CHAPTER III

THE CHILD IN EGYPT

=The Country.= The desert stretching across Africa from the Atlantic Ocean on the west extends into Western Asia and in its whole extent it is broken only in one place and that is the long, narrow valley made by the Nile river. In this valley snow and frost are unknown and the chief characteristic of the climate is its combined warmth and dryness. There is but little rainfall throughout this region and yet there is abundance of moisture, which comes from the annual overflow of the Nile, and which overflow also greatly enriches the soil. The deserts surrounding Egypt and the cataracts of the Nile at its southern border isolated this country so that it was not readily disturbed by outside peoples. This isolation, with the warm climate and the productive soil, gave just the conditions necessary for the development of mankind in its early times and thus arose a people in this region which developed into a great nation, extending from about 5,000 years before Christ down to its overthrow by the Persians in 525 B. C. The country was divided into Upper Egypt, the principal city of which was Thebes, Middle Egypt, with Memphis as the principal city, and Lower Egypt, which included the Delta, its chief city being Heliopolis.

From the cataracts on the South to the Mediterranean Sea the Nile pursues its course for over five hundred miles, till within sixty miles of its mouth it divides into branches and forms the part called the Delta. The cultivable land, depending upon the extent of the inundation, averages about five and a half miles in width, varying from two miles in its narrowest part to ten and three-quarters in its widest part, including the river. On the west of the valley is a range of hills, which protects it from the sand of the desert, and on the east, between the Nile and the Red Sea, is also another range of hills. Lying at the foot of the hills is a strip of sand, sometimes as great as two and a half miles in breadth, which is not reached by the inundation and consequently remains a waste. The demarcation between this waste and the fertile soil is very marked, so as to be readily noted. The rock in these hills varies, at the southern extremity being found the granite, from which were cut out their monoliths and made into obelisks and collossi; further north is found sandstone of various colors, and from which were built the palaces and temples of that region; and following this district is a part wherein there is a limestone formation, in which region are found the pyramids, mostly composed of this stone.

=The People.= The ancient Egyptians, although in Africa, were not from African races but were of Asiatic descent, as the formation of their skulls, their features, their hair, and their language, show that they were of a Caucasian race. "The Egyptians appear to have been among the darkest races with which the Greeks of the early times came into direct contact.... The hair was usually black and straight. In no case was it 'woolly,' though sometimes it grew in short, crisp curls.... The forehead was straight, but somewhat low; the nose generally long and straight, but sometimes slightly aquiline. The lips were over-full; but the upper lip was short, and the mouth was seldom too wide. The chin was good, being well-rounded, and neither retreating nor projecting too far. The most marked and peculiar feature was the eye, which was a long, narrow slit, like that of the Chinese, but placed horizontally and not obliquely. An eyebrow, also long and thin, but very distinctly pencilled, shaded it. The coloring was always dark, the hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard (if any) being black, or nearly so, and the eyes black or dark brown.

"In form the Egyptian resembled the modern Arab. He was tall; his limbs were long and supple; his head was well placed upon his shoulders; his movements were graceful; his carriage dignified. In general, however, his frame was too spare; and his hands and feet were unduly large. The women were as thin as the men, and had forms nearly similar. Children, however, appear to have been sufficiently plump; but they are not often represented."[24]

The people were divided into classes and although the separation of the classes was very marked and distinct, yet there was really no rigid caste system, as the boundaries were crossed by people ascending from a lower class into a higher. Of course, as with all people, it was quite customary for the son to take up the work of his father, but, at least, in some cases this was not compulsory. In one instance it is shown where the occupation of architect had descended from father to son for twenty-one generations. There is difficulty in knowing just what were the divisions of society but at any rate there were at least three distinct classes, which were the priestly class, the military class, and the rest of the people. The first two classes, from whom came the king, were exempt from taxation. The rest of the people had to bear the burden of the taxes, to construct the public works, to perform the agricultural tasks, and to carry on all mechanical and other pursuits. They had a hard time and yet the laws regarding them seem to have been justly administered and it would appear as if they were contented with their condition.

"The occupations of the common people in Egypt were carefully watched by the magistrate, and no one was allowed to live an idle life, useless to himself and to the community. It was thought right that the industrious citizen should be encouraged, and distinguished from the lazy or the profligate; and in order to protect the good and detect the wicked, it was enacted that every one should at certain times present himself before the magistrates, or provincial governors, and give in his name, his place of abode, his profession or employment, and the mode in which he gained his livelihood, the particulars being duly registered in the official report. The time of attendance was fixed, and those from the same parish proceeded in bodies to the appointed office, accompanied by their respective banners, and each individual being introduced singly to the registering clerks, gave in his statement and answered the necessary questions."[25]

=Slavery.= Slavery has a very early date, as it is found at the very beginning of history, which is true in Egypt as elsewhere. The origin of slavery cannot be traced but in the early history of Egypt it appears that the slaves came from outside countries, gained through wars and raids and by purchase from dealers. Many of the captives who became slaves were placed in the service of the king and used on public works, as the building of temples, cutting canals, raising dykes and embankments, and the like. They were used in private, both black and white, to do the work in the fields and in the homes and elsewhere. They attended on guests at banquets and also were used to amuse them by singing and dancing and in other ways.

The master had full power over his slaves, could sell them, remove them from place to place, if they escaped could pursue and recapture them, and do with them as he pleased, and yet he could not wilfully murder one of them or, if so, he himself was put to death. "The very kind treatment of Joseph, the mode of his liberation, and his subsequent marriage with the daughter of a freeborn Egyptian, a high functionary of the sacerdotal order, are striking proofs of the humanity of the Egyptians and of their indulgent conduct toward manumitted slaves."[26] At the same time, as with slaves everywhere and at all times, no doubt they were often cruelly treated, as is given concerning the Israelites, when "there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph."[27]

=The Home.= The houses in the towns varied in size, many of one story and maybe some of four or five stories, but for the great part not above two stories. The streets of the towns were narrow. The poorer classes lived much in the open air and so did not use their houses greatly. The wealthier classes built their houses so as to be cool throughout the summer. To keep their houses cool "a line of trees ran parallel with the front of the house; and to prevent injuries from cattle or from any accident, the stems were surrounded by a low wall, pierced with square holes to admit the air."[28] The material used in constructing the houses was crude brick, baked in the sun, a material peculiarly suited to the climate. Wood was used for beams and doors, sometimes for floors, and the finer imported woods for decorative purposes.

The houses were of different sizes and arrangement. Some of the houses were small, having an open court in front, with three or four small rooms adjoining for storing grain and other things, and a single chamber on a second floor above these rooms, stairs leading to it from the court. Such houses as these small single ones probably were found only in the country. In the towns the smaller houses were usually built in a solid row along a street, with a courtyard, common to several dwellings. The wealthier people had separate houses, which sometimes were quite large, covering a good deal of ground.

Before the front door was a portico or porch, about twelve or fifteen feet high and supported on columns of stone, or if of wood they were stained to represent stone. There was a large front entrance and on either side a small door, probably for servants and ordinary use. Sometimes on the lintels or imposts of the entrance the owner's name was written and over the door was placed a phrase, as, "The Good House." Inside next to the entrance was a small open court with a receiving door for visitors, on the opposite side of which was a door through which the master of the house came to receive the callers. From this small court doors led to a larger court, which was shaded by trees. The rooms of the house were arranged on the right and left of the large court, opening into it. The rooms on the ground floor were used chiefly as store-rooms for furniture, goods of various kinds, wines, oil, etc. Over the rooms on the ground floor were placed the chambers of the upper story, with stairs leading to them.

The ceilings of the rooms were formed with rafters of the date tree with transverse layers of palm branches or planks and sometimes they were vaulted and made of brick and in the houses of the rulers they might have been arched with stone. The floors were of stone or a composition made of lime and other materials. The doors opened inward, both of the rooms and the outside entrance. The doors were made of wood, often stained to imitate foreign and rare wood. They were made of one or two valves and they turned on pins of bronze, which were fastened to the wood with nails of the same metal, and they were secured within by means of a bar or bolt or with a wooden lock. The openings for the windows were small as the cloudless sky of Egypt gave out brilliant light and small openings let in less heat. The windows had wooden shutters of one or two valves, opening on pins and secured by bars and bolts, as the doors. The walls and ceilings were stuccoed and ornamented with various devices painted on them, being tastefully done in form and arrangement of colors. A terrace was placed on top of the house and covered with a roof and supported by columns, which during the summer provided a refuge from the heat of the day and a sleeping-place at night.

Beside these town places there were villas, which sometimes were quite great in extent with a large mansion and beautiful gardens, watered by canals from the Nile, and all surrounded by a wall.

The poorer classes of people sat cross-legged, crouched on the ground, knelt on one or both knees, or sat on the heels. Sometimes as a token of respect to superiors, the people of the higher classes knelt or sat on the heels, but usually they used chairs or stools or couches.

The chairs were of various kinds, some of them of elegant form and made of ebony and other fine woods, inlaid with ivory, and covered with rich stuffs. Beside the single chair, they had a double chair for two persons, which often was reserved for the master and mistress of the house, and occasionally offered to guests. Most of the chairs had backs, some had a raised piece at the back, while others were made in the form of camp-stools. They were usually about as high as they are now, but some of the chairs were quite low, the seat sometimes being as low as eight inches from the floor. The legs were usually made in imitation of those of an animal, as, of the lighter chairs like the legs of an antelope, of the heavier like those of a lion. In the finer chairs bars were not used to unite the legs. The seats were made of wood or leather and sometimes of interlaced string or leather thongs, over which a cushion was placed.

The finer stools were very much as the chairs, of fine workmanship and of rare woods inlaid with ivory. Some of the cheaper ones had solid sides while others had three legs. They had footstools with open or closed sides, covered with leather or interlaced string, as with the chairs. They used couches, some of which were most beautiful in form and workmanship. They used mats and carpets and rugs.

The tables of the Egyptians were round, square, or oblong. They were generally made of wood, although some were of stone or metal. The smaller tables often had but one support, in the center, while the larger ones had three or four legs or were made with solid sides. In sleeping, for the head they used a low half cylinder, usually of wood, sometimes of pottery or stone, some of the wooden ones being made of rare woods and ornamented. The poorer people slept on mats on the floor but probably the wealthier people had bedsteads made in wicker form of palm branches and some, perhaps, were of wood and bronze.

=Women and Marriage.= We find the women having considerable power in ancient Egypt. They had full control of the home, as it appears that the husband entered the house of his wives, rather than the wives to have entered his. Royal authority and supreme direction of affairs were intrusted without reserve to women. The women went often into public, at some of the public festivals they were even expected to attend with their husbands. Even greater privileges were accorded to the women of the middle and lower classes as they often went and came as they liked.

Plurality of wives was allowed, except in the case of priests, who by law were permitted but one wife. Yet the Egyptians generally restricted themselves to one wife. Marriage of brother and sister was permitted and seemingly encouraged from a religious point of view.

Although in most cases they might not have had but one wife, yet they had concubines. These appear to have been obtained mostly in war or bought as slaves from foreign dealers, not for most part being native Egyptian women. These concubines were both white and black, but the black were used as domestics in the family. Sometimes the white concubine took a prominent part in the family, ranking next to the wives and children.

All the children born to a father were considered legitimate whether the offspring of a wife or of some other woman, but those who were born of a brother and sister in legitimate marriage took precedence of those whose mother was of inferior rank or a slave.

The people of old Egypt held strong opinions on the behavior of their women and so punished adultery very severely. A woman detected in adultery had her nose cut off, as it was thought this would be a severe blow to her charms and so make her less attractive. The man was condemned to receive a bastinado of one thousand blows. If a man used force toward a free woman he was very cruelly punished.

=Child and Parent.= The Egyptians were very fond of their children. Even the most consequential pontiff did not affect indifference toward them. They cared for the children and did not permit the father to have any right over the life of his offspring. The punishment for child-murder was very severe. They did not take the life of the offender, but gave to him a punishment which would well portray to him the heinousness of the crime. In the case of the killing of a child, it was ordered that the corpse of the child be fastened to the neck of the parent offending, and for three entire days and nights was the embrace of the dead child to continue, under the watchful eyes of a public guard. The murder of a parent was considered the most wicked of all crimes. In this case the criminal was sentenced to be lacerated with sharpened reeds and after being thrown on thorns he was burnt to death. In case a pregnant woman was sentenced to death, the punishment did not take place till after the birth of the child, both because they thought it wrong to take the life of an innocent being and also they did not wish to deprive the father of the child, which might become his support in later life.

Children were taught to pay great respect to old age. The children's greatest duty was respect for and care of parents. This was just as binding among the upper classes as with the lower. This was carried up even to the very highest, as the sons of the king acted as fan-bearers to him, and they also walked on foot behind his chariot in triumphal processions.

=Dress.= The lower orders of the Egyptian people dressed in a very simple manner. The men wore a sort of apron, or kilt, held at the waist by a girdle or sash, or else short drawers, extending half way to the knees. Sometimes the apron was simply bound round the loins and lapped over in front. When at heavy labor the men would even wear less clothing, as they would use the girdle about the body at the waist and fasten to it in front a roll of linen and pass this between the legs and fasten it to the girdle at the back. The men of the higher orders used the apron also and wore over it a dress which extended to the ankles and had large sleeves. Sometimes this dress was fringed on the border around the legs. Over this for cool weather they wore a woolen cloak. Sometimes they wore over the apron a skirt with short sleeves and over this a loose robe with the right arm left exposed. As a distinguishing mark, the princes wore a peculiar badge at the side of the head, which descended to the shoulders and was frequently adorned and terminated with a gold fringe.

The women of the lower classes usually wore a loose robe or shirt, with tight or full sleeves, fastened at the neck with a string, and over this they wore a sort of petticoat with a girdle about it at the waist, and, often while at hard work, this costume was further simplified by their wearing merely the loose shirt or robe and going barefooted. The women of the higher orders wore a petticoat, or gown, held by a colored sash at the waist or by straps over the shoulders, and over this they wore a large loose robe, with full sleeves and tied in front below the breast. Slaves and servants were not allowed to dress as their mistresses. They wore a long tight gown, tied at the neck, with short sleeves, reaching nearly to the elbows. When entertaining guests by dancing or otherwise at banquets and the like, these women wore over their dress a long loose robe and strings of beads around their hips.

The material used for the clothing was sometimes cotton but linen was preferred. Wool was used for cloaks for colder weather. Some of the material was of very fine texture, this being particularly true of the linen. There was a great variety of patterns in brilliant colors. In some of the striped patterns, the stripes were of gold threads, alternating with red lines as a border. The most elegant stuff and beautiful patterns were reserved for the robes of the deities and the dresses of queens.

The men of ancient Egypt shaved the head and face, never letting the hair grow except when they were in mourning. Women, on the contrary, never had their hair cut off, even in mourning or after death. They wore their hair long and plaited, generally in a triple plait, the ends being left loose; but more usually two or three plaits were fastened together at the ends by a woolen string of the same color as the hair, and falling around the head to the shoulders. An ornamental fillet was bound around the head and fastened with a lotus bud, which fell over the forehead. The plaits of hair at the side were held in place by a comb or band and sometimes a round stud or pin was thrust into them at the front. The male slaves had their heads and faces shaved as their masters. The female slaves generally bound their hair at the back of the head into a sort of loop; sometimes they arranged it in long plaits at the back and at the sides of the neck and face.

The men wore wigs both within the house and without. Sometimes the whole wig was of plaited hair, sometimes the upper portion was of curled hair and the lower part of plaited hair, and again the whole wig was of short locks of equal length. Too, cheap wigs were made in woolen and other stuffs in imitation of hair. "The wig was worn by every gentleman; and though it might appear ill-suited to a hot climate, the interlaced texture of the ground to which the hair was fastened, and the protection of this last against the sun, rendered it a most effective, and at the same time the coolest, kind of covering for the head."[29]

"The most singular custom of the Egyptians was that of tying a false beard under the chin, which was made of plaited hair, and of a peculiar form, according to the person by whom it was worn. Private individuals had a small beard, scarcely two inches long; that of a king was of considerable length, square at the bottom; and the figures of gods were distinguished by its turning up at the end. No man ventured to assume, or affix to his image, the beard of a deity; but after their death it was permitted to substitute this divine emblem on the statues of kings, and all other persons who were judged worthy of admittance to the Elysium of futurity, in consequence of their having assumed the character of Osiris, to whom the souls of the pure returned on quitting their earthly abode."[30]

Both men and women wore sandals, which often were carefully and beautifully made. They were made of leather, and lined with cloth, or of palm leaves, papyrus stalks, or other similar materials in a sort of woven or interlaced work. Some were pointed and turned up in front, some had a sharp flat point, while still others were nearly round.

The Egyptians liked ornaments very much. They used gold and silver and precious stones, and also cheaper materials were used in imitation of these. Women wore earrings, some quite large. The women seem to have been exceedingly fond of rings, sometimes wearing two or three on the same finger, often wearing them on every finger of the left hand and at the same time on a finger or two of the right hand, and they even wore a ring on the thumb. They wore anklets. Both men and women wore armlets, bracelets, and necklaces.

The men carried walking-sticks. These were of various lengths, running from three to six feet. Some had a knob at the top while others had a peg projecting from the side. On entering a house the sticks were left at the door or in the hall. Where a party was being given, sometimes a poor man was employed by the master of the house to hold the sticks of the guests. Quite often the name of the owner was written in hieroglyphics on the stick.

For improving their appearance, the ladies of ancient Egypt used paints and cosmetics. They applied kohl to the eyes, they used ointment on the body, the ointment having been scented in various ways, they stained the fingers with red _henneh_ and the eyelids with a moistened powder of a black color. They kept the paints and ointments in bottles and boxes and vases of various forms and materials, some being ornamented. They had pins and needles. Some of the needles were of bronze and from three to three and a half inches in length. Some of the pins were seven or eight inches in length, with or without heads, used for arranging the plaits or curls of the hair. They had combs, usually of wood, about four inches long and six wide, some being double with small teeth on one side and large teeth on the other side. They had mirrors of mixed metal, chiefly copper, carefully made and highly polished, nearly round in form, and with handles of wood, stone, or metal.

These people were of cleanly habits, both men and women. As was given before, the men kept the head and face wholly shaved. They used warm and cold baths. "The priests were remarkable for their love of cleanliness, which was carried so far that they shaved the whole body every three days, and performed frequent daily ablutions, bathing twice a day and twice during the night."[31]

=Food and Drink.= Beef and goose constituted the principal part of the animal food throughout Egypt, yet the cow was held sacred and forbidden to be eaten.[32] Among the animals used for food were the ox, kid, wild goat, and gazelle. Of fowls there were the goose and duck, the widgeon and quail and other wild birds. There were fish in plenty. They had a variety and abundance of vegetables, among them being onions, garlic, lentils, beans, cucumbers, and melons. The lotus, papyrus, and other plants that grew abundantly along the Nile furnished the greatest food for the poorer people. Among the grains they had wheat, barley, and durra. Of the fruits were dates, figs, pomegranates, olives, almonds, peaches, and grapes.

For grinding the grain they had a mill of two circular stones, the lower one fixed and the upper one arranged to turn on a pivot. The grinding was done by a woman turning the upper stone by a handle, the grain being poured through an opening in the center of the upper stone so as to get between the stones to be crushed and ground. The same kind of a mill was made on a larger scale and turned by animals. The better classes used bread made from wheat while the poorer people used cakes of barley or durra flour.

Dinner probably came at midday and supper in the evening. It would seem that they washed before the meal as well as after partaking of it. A napkin was presented to each person for wiping the mouth after drinking. It was their custom to sit together about a table at their meals, as we do now. Men and women sat together, although sometimes the sexes were entertained separately in a different part of the room, on which occasion the master and the mistress of the house sat close together on two chairs or on a double chair at the upper end of the room. Water, cooled in porous bottles, or wine was served to the guests. Knives were used for the carving of a large joint and spoons were provided the guests, for soups and other liquids, but they did not have knives or forks, so they ate with their fingers, each one dipping his bread into a dish placed in their midst, one after another according to rank as guests.

"The Egyptians, a scrupulously religious people, were never remiss in expressing their gratitude for the blessings they enjoyed, and in returning thanks to the gods for that peculiar protection they were thought to extend to them and to their country, above all nations of the earth. They therefore never sat down to meals without saying grace; and Josephus says that when the seventy-two elders were invited by Ptolemy Philadelphus to sup at the palace, Nicanor requested Eleazer to say grace for his countrymen, instead of those Egyptians, to whom that duty was committed on other occasions."[33]

"It was a custom of the Egyptians, during (or according to Herodotus after) their repasts, to introduce a wooden image of Osiris, from one foot and a half to three feet in height, in the form of a human mummy, standing erect, as Plutarch informs us, in a case, or lying on a bier, and to show it to each of the guests, warning him of his mortality, and of the transitory nature of human pleasures. He was reminded that some day he would be like that figure; that men ought 'to love one another, and avoid those evils which tend to make them consider life too long, when in reality it is too short'; and while enjoying the blessings of this world, to bear in mind that their existence was precarious, and that death, which all ought to be prepared to meet, must eventually close their earthly career."[34]

Wine was their favorite beverage and they had several different kinds of it. They indulged in it very freely and there were no restrictions on its use by individuals. It was used by all classes of the people, by the priests, furnished to soldiers, offered to the gods, and prescribed as medicine. Women, both young and old, were permitted to have wine, and it would appear as if there were no restrictions as to their use of it.

The Egyptians also had beer, which was made from barley, and as they did not grow hops they used lupins, skirret, and an Assyrian root for flavoring it.[35] "Besides beer, the Egyptians had what Pliny calls factitious, or artificial, wine, extracted from various fruits, as figs, myxas, pomegranates, as well as herbs, some of which were selected for their medicinal properties."[36]

There were excesses in drinking committed by people of all classes, both men and women. At the banquets of the rich stimulants were sometimes used to excite to further drinking, the cabbage having been one of the vegetables used for such purpose.

=Food and Clothing of Children.= Swaddling clothes do not seem to have been used by the Egyptians as they were among the Jews and some other nations. If the child could not walk, he was carried by the nurse or mother before her or at her side, in a shawl thrown around her back over a shoulder. It was the custom, no matter whether the child had little or no clothing on, to have a string of beads about the neck, having occasionally a charm suspended in the center, a symbol of truth and justice. These were for the purpose of keeping ill luck from the child, and to make him wise and virtuous.

"The dresses of children of the lower classes were very simple; and, as Diodorus informs us, the expenses incurred in feeding and clothing them amounted to a mere trifle. 'They feed them,' he says, 'very lightly, and at an incredibly small cost; giving them a little meal of the coarsest and cheapest kind, the pith of the papyrus, baked under the ashes, with the roots and stalks of some marsh weeds, either raw, boiled, or roasted; and since most of them are brought up, on account of the mildness of the climate, without shoes, and indeed without any other clothing, the whole expense incurred by the parents does not exceed 20 drachmæ (about 13 shillings) each; and this frugality is the true reason of the populousness of Egypt.' But the children of the higher orders were often dressed like grown persons, with a loose robe reaching to the ankles, and sandals."[37]

=Industries.= The ancient Egyptians engaged in many industries and reached a high stage in the development of their country and their own powers. The country was immensely rich, as was shown from the objects of luxury found among them, and they loved pomp and splendor. Their accomplishments come to us from the accounts of ancient writers and are depicted through sculptures and paintings found upon the walls of temples, palaces, and tombs, and remains of their work still exist sufficient to show the great things they did.

The life of ancient Egypt depended upon the annual rise of the Nile, caused by the rains and melting of snow on the mountains in the interior of Africa. This rise begins in June, reaches the highest point in September, remains stationary a few days, then recedes, and by December the flood is past. This inundation, spreading over the whole country, left the land covered with a rich dressing so that no further fertilizing was necessary and made ancient Egypt probably the most fertile tract of country in the world. This rising of the Nile produced a line of industries, such as the building of canals and dykes and irrigation works as well as the greatest industry of all, that of agriculture.

Because of the favorable conditions in Egypt, as mentioned above, and the dense population, agriculture was the principal industry. So efficient did the people become in this and the agricultural laborers were so frugal in their mode of living that there was a great surplus of products each year, which gave Egypt advantages which no other country possessed, giving them the balance of trade with other nations. The principal grains were wheat, barley, and durra. Beside these grains they grew beans, peas, and lentils, clovers, lupins, and vetches, flax and cotton, various medicinal herbs, and of vegetables, garlic, leeks, onions, endive, radishes, melons, cucumbers, and lettuce, in fact, a very large number and a great variety of plants.

As soon as the water began to subside and land to appear, they began preparing to sow the grain. On the highlands right along the river this would generally be in October and the other parts following. The wheat and the barley were sown about November, the barley ordinarily ripening in about four months and the wheat in five. The durra was usually sown about April, as an after-crop when the wheat and the barley had been cut and taken off the ground. The ground was prepared by means of a very rude plow, but more often by the hoe. The seed was sown broadcast over the surface of the land. It would appear as if neither harrow nor rake was used to cover in the grain, but it was left as it fell on the ground to germinate. As was stated before, the water of the overflow of the Nile was carried by means of canals throughout Egypt and retained for irrigating the land. When the land was elevated, as along the banks of the Nile, they used the _shadoof_, a contrivance somewhat like the old well-sweep and bucket, to lift up the water from the river or wells to be poured over the soil. When crops were raised late in the year or on soil not covered by the Nile, they sometimes used fertilizing substances, as nitrous earth and some other kinds of dressing. In harvesting the wheat was cut a little ways below the grain with a toothed sickle and placed in baskets and carried to the threshing-floor, on which it was deposited and cattle driven over it to tread out the grain. It was then winnowed with wooden shovels and put in sacks and taken to the granary.

Of the domestic animals were cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, horses, asses, camels, cats, and dogs. The cat was a favorite animal among the ancient Egyptians. They never allowed a cat to be killed purposely, cared for them when ill, and embalmed them when dead. Dogs also were well considered by them and they had several breeds of them. They had learned the artificial process of hatching eggs and built ovens expressly for that purpose. There were great flocks of sheep and they were well taken care of, great attention having been given to their proper food in the various seasons and they were carefully treated when ill. The skill of the Egyptians in curing animals had reached a high stage.

Hunting was an industry as well as an amusement. There were quite a number of different animals that they hunted. They used the bow and arrow and other weapons and also the net, which in hunting large animals was placed across ravines and the like to keep them from escaping. They hunted with dogs and they even had cats trained to hunt with. The Egyptians were expert fowlers, using for the most part nets and traps for catching the birds. The Nile was celebrated for its fish and fishing was an important industry. The net was greatly used in fishing and the rod and line and spear were also used. Salted as well as fresh fish were used as food.

There were a great number of people engaged in manufactures and many different trades were found among the ancient Egyptians. Whether each one was compelled by law to follow the trade of his father, it is probable that most of them did, so that often they were able to trace back the occupation in the family for many generations. It is probable that each craft had its own particular part of the city set aside for it wherein its members dwelt and carried on their particular work and which was called after it, as, the quarter of the goldsmiths, and so on. The workmen became very proficient in their work and a number of inventions were made which are the same as we have now, among some of the implements invented being the forceps, bellows, blow-pipe, and siphon.

They were celebrated for their manufacture of cloths, having made such of cotton, wool, and linen. They were woven on hand looms, some of which were vertical and others horizontal and must have been of considerable size, as they wove cloth five feet wide and at least sixty feet in length. The spinning and weaving was the work of women, although men did sometimes engage in this work. They colored the cloths, using dyes and paints, and varied the colors in them, making patterns and showing figures of animals and the like. Whether they understood the principle of the action of mordants, they used this agency to make the cloth take the color equally and also to change the hues.

Glass was known to the Egyptians and from it they made bottles, vases, and other utensils, beads and other ornaments, and they were quite skillful in the use of glass in counterfeiting the amethyst and other precious stones. They had glazed ware a long time before they used glass. There were quite a large number of people engaged in pottery work and they were quite skillful in the manufacture of this ware. There were many varieties and forms of their work and it included rough unglazed ware up to fine glazed vases, highly decorated and colored. There were bottles not only of glass and earthenware but also of leather and of stone and there were glass bottles enclosed in wicker-work and others encased in leather. There were all kinds of vases, earthenware, stone, bronze, alabaster, glass, porcelain, ivory, bone, silver, and gold. Some of the vases were most beautiful in make and design, inlaid with precious stones and tastefully ornamented.

There was quite an industry in metal working among them. There was probably very little of any kinds of metals found in Egypt, having been brought in from other countries. Gold was early used for the making of ornaments. They soon found a way of hardening gold by alloying it with silver. They learned to work gold in various ways. They cast it into figures, molded it into beads by pressure, soldered it, drew it out into wire, used it in plaiting, beat it out into sheets for gilding, engraved it and inlaid it with precious stones. Silver came into use later than gold and in early times it was scarcer than gold. Copper was greatly in use among the ancient Egyptians and by alloying it with tin produced bronze. They made many utensils and implements of it and learned to make it so hard as to be used for woodcutting tools and chisels for cutting limestone. Lead was used by them, as was also tin and antimony. Iron was perhaps used in the early times, but it would appear that it was not greatly in use till the time of the Greeks and the Romans in Egypt.

They were quite skillful in working in wood and there was a large class of wood-workers, divided into carpenters, cabinet-makers, wheelwrights, coopers, coffin-makers, and boat-builders. There was quite a good deal more wood in Egypt in ancient times than now and yet not a great variety. The principal trees were the date-palm, used for beams; the Theban palm, used for rafts, and other purposes connected with water, and for beams and rafters; the sycamore, used for large planks for boxes, tables, doors, and the like; the tamarisk, a hard and compact wood, used for the handles of tools and wooden implements; and the acacia, used for planks and masts of boats. For ornamental purposes and where fine woods were required, they were brought in from other countries, as, the cedar, cypress, cherry, walnut, and deal from Syria, and ebony and other rare woods from Ethiopia.

Wood was used for buildings and parts of buildings, for furniture, boxes, barrels, chariots, traveling cars, palanquins, coffins, statues, statuettes, and in boat-building. "Regarding the methods of woodworking, certainly the axe was the primitive tool, as shown by the royal architect being designated by the axe. In the scenes of the pyramid age we find the saw about three feet long worked with both hands, the mallet and chisel for cutting mortise-holes, and the adze in constant use for shaping and for smoothing wood. To this day the small adze is a favorite tool of the Egyptian carpenter and boat-builder. For smoothing down the caulking inside a boat, heavy pounders of stone were used, held by a handle worked out on each side of the block. Drills were also commonly used both on wood and stone, worked by a bow."[38]

As they had only the hand-saw, in making planks they usually placed the piece of timber upright and fastened it to stakes and then sawed downward through it. In joining two boards end to end, they would cut into their ends and join them and glue them and then insert a flat wooden pin through them from edge to edge and then pass a round wooden pin through the boards into the flat pin, thus effectually keeping the joints from opening and thereby showing the thoroughness of their work. They dovetailed and veneered and stained and painted and gilded and inlaid their woodwork, thus displaying a high degree of skill in working with wood.

One of the greatest industries with them was that of brick-making, which was wholly under the control of the government and carried on solely by it. "The use of crude bricks baked in the sun was universal throughout the country for private and for many public buildings, and the dry climate of Egypt was peculiarly suited to those simple materials. They had the recommendation of cheapness, and even of durability; and those made 3,000 years ago, whether with or 'without straw,' are even now as firm and fit for use as when first put up in the reigns of the Amunophs and Thothmes, whose names they bear. When made of the Nile mud, or alluvial deposit, they required straw to prevent their cracking; but those formed of clay (now called _Háybeh_) taken from the torrent beds on the edge of the desert, held together without straw; and crude brick walls frequently had the additional security of a layer of reeds or sticks placed at intervals to act as binders."[39]

The tanning and preparation and use of leather was quite a leading industry of ancient Egypt, so much so that a section of the city of Thebes was set apart for the exclusive use of the workers in skins and leather. The demand for leather was so great Egypt itself could not supply the hides necessary and great quantities of hides were imported from foreign countries and also the skins of wild animals were brought in and used. They tanned the skins and dyed them and made some fine leather and also embossed the leather.

The tools used for working in leather were a semi-circular knife, a sort of chisel, an awl, a stone for polishing, cutting table, bending form, hone, and a few others. They made shoes, sandals, coverings and seats for chairs and sofas, bow-cases, ornaments and harness for chariots, and adornments for harps. Skins were used to cover shields and other things and they were shaped into forms for carrying water, wine, and other liquids. They made thongs by twisting leather strips together, cutting the strips from circular pieces of leather as is done now.

The Egyptians were famed for their manufacture of paper, which was made from the papyrus plant. This grew almost altogether in Lower Egypt, on marshy land or in the ponds left after the inundation of the Nile. The right of growing and selling it belonged to the government and the particular species from which the paper was made was closely guarded and perhaps not allowed to grow anywhere else than in the restricted territory in the Delta. The paper was made by removing the outer covering of the stalk, cutting the interior lengthwise into thin pieces and laying these together side by side on a flat board and across them another layer, cementing the strips together with a kind of glue, then putting all under pressure, and after drying the paper was completed and ready for use.

The paper made from the papyrus differed in quality according to the growth of the plant and from which part of the stalk the pieces were taken, the stalk growing to about fifteen feet in height. The breadth of the paper differed, running from six inches under an early Dynasty to fourteen and a half inches under a later Dynasty. When a sheet of papyrus had been used for writing, it was rolled up, and if important and to be preserved for any length of time, tied round the middle and secured by clay stamps with a seal. The cost of the papyrus was so great that it was used only in funeral rituals, conveyances, deeds, and other public documents, and sometimes the old writing was erased and then the roll was written on again. For ordinary purposes of writing, pieces of broken pottery, stone, board, and leather were used.

The Nile traversing the entire length of Egypt formed a great avenue for trade, as it was an open and easy way for reaching all parts. Not only did the Nile give access to all parts about it, but also the canals going out from it and running parallel with it connected the various parts and gave ready ways on which domestic trade could go. The other nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea carried on important maritime trade with Egypt and, too, there was a great caravan trade with the interior of Africa and parts of Asia. From Ethiopia came gold, ivory, and slaves; from Arabia was obtained an incense necessary in the religious ceremonies; from India were received spices. "Syria took Egyptian chariots by hundreds; Tyre imported 'fine linen with broidered work'; Greece, large quantities of paper; India and Arabia, linen fabrics; Etruria, glass, porcelain, and alabaster; Assyria, perhaps, ivories. In the earlier times Egyptian manufactures must have been altogether unrivalled; and their glass, their pottery, their textile fabrics, their metal-work, must have circulated freely through the various countries bordering the Mediterranean and the Red Sea."[40]

Among the important industries of Egypt were the works in sculpture, painting, and architecture. The men engaged in these occupations ranked high, along with the scribes.

There were three kinds of sculpture in ancient Egypt. One kind was that of statuary, sculpture in the round, where the complete figure was shown; a second kind was relief, where the figure was raised from the flat surface by cutting away the stone about it; the third kind was intaglio, in which there was a cutting of the figure into the flat surface, sinking the figure below the surface, and in one form of this the cutting was done about the figure so as to leave it raised from the interior, almost up to the level of the surface of the stone.

The old Egyptians reached a stage of progress in which the block of stone for the sculpture figure was cut away from the original rock and transported to the place where it was to stand. Yet the figure was rarely if ever cut entirely away from the stone and so did not stand forth separate, detached, a statute in and of itself. That which most kept Egyptian sculpture, perhaps, from reaching to the highest attainment was the conventionality in the displaying of figures. As the sculptures were used in the decoration of tombs and temples, religion, which is ever conservative, prescribed certain attitudes for the figures, so that there was not much left for the working out by the individual sculptor, and although there was an exactness of finish attained there was not that expression which comes through allowing freedom to the individual sculptor, and in consequence there is very much of a sameness in the products of the sculptors running through the twenty centuries of old Egypt.

As with sculpture so with painting, the conventional forms were demanded of the painter so that although mechanical skill became great, there was not that high artistic effect that is attained where individuality is permitted to display itself. The walls of buildings were not broken by windows, as the brilliancy of light was such that few openings were necessary and the openings let in heat. The walls on the interior were covered with a coating of stucco, which was white or whitish, and then decorated with paintings displaying scenes and events in the life of the people and the nation. The ceilings were also painted. The colors used were black and white, red, blue, and yellow, green and brown. Columns and other parts of buildings were also stuccoed and painted and even the same was done with statues and other products of the sculptors.

The early buildings in Egypt were made of brick or by the interweaving of palm-sticks. From these rude structures to the great temples and pyramids makes the architecture of that country a most marked feature of its progress. The architecture of Egypt in its rectangular form and massiveness fits well into the nature of the land, which frames plain and cliff about these buildings as a proper background. Yet size is not so much the essential characteristic of this architecture but rather strength and durability, which were the chief features of the structures, whether large or small. Although they were familiar with the arch and used it very much in brickwork, yet it would appear that it was not used in the great buildings of stone, or, if so, it was hid in the building and kept away from the external forms.[41]

The kinds of stone used in sculpture and architecture were limestone, sandstone, granite, basalt, alabaster, and diorite. The stone was cut out in blocks from the quarry, the surfaces were picked smooth with a short adze, the blocks were then sawn and cut with drills, and probably all prepared at the quarry ready for use at the building. Sand was used as the cutting material with the soft stones and emery with the harder ones. Whether the cutting material was used as powder or set as separate teeth on the copper saw blade cannot be determined, yet in some instances it would appear that the emery was set in the tool as teeth. The great problem to us is how these stones were transported from the quarries and set up in their places. One obelisk is estimated to have weighed 886 tons and it was taken over-land a distance of 138 miles. Some of the obelisks of seventy to eighty feet in length and weighing near 300 tons each were conveyed a distance of more than 800 miles.[42] Two great collossi, weighing 1,175 tons each, were carried upstream a distance of 450 miles.[43] It would appear that sometimes the stone were placed on sleds and drawn by oxen down to the river, where by an inclined plane they were placed on vessels, while again these blocks were hauled by large bodies of men over-land to their places of destination.

The greatest of all their buildings were the Great Temple at Karnak and the Great Pyramid at Ghizeh. The temple at Karnak was 1,200 feet long and 340 feet wide, with an entire area of 396,000 square feet, and with pylons, obelisks, and columns, and it is called "the greatest of man's architectural works." The Great Pyramid at Ghizeh has a square base the length of each side of which is 764 feet, covering an area of about twelve acres. Its original perpendicular height is estimated at about 485 feet. "The solid masonry which it contained is estimated at more than 89,000,000 cubic feet, and the weight of the mass at 6,848,000 tons. The basement stones are many of them thirty feet in length and nearly five feet high. Altogether the edifice is the largest and most massive building in the world, and not only so, but _by far_ the largest and most massive--the building which approaches it the nearest being the Second Pyramid, which contains 17,000,000 cubic feet less, and is very much inferior in the method of its construction."[44]

=Sickness and Death.= It would appear that the study and practice of medicine began at a very early time in Egypt. Principles and remedies were given out from time to time till finally they were brought together in the form of medical works and all physicians were expected to study them and to use the prescribed remedies. The medical skill of the Egyptians became known to other parts of the world and they were consulted and called to foreign countries to give advice and treatment. They went so far as to divide the study and practice of medicine into specialties and so there were physicians attending to one kind of illness only, as, one for the diseases of the eyes, another for the diseases of the intestines, and so on, accoucheurs having been usually, if not always, women. The physicians were given salaries by the government and fixed by it and also they were permitted to receive fees for their advice and attendance upon patients, but when in military service they could not charge fees.

On account of the glaring light and the sandy plains and the overflow of the Nile, some of the prominent troubles were of the eyes and such as were connected with malaria. In treatment of illness, it was held that the patient had been attacked by some evil influence, hence to cure him was first necessary to find what was the nature of this evil spirit and to drive it out or to destroy it. This was the task of those skilled in sorcery, through incantations, amulets, and the like. Then the diseases that had been carried into the body by the evil influences were to be cured by medicine and medical treatment. Physicians were held responsible for their treatment of a disease and if contrary to the established system they were punished and the death of a patient under such circumstances was considered a capital offense. Yet if they had exhausted all the prescribed remedies without producing good effect, they could prescribe new remedies and hence an opportunity for advancement in the science of medicine. In their practice they strove to prevent illness by directing attention to regimen and diet; they purged the system by use of emetics or clysters; and they used drugs and medical herbs.

When a death occurred, all the women of the household covered their faces with dust and mud and with bosoms exposed ran out through the streets, striking themselves and uttering loud cries of grief. Friends and relatives joined the procession and the demonstrations became the louder. If the deceased person had been of wide repute, many other people went into the line of mourners and hired mourners were employed to increase the lamentations and thereby enlarge the public display of respect to the dead. For seventy-two days the mourning was carried on in the house, lamentations were made, the funeral dirge was sung, all amusements and indulgences were abstained from, and the men allowed their hair and beard to grow. Thus they endeavored to show respect to the deceased and their great affliction by his departure.

One of the great arts of the ancient Egyptians was that of embalming. It constituted a distinct profession. The embalmers had wooden models of mummies, displaying the three different ways of embalming. The first way of embalming was very expensive and was used only by the wealthy class and people of high position; the second way was more simple and quite less expensive and used by the middle class of people; the third way was very simple and very cheap and employed by the lower classes. After embalming the body was returned to the family and put into a case and placed in a room upright against the wall, and sometimes they were retained by the family for quite a while before their burial.

When the time for burial came, the mummy was put into a coffin of wood or stone to be placed in a tomb, which may have been hewn in the rock or built up of brick or rock and usually on the western side of the Nile. Some of the tombs were of great extent and highly ornamented with paintings and sculptures and some were immense structures. The pyramids were built for tombs. The funeral of any important personage was a great occasion. There was much display and much noisy lamentations and it was very costly. Upon reaching the Nile the body was placed on the funeral barge and the procession went out on the river to the lake of the dead. Before the deceased could be taken across the lake for burial he had to meet the tribunal of death. Forty-two judges were at the bank of the lake and any one could bring accusation against the deceased. The judges considered the accusation and acted upon it and if the decision was acquittal then burial in the tomb took place, but if the accusation was sustained burial was denied. The judgment was carried out on the body of any person in the country, high or low, rich or poor, the meanest subject or a Pharaoh, and there are instances of deceased Pharaohs having been denied public burial.

"All the legitimate tendencies exerted by this singular institution were obviously for good. It sent forth from the very entrance of the tomb a most powerful persuasive to live a life of virtue. It appealed to some of the strongest of human motives, and enforced that appeal by the severest of all sanctions, the exclusion of the body from its sepulchre, and of the soul from the abodes of the blessed. It is not a little singular that a custom apparently so salutary, and so early introduced, should not afterwards have been adopted by other nations."[45]

=Child and Religion.= The child played a part in the religion of the ancient Egyptians. Even one of their gods, Harpocrates, was represented by an infant, having his finger to his mouth and that striking characteristic of a young child--a protruding abdomen. The birth of a child was a matter for thanksgiving offerings through the priests to the gods. Herodotus says: "When parents, living in town, perform vows for the recovery of their children's health, they offer prayers to the deity of whom the animal is sacred, and then shaving a portion, or half, or the whole of the child's head, they put the hair into one scale of the balance and money into the other until the latter outweighs the former; they then give it to the person who takes care of the animal to buy fish (or other food)."[46]

On some occasions when the sacred bull was led in procession through the town, the procession was led by children, and on such occasions it was thought that these children received the gift of foretelling future events. Wilkinson gives the following from Plutarch: "They even look upon children as gifted with a kind of faculty of divination, and they are ever anxious to observe the accidental prattle they talk during play, especially if it be in a sacred place, deducing from it presages of future events."[47]

=Amusements.= In the earlier times of ancient Egypt, as of all nations, when the struggle for living required the putting forth of the energies and but little leisure was allowed, there was not much time for recreation and the people were not much given to amusements. As wealth grew and there was leisure time, the desire for amusement and entertainment increased until there grew up in the Egyptian character a softness and inclination to luxurious living. Great banquets were given, where hosts vied with one another in entertaining lavishly and in furnishing amusement for the guests, till it would appear as if they devised every possible kind of amusement. Nor was the zest for amusement confined to the upper classes, for during the inundation of the Nile, when but little work could be done, the peasantry gave themselves up to pastime and sport. Many of the kinds of entertainment given at the banquets were performed on the streets and open places.

Dancing was an indispensable entertainment at an Egyptian party and music was required with the dance. They danced to the music of the harp, lyre, guitar, pipe, tambourine, and other instruments, and in the streets also to the drum. Dancing was not done by the guests, as it was held not to be proper for the upper classes to dance, although the lower classes indulged in this amusement and greatly enjoyed it. The dancing was carried on before the guests by slaves taught the steps for that purpose or by hired performers who made a profession of furnishing dancing and music for festive occasions. Graceful posings and movements and especial skill and grace in the use of the hands were the important features of the dance. Both men and women danced for hire, the women showing the superior grace and elegance and the men displaying the most spirit. The dress of the female dancers was usually a loose flowing robe, reaching to the ankles, fastened at the waist, and around the hips was a small narrow girdle of various colors and ornamented with beads. The material of the dress was of a very fine texture and thin, showing the form and movement of the limbs in dancing.

There were various ways of dancing. Sometimes one person danced alone, sometimes they danced in pairs, again there were several dancers together sometimes of both sexes and then of but one sex. Some danced to slow music, while others preferred lively tunes, men sometimes displaying great spirit, bounding from the ground. The aim of the dance was to display a succession of figures in which were exhibited a great variety of gestures. Twirling was much used in dancing and the pirouette was quite a favorite form with them. In one dance two parties would each dance on one leg toward one another and perform a series of evolutions and then retire from one another. In another step, standing on one foot the dancer would strike the ground with the heel, changing back and forth from one foot to the other. The dances of the lower classes were sometimes in the form of a pantomime, in which there was a preference shown for the ludicrous rather than the graceful.

Music was very popular with the Egyptians and they had both vocal and instrumental. They had numerous songs and for various occasions. They had quite a variety of musical instruments. Music was used in military movements, in religious exercises, in their social functions, and in the wailing for the dead. Music formed a part of the education of a member of the upper classes, but he did not display this at social functions, as that, like dancing, was given over to professionals. Both men and women of the priestly order, though, did render service with voice and instrument in religious ceremonies.

"It is sufficiently evident, from the sculptures of the ancient Egyptians, that their hired musicians were acquainted with the triple symphony; the harmony of instruments, of voices, and of voices and instruments. Their band was variously composed, consisting either of two harps, with the single pipe and flute; of the harp and double pipe, frequently with the addition of the guitar; of a fourteen-stringed harp, a guitar, lyre, double pipe, and tambourine; of two harps, sometimes of different sizes, one of seven, the other of four strings; of two harps of eight strings, and a seven-stringed lyre; of the guitar, and the square or oblong tambourine; of the lyre, harp, guitar, double pipe, and a sort of harp, with four strings, which was held upon the shoulder; of the harp, guitar, double pipe, lyre, and square tambourine; of the harp, two guitars, and the double pipe; of the harp, two flutes, and a guitar; of two harps and a flute; of a seventeen-stringed lyre, the double pipe, and a harp of fourteen strings; of the harp and two guitars; or of two seven-stringed harps and an instrument held in the hand, not unlike an Eastern fan, to which were probably attached small bells, or pieces of metal that emitted a jingling sound when shaken, like the crescent-crowned _bells_ of our modern bands; besides many other combinations of these various instruments; and in the Bacchic festival of Ptolemy Philadelphus, described by Athenæus, more than 600 musicians were employed in the chorus, among whom were 300 performers on the _kithara_."[48]

As was stated before, dwarfs and deformed persons were attached to the households of the greater people as a means of entertainment as in Rome and Medieval Europe. These dwarfs and also others engaged in buffoonery for the entertainment of guests. There were various tricks performed by jugglers, and we find there the old cup or shell game, in which a little ball or pea is rolled about on a board from one inverted cup to another to guess under which it finally rested. There were many kinds of acrobatic feats, mostly performed by women, such as two performers swinging around in a reckless fashion while holding hands. This was varied by two men holding the hands of two women and whirling them around with feet braced together. There were tumbling exhibits of turning forward and backward on the hands, somersaulting off one another's shoulders, and even sometimes doing these feats while holding one foot with a hand. There were tests of strength wherein two men would sit back to back and each strive to rise first from the ground, and in another test they would try who could lift the heaviest weight or raise a bag of sand with a straight arm up over head. They would throw knives at a board, each contestant striving to strike his knife in the center of the board or on a mark.

The most common indoor games were odd and even, mora, and draughts, all of which it would appear were played in Egypt from very ancient times. In odd or even bones, beans, nuts, almonds, and coins were used and any indefinite number was held between the hands, the game being to guess whether odd or even. The game of mora was usually played by two persons, each at the same time quickly throwing out the fingers of one hand, then trying to guess the number of fingers shown by both. Draughts was a favorite game of all ranks. It was played by two people on a board similar to the present checker-board, but the pieces were not flat, being raised, more like the pieces in chess, and picked up like chessmen between thumb and finger. In another game hooked rods were used by which a small hoop was to be snatched from one another, the skill in this was for one person to get his hoop loose from his opponent's rod and then snatch it away quickly before he had time to stop it. In one game a player knelt with face toward the ground between two others, who held over him in their closed hands shells or dice, the number of which he was to guess before being allowed to rise. They played with dice and probably played several other games of chance.

Wrestling was a favorite amusement among the lower classes. They fought with the single-stick and among the boatmen of the Nile were conflicts with long poles. Mock fights were common, especially with the military classes, sometimes quite a great affair wherein a temporary fort would be erected and attacked by a party with a battering-ram and other implements of war and vigorously defended by the party within the fort. There were bull fights, sometimes between the animals and again men would fight the bulls. The animals were carefully trained to fight and prizes were awarded to the owner of the victorious combatant. It is pretty certain that animals were taught to perform tricks and to dance.

All classes of the Egyptians delighted in hunting, fowling, and fishing. In hunting they used the bow, the spear, the lasso, and the net to place across enclosures. There were preserves on some of the estates in which animals were kept for hunting, but the greatest sport was hunting out on the desert. Dogs were used and different breeds reared, some for attacking, some for coursing, and the like. Sometimes there would be a great hunt arranged, with beaters for forcing the game into quarters where they could be enclosed with nets and then hunted within. In hunting for birds and water-fowl the real sportsman used only the throwing-stick, which was from a foot and a quarter to two feet in length, about one inch and a half in breadth, and slightly curved at the upper end. The hunter would usually go out in a boat into the places covered with tall reeds and lotuses and gliding swiftly in among the birds, or using a decoy bird to attract them toward him, he would cast the throwing-stick at them as they arose and thus fell them. Often a cat would accompany the hunter which was trained to get the birds as they fell and bring them to the boat. In the pleasure-grounds of villas were ponds well stocked with fish. The fish were caught from them by hook and line. But the real fisherman used the bident spear, which sometimes had feathers at one end, like an arrow, but more often without, and sometimes the spear had a string attached to it to bring it back when thrown. Running his boat over the surface of the water, as he would see a fish he would cast his spear at it. They prided themselves on their skill with the spear.

=Games, Plays, and Toys.= The children and young people among the ancient Egyptians engaged in many sports and they were encouraged in this by their elders, particularly in those activities of an outdoor nature, as they were considered to be conducive to good health through exercise of the body. The young people took part in the singing and other music and at least among the lower classes in the dancing. They went out with their parents and other relatives on fishing trips and bird hunting and the youth went with the men on hunting trips. The youth of both sexes practiced shooting at a target with the bow and arrow.

The game of ball was one of the great games of the Egyptians, participated in by children and adults of both sexes, but it appears to have been more indulged in by the women. Some of the balls were made of leather or skin, sewed with string, and stuffed with bran or husks of corn, some being about three inches in diameter. In one of the favorite games the ball was thrown and caught and the one failing had to carry the other woman, who caught it on her back till this one failed to catch it, when she had to do the carrying. The women rode sidewise in short petticoats on the backs of the losers. In another game the ball was thrown as high as possible and the catcher would leap up and catch it before the feet would touch the ground. Again when the ball was thrown to them they would catch it with the hands behind the back and even while standing on one leg.

The playthings of the little child are often found buried with it. They had dolls of various kinds, being made of wood, stone, and enamelled pottery. They often were painted, the inferior ones being the most gaudily colored. Some were of rude construction with head and body and without arms and legs, while others were small models of the human figure. Some were jointed, the arms and legs moving on pins. Some had artificial hair, while others had beads in imitation of hair hanging from the head. Some grotesque figures were formed and by means of strings could be made to assume various postures. One such figure was that of a crocodile which could be made to amuse the child by its grimaces and by the opening and closing of its mouth. Some figures of persons could be made to go through the motions of washing and of kneading dough. One was the figure of a person with jointed arms and legs, which could be thrown about by the pulling of a string, and which still exists with us today in the jumping-jack. They also had pigs, ducks, pigeons on wheels, boats, balls, marbles, and miniature sets of household furniture.

=Education.= The ancient Egyptians were very much interested in the education of the young. It would appear that the parent was left entire freedom in the selecting what education and how much the child should have. In the matter of education there seemed to be no caste whatever, as the poor boy and son of one of the lower classes could take his place in school by the side of the rich boy or the son of the noble.

A clever boy in school had great opportunities, be he from whatever class of society. He was encouraged to go on to literary life, which meant, if successful, entering into the employ of the government and reaching the very highest places. Many a great nobleman so arose in Egypt and often was found on his monument after his death: "His ancestors were unknown people."

There were elementary schools, probably none provided by the state, and whether there were schools or not in a community, there were teachers to be had for the instruction of the young. With the temples were connected higher schools and in the capitals of the three districts of Egypt, Thebes, Memphis, Heliopolis, the temple schools were quite important centers of learning. The child started into the elementary school at near five years of age and continued till he left for work, or to enter a higher school, or else he might have gone into the office of a scribe or physician or architect to learn directly the work of his profession. The vast majority of the children received very little training beyond the rudiments of education and what instruction was given to them by their parents in teaching them their trades. Some of the young people continued with their schooling and entered the schools of the temples and there came in contact with the learned men of the state and received a higher education. A very few of these, who displayed special aptitude for learning, were permitted to enter into the deeper studies and to whom was thrown open all the knowledge possessed by the wisest men of their day. Little is known about the education of girls. As the women ranked high in Egypt and took part in the public festivities and religious ceremonies, they must have received such education as would prepare them for their duties in life.

The purpose of education in ancient Egypt was to prepare for some one of the callings of priest, scribe, architect, engineer, physician, soldier, musician, artisan. It was necessary to be educated to enter into office and to rise in position. Thus the education was of a utilitarian nature. The most important calling outside the priesthood was that of the scribe. The scribe learned about official documents and the management of business and to read and write the three forms of writing--hieroglyphic, hierotic, demotic--and also he studied ethics, philosophy, and law. The architect studied mathematics and science and the history that would give him a knowledge of art. The physician was taught such anatomy and physiology as was known, remedies and incantations, and other things pertaining to his calling. Whatever may be considered about this education, it did give Egypt a high place among the old nations of the world and caused its civilization to continue through many centuries.

In the home and in the school it was impressed on the children to be respectful to their elders. They were taught to be careful of looks and gestures, that such should be of a proper kind. It was not permitted to use any dance or ode at the feasts and sacrifices that had not been passed on by the proper authorities. The children were not permitted to hear or to learn any verses or songs than such as were of a virtuous giving character.

The discipline in school was quite severe. One teacher spoke thus: "The hawk is taught to fly and the pigeon to nest; I shall teach you your letters, you idle villain."[49] A pedagogical saying runs: "A young fellow has a back, he hears when we strike it."

"Plato says the Egyptians taught numbers to children in their play by distributing amongst them a certain number of fruits, or other things, the same number to be given to many or to few children, so that by dividing them amongst themselves they learnt lessons in arithmetic; and all sorts of numbers were given to them in their games and plays as arithmetical problems."[50]

For written work they had wooden blocks covered with red or white stucco. Copies were engraved on wooden or stone tablets and then the children copied them on their tablets. Work was also given by dictation. The older pupils wrote from dictation, or from copies, extracts from the best writers. This trained also in penmanship and spelling. Often the pupils copied an "instruction," which consisted of moral precepts of an ancient writer. Often the instruction consisted of letters between student and teacher.

LITERATURE

1. Brugsch-Bey, Henry, A history of Egypt under the Pharaohs.

2. Dean, Amos, A history of civilization.

3. Graves, Frank Pierrepont, A history of education, Before the middle ages.

4. Laurie, S. S., Historical survey of pre-Christian education.

5. Maspero, G., Life in ancient Egypt and Assyria.

6. Maspero, G., The dawn of civilization.

7. Petrie, W. M. Flinders, Arts and crafts of ancient Egypt.

8. Rawlinson, George, History of ancient Egypt.

9. Wilkinson, Sir J. Gardner, A popular account of the ancient Egyptians.

10. Wilkinson, Sir J. Gardner, The Egyptians in the time of the Pharaohs.

11. Wilkinson, Sir J. Gardner, The manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians.