is dealing with n sub
Ject upon which he is an authority.
He was for many years inspector gen
eral OF antiquities for Upper Egypt.
was present at or participated in most
Of the great discoveries made in the
Valley OF the Tombs Of Kings, and is
recognized as q scholar deeply versed
In Egyptian archaeology and history.
But he Is not one OF the dry-as-dust
archaeOlogistS, stepped in technique
and Technology. He has n different
view Of the province Of the archaic
ologlst.
IAN a~rchaeOlogist," Mr.. Weigall ey-
plains, must be a historian. He must
Conjure up the past he must play the
Witch Of Endor. His lists and his in
dices, his catalogues and notebooks,
must be the spells which he uses TO
invoke the dead. The spells have no
potency until they are pronounced the
lists Of kings of Egypt have no more
than an accidental value until they call
before the curtain OF the mind those
mOnarChs themselves. 1t is the bust
ness Of the ~archaeologist to wake the
dreaming dead, not TO send the living
to sleep And so, following this con-
ception Of the duty of the archaeologist,
he has made Egypt live for us again In
such fascinating books as The Life
and Times OF Akhanton' and the
"Glory IF the Pharaohs," wherein,
with wonderful insight and sympathy,
he has introduced the modern world TO
the poetry, the philosophy and the 10Y
Of life" that was Egypt's in the flower
OF its civilization.
Spirit Of Egypt Unchanged.
The spirit Of Egypt is unchanged, he
tells us. Though the heyday of it's
glory has departed, the Egypt Of the
pharaohs still lives in the hearts Of
Tia children Of the Nile today-"yes-
pare" and the past is alive today and
all the deeds of man in all the ages are
living at this hour in offspring. II you
would put yourself in touch with the
continuity Of past and present come
with me-" he says ito Il Theban garden
tha. | know, where, on some still eve
ming, the dark palms are reflected in
the placid Nile and the acacias are
meIlOwed by the last light OF the IN
set where, in leafy bowers, the grapes
cluster overhead and the fig tree Is
burdened with fruit. Beyond the broad
sheet of the river rise those unchang-
ing hills which encompass the Valley
OF the Tombs Of Kings, and ut their
foot. dimly seen in the evening haze,
sit the twin colOSsi as they have sat
since the days Of AmenOphis the Mag
nificent. The owls boot 90 II another
through the garden. and 1T the edge OF
the alabastcr tank wherein the dusk
is mirrored a frog croakS unseen
among the lilies. Even 50 he crooked
on this very ground in those days when.
IMPLYING eternity, he seemed to utter
the endless refrain. i am the resurrec-
ton. | am the resurrection into the
ears Of men and maideHs beneath the
seifsame stars"
The ways of the men and women of
the days of Akhantnn ami %Amenophis
were 40 different frOm the ways of the
Nile. And in the days Of old l,ameses
there was Jazz.
"Cat, Drink mr. 3. Merry"
Tomb buildin. was only one Of the
by-induStrirs OF the ancient nation
an outlet for the mcgalomania OF Its
rulers and mobiles The teeInlng mil.
ions evidently devoted but little time