The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-07-27
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 cerements,
tombs and valleys Of the dead, the
pyramids that were but colossal mau-
soleums, the "lone and level sands"
that cover some metropolis Of pre-
historic era, the mortuary parapher-
MALTA and inscriptions, all such things
30 dear TO the hearts of the archae-
ologists lend II funereal color TO mod
ern conceptions of the ancient Egyp-
tlan life. Yet, while 1t has been
through Egypt's tombs that we have
been able to penetrate the mysteries
Of It's civilization, life In the days OF
the PharaOhs and the valley OF the
Nile, as ii has been reconstructed from
papyrean manuscripts and from the
voluminous hleratic and hieroglyphic
inscriptions, was far removed from the
sad and lugubrious aspects suggested
by the ruins and the ornate system of
sepulture unearthed by the modern
delivers in Egypt's sands. The phlloso-
Pharaohs was one that would have
warmed the heart Of old Omar, inn
pregnated as It was with the doctrine
that "the pursuit Of happiness is the
chief purpose Of life, according to Ar
thur Weigall, whose latest book, "The
Glory of the Pharaohs," gltters like a
star bomb above the gloomy trenches
of the Egyptologists, revealing In un-
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, 1t may
be mentioned. Is dealing with a sub
Ject upon which he Is an authority.
lie 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 a scholar deeply versed
In Egyptian archaeology and history.
But he Is pet~one of the dry-as-dust
archaeologlsts. sfeeped in technique
and termlnology. He has different
view OF the province of the archae-
ologist.
"An archaeologist," Mr.. Wegall ex-
plains, must be 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 nm accidental value until they call
before the curtain of the mind those
monarchs themselves. II is the busl-
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 Cf the Pharaohs," wherein,
with wonderful insight and sympathy,
he has introduced the modern world TO
the poetry. the philosophy and the 'joy
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 its
glory has departed, the Egypt Of the
pharaohs still lives in the hearts Of
the children of the Nile today-"yes-
terday this days madness did pre-
pare" and the past is alive today and
all the deeds of man in all the ages are
living at this hour in offspring. If you
would put yourself in touch with the
continuity of past and present "come
with me, he says, ito Theban garden
that / know, where, on some still eve
ming, the dark palms are reflected in
the placid Nile and the acacias are
mellowed by the last light Of the sun
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 mt their
foot, dimly seen In the evening haze,
sit the twin colossl as they have sat
since the days Of Amenophis the Mag
nifcent. The owls hoot 10 one another
through the garden, and at the edge Of
the alabaster tank wherein the dusk
Is mirrored frog croaks unseen
among the lilies. Even so he croaked
on this very ground in those days when,
typifying eternity. he seemed to utter
the endless refrain, L am the resurrec-
tion, l am the resurrection into the
ears of men and maidens beneath the
selfsame stars"
The ways Of the men and women of
the days Of Akhanton and Amenophis
were no different from the ways of the
Nile. And in the days of old Rameses
there was jazz.
"Eat, Drink and Be Merry"
Tomb building was only one of the
by-industries of the ancient nation
an outlet for the megalomania of It's
rulers and mobiles. The teeming mil.
lions evidently devoted but little time
to the contemplation of the world be
yond. The keynote of their philosophy
was "eat, drink and be merry" and let
the next world take care Of itself.
Throughout the social life, as revealed
n, tho dacfnhorad faIae noap,a oono oe