ing, the Egyptian king refused to supply the Grecian prince with the quantity of papyrus which his wants demanded. We shall not ascribe this conduct of Ptolemy to the influence of any ungenerous principle; for the scarcity of the materials, or the confined nature of the manufacture in Egypt, might afford no greater a supply than was necessary for the demands of the Museum at Alexandria. But the refusal on the part of the Egyptian king was productive of benefit to the interests of science; for Eumenes, the prince of Pergamus, brought into use, in Greece, skins of animals prepared to answer the purpose of writing; and thus a more lasting and valuable material was easily provided for books and records of importance.

For more common and less durable purposes, a substance was at length prepared from the pulp of cotton, silk, or linen; and vellum, as well as parchment was reserved for deeds) which required durable materials. In reference to the

papyrus of Egypt, the newly invented manufacture was denominated paper; and thus the facilities of multiplying writings being increased, a rapid progress of improvement ensued; till the art of writing and printing has adorned the age in which we live, and made the avenues of science both easy and delightful. In writing upon soft substances, reeds with ink were employed instead of the stylus; and even in these repects a multitude of improvements have followed, which produce expedition as well as beauty. Ancient writings, when finished, were wrapt up in a roll on a cylander or staff; and in allusion to that old and superseded practice, books, though now made in a different form, are still denominated volumes.

Isaiah, ch. 8, v. 1; Pliny Nat. hist. lib. 13, ch. 24; Cic. Tusc. quæst. lib. 1, ch. 11; and Dr. Adams' Antiquities, p. 560, &c.

CHAP. II.

...

The general manners of the Egyptians.. Their casts, or classes. Of marriage.... Arts and sciences. . . . Pyramids.... Lake Moris, and the Baher-bela-ma.... Morals and Religion.... Treatment of the dead ..Mummies. . . .. Mourning....Buryings.

HEN we inquire into the state of

WHEN

an ancient people, it will naturally be expected that we should delineate their manners. But when we trace their habits through a long succession of distant years, we must find them assuming different forms, and see them displayed in various colours. To catch, therefore, a few transient features, and describe the general turn of their sentiments, is all we can accomplish in so remote and diversified a scene. To divide the people into casts or tribes, with peculiar immunities and pursuits, was prevalent in Egypt, as it still continues in Hindostan ;

and perhaps these are to be considered as but partial vestiges of a more general and very ancient custom. The throne was hereditary in Egypt; and when the royal race was extinguished, a successor to the crown was chosen from among the priests, who were held in the rank of princes. They were highly honoured, not only on this account, but also because they were the depositaries of science; and held, as it were, in their hands the light and glory of the world. A priest was to have but one wife; yet the other classes of the people were not subject to this salutary rule; but were permitted to form connections, which the laws of better regulated states positively forbid.*

Soldiers were next in rank to princes; and they were supported by a stated allowance from the lands and revenues of the kingdom. In conformity to the idea of separate orders, or casts, every youth

Herod. lib. 2, c. 163, 164.; and Diod. Siculus,edit. Amstelodami, fol.A. D, 1746, vol. 2, p. 84, 85.

was appointed to learn and cultivate the profession of his father. Laws were not only made for the good government of the state, but they were also administered with fidelity, and executed with discretion. Early in the east the aged commanded high respect; and the father of a family, or the head of a tribe, was invested with

distinguished powers. In Egypt, too, the paternal influence was revered; but as masters had not the power of life and death over their slaves, so neither had fathers that unlimitted authority over their children.

In the earlier ages of the country, the Egyptian youths were trained to abstinence and moderation; but luxury broke in upon those temperate regulations, and changes of manners, laws, and government, ensued. Animal as well as vegetable food was allowed and consumed in Egypt; but at different periods, and in the different principalities, into which the kingdom was sometimes divided, the same animals, with the varying opinions of men,